‘I’ve seen highlights of Dad – I want to be better than him’
Teenager Tyler Offiah hopes to surpass in rugby union what father Martin achieved in a glorious league career
‘People are going to ask Tyler, Are you as fast as your dad? Frustrating for him but it’s the lie of the land’
Tyler Offiah is beginning to make his way in what looks to be a hugely promising rugby union career.
Telegraph Sport can reveal he will join Bath on a three-year deal after rejecting interest from Leicester, Gloucester, Sale and Wigan. And the imposing 17-year-old winger does not have to look far for inspiration.
Offiah is sitting with his father Martin, who scored 501 tries during a remarkable rugby league career, at the family home in Ealing, west London, reflecting on their respective journeys.
Offiah senior’s exploits with allconquering Wigan in the early 1990s earned him a huge collection of medals, legendary status in the 13-a-side code and an MBE. Outside Wembley Stadium, he is immortalised in a bronze statue that features four other all-time league greats in Eric Ashton, Billy Boston, Alex Murphy and Gus Risman.
“I don’t know what trophies Dad won, but I know he scored 501 tries,” Tyler says, fresh from helping England Under-18s win all three games in the Six Nations Rugby Festival in Italy. “I’ve seen the highlight reels and people say to me, ‘You don’t know half the stuff this guy’s done’, and that’s true.
“I’ve never watched a full game of him playing, only clips, but it’s definitely inspiring. One of my aims is to be better than Dad. Yes, that’s definitely a driver for me.”
That draws a wry smile from Martin, 58, who was born in Hackney to Nigerian parents and attended Woolverstone Hall School in Suffolk, where he showed a talent for fencing, cricket and rugby union.
He played for Ipswich RFC and Rosslyn Park before starring for Barbarians and on the sevens circuit, where he was scouted by Widnes, who signed him ahead of the 1987-88 rugby league season. Wigan paid a then world-record fee of £440,000 for Offiah in 1991 and he went on to win four Challenge Cups, five league titles and a World Club Challenge, scoring 186 tries in 159 appearances.
Martin, whose deadly finishing earned him the nickname “Chariots Offiah”, says the two codes are in a different state to when he played.
“Rugby union is highly professional but it wasn’t like that in my era, hence why I moved north to play rugby league,” he says.
“Tyler’s a totally different winger to me – far bigger and more powerful than I ever was. We’re on our separate journeys and Tyler is making his way in union, so obviously people are going to ask him, ‘Are you as fast as your dad?’ That’s a bit frustrating for Tyler but it’s just the lie of the land.
“I’ve certainly got a wealth of knowledge I can pass on and he is learning from his England and academy coaches as well. I always say, ‘Take bits of information that you like, and what you don’t like you don’t take’. Then you definitely become your own man and not a clone of anybody. Am I proud of what Tyler is doing? Very much so.”
But before Tyler joins Bath this summer, exams are on the agenda. “Right now it’s about focusing on my A-levels in PE, mathematics and economics,” the Wellington College student says. “I’ve got an offer from Bath University to do politics and international relations, so I need my grades.”
Studying in Bath while attempting to make the grade at first-team level will be some challenge, but the teenager is not fazed. Right now he is bubbling with confidence after impressing with England Under-18s in Italy as they beat Wales, Scotland and Georgia. Martin, who flew out to support Tyler, says: “It’s been good for him to experience being in camp. You’ve enjoyed it, haven’t you?” “Yes,” Tyler replies. “I set up a try against Wales and then scored against Scotland and Georgia. A fantastic experience, but it was tough trying to revise with the heat.” The teenager is part of the London and South Central academy, which was formed following the demise of London Irish last year and is funded by the Rugby Football Union. He joined Ealing Trailfinders aged five and previously attended St Benedict’s School, but a move to Bath now beckons. Tyler, whose 14-year-old brother Phoenix is in Brentford
FC’S development system, has set lofty targets. “I’ve got all my goals written in a journal,” he says. “They include playing for the senior England side, going on a British and Irish Lions tour, and becoming the highest try-scorer in Premiership history.
“Chris Ashton – who my father got to send me a video message wishing me well in my career – has the Premiership record with over 100 tries but I’d love to beat that. Rory Underwood has the England record with 49 and I want to surpass that, too.”
Tyler, who has also been a model, is a keen follower of rugby league’s NRL and American football.
“I played league for Richmond Warriors for a few summers when I was younger,” he says. “I watch a lot of NRL games and I’m a Brisbane Broncos fan, so if that’s ever an option in the future then it’s definitely something I would consider.
“I look at what Louis Rees-zammit is doing in the NFL as well. I play a bit of American football for the London Blitz – I’m a wide receiver – so that’s another option.”