I DON’T WANT ANY KID TO EXPERIENCE THE TRAUMA OF MY CHILDHOOD. I FEEL IT’S MY DUTY TO HELP THEM NOW

Larroyer tells of torment he endured so others don’t have to suffer in silence

WHEN Kevin Larroyer stands before young rugby league players to talk about mental health, he has a jaw-dropping level of experience to call on.

The Halifax star and France international was beaten by his mother and grew up in social services, prior to sport giving him an outlet that led to a career.

But even there, he had a Super League contract cancelled just days after buying a house and with a newborn baby to look after. After earning a chance with Castleford Tigers, he was handed the shattering news his sister had taken her own life.

Now 32, Larroyer is one of a group of players providing advice to youngsters as part of charity Movember’s ‘Ahead of the Game’ programme, delivered by player welfare charity Rugby League Cares.

Their work is featured on a documentary on Sky Sports tomorrow, where Larroyer lays out his remarkable life story.

“As far as I can remember, I always had mental health symptoms,” he said. “I couldn’t really find a home. I didn’t feel loved. My mum never gave me any affection and that’s something I suffer with. I was always a liability for her. My mum used to beat me up and I went to school with bruises. I’d say I’d fallen over. But one day I had one or two teeth missing.

“I came back from school one night and my dad was there, my mum, and two people I didn’t know. They told me that tonight I wasn’t going to sleep at home. I was six, my little sister was three, and I had loads of questions about why I was being taken away, but my sister could stay with my mum and dad.

“I had to sleep in a room with 12 others in bunk beds. There was no bedtime story, it was quiet and dark. At night, that was when I started crying. “In those places there is no place for emotion. You have to learn to grow a thick skin. “Rugby was always my exit door, a place I’ve felt valued.” But even that brought its own shattering moments, including being told his Hull KR (below, playing for them) contract was no longer valid after relegation.

He then earned a trial and subsequent deal at Castleford.

Larroyer said: “In my first week at Cas, it was a new start – then I got a call telling me my sister had taken her life.

“A year before that, she tried, and my mistake was coming back, thinking she was fine.

“A year after, that happened, and I felt like a bad big brother, because I hadn’t checked on her. My sister was a big factor in becoming involved with ‘Ahead of the Game’, but also it was the fact that when I’ve been in a hole, people have been reaching out to me.

“Now, I’m feeling a lot better and it’s my duty to give back.

“Being a dad, I don’t want my son to experience even one percent of what I did. But also I don’t want any other child to feel unloved and useless and I want to help those kids build up their self-belief.

“Because if you know your own quality, when you have a setback, you can be like ‘You know what, I can do it’.”

To learn about Movember’s work in mental health or sign up to this year’s fundraising campaign visit: www.movember.com