MAN OF STEEL
Gale kicked Castleford into final . . . 16 days after having his appendix out
LUKE GALE dropkicked Castleford into their first Grand Final just 16 days after having his appendix removed. And the tough-as-nails scrumhalf, who will line up for the Tigers against hometown Leeds in front of a sell- out crowd at Old Trafford on Saturday night, revealed he has had little sympathy.
‘I had this unbelievable pain through the day but we had a supporters’ presentation that night,’ Gale, 29, recalled. ‘I called the physio and I think they thought I was trying to get out of it. I’d told my agent earlier and he said it was a bit of trapped wind.’
Trapped wind it was not. ‘I was lying in the shower and spewing down the toilet,’ he added. ‘The physio told me to call 111 and they came and picked me up, put me on a drip and I went to A&E.’
There, a nurse delivered some devastating news. Gale, who hopes to be part of England’s World Cup squad, explained: ‘I told her I was a rugby player and that I had a semi-final in two weeks and might be playing for England in October. “You can forget that”, she said. I had hours in a hospital bed thinking it was all over.’
A more understanding surgeon, who carried out keyhole surgery the next morning, suggested he might be back in training in three weeks. Then it was rehab, and the lack of sympathy continued.
‘My family are rugby mad and they would have been more upset if I hadn’t played,’ Gale said. ‘My girlfriend gave me two days of sympathy and then told me I was putting it on.’
Just over a fortnight later, one thing he was putting on was a Castleford jersey. An inspired Gale scored a try, then kicked a penalty to send their semi against St Helens into extra time where he sparked terrace euphoria with a match-winning drop goal.
‘I had a chat with (former England captain) Jamie Peacock and his advice was to come back from injury but to make a difference,’ Gale explained.
He certainly did that, joining a long list of rugby league players who defy logic to put their bodies on the line in the process. Wigan’s Tony Clubb returned to action earlier this year 58 days after having a kidney removed and Warrington forward Paul Wood had a testicle taken out after rupturing it in the 2012 Grand Final.
‘You have to be a bit mad to play the game,’ Gale added. ‘We’re not normal people, are we?’
Castleford, who few predicted to top the table at the end of the season, now find themselves unlikely favourites for the finale.
However, that scepticism was not present in the Tigers’ dressing room or with coach Daryl Powell. ‘I can remember Powelly doing a presentation at the start of pre- season,’ Gale explained. ‘He told us that we are going to win this league our way and we kind of have.’
Before Old Trafford, Gale has another date in Manchester at tonight’s Man of Steel Award, where he could be named player of the season. Not that he is thinking too much about that.
‘I totally forgot about it,’ he said. ‘Someone asked me about Tuesday and I asked them what was happening! It’s a great honour. It would be a bit of icing before the cake.’
Meanwhile, Leeds back-rower Stevie Ward will miss Saturday’s match after dislocating his shoulder in Friday’s win over Hull FC.