Anniversary of World Cup feat

for pre-season training, one of the first Super League sides to return in preparation for 2019.

The overriding feeling at the club is that pre-season this season has been tough, but they all see the benefits and have the end goal in sight. English said: “It’s been tough, we’re about a weekand-a-half into everything now and the boys are really ripping in. “We’re challenging every single day. It’s been probably the toughest pre-season I’ve had. It’s a bit more brutal, a bit more ruthless. “We were a slow starting team last year so we want to make that right this year and start that well.” It is clear that Giants have set themselves high targets and goals to achieve and they all want to be successful. Success for English this season is simple, however – ‘win a trophy.’

We’re challenging every single day – It’s been probably the toughest pre-season I’ve had

TUESDAY marked the 64th anniversary of the first Rugby League World Cup Final in 1954, when Huddersfield’s Dave Valentine captained Great Britain’s underdogs to victory over the great French side led by Puig Aubert at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

When the 18 players who comprised the World Cup party were chosen, one critic in a national newspaper described them as ‘hapless and hopeless’.

Valentine showed his leadership qualities and got a wonderful response from his squad that included four other Huddersfield players – Billy Banks, Mick Sullivan, Ron Rylance and Harry Bradshaw.

Arthur Haddock in the Yorkshire Post said: “Valentine, as one of the few experienced players, whipped up the enthusiasm of his colleagues; he made the young and untried players proud to be wearing the Great Britain Jersey.”