- 26 minutes ago
Martin Offiah is a major player in Rugby League. Born in London, he first started playing rugby at boarding school in Suffolk. After school he joined Rosslyn Park, but was snapped up by the Widnes coach and quickly rose to fame in the professional game. A top try-scorer in his first four seasons, Wigan paid a record transfer fee for him in 1992. He plays in the Great Britain side, and for Australia in their season.
In this autobiography, Offiah talks openly about the misunderstandings that have fuelled a contrast of emotions in all those involved in the game. His initial switch from Union to League caused controversy, and Offiah describes the criticisms he had to endure.
Martin Offiah is the most famous rugby league player the British game has ever produced. A dazzling runner and lethal finisher, he has scored over 400 tries in nine seasons with Widnes and Wigan, smashing many records along the way both for his club and country.
Not bad for someone who didn't pick up a rugby ball until he was 11 and had never seen a live game of rugby league until he signed for Widnes in 1987 from Rosslyn Park. In an ironic twist Offiah became one of the very few southerners who went North to seek his fame and fortune. After winning every honour in the game he returned to London in 1996 to continue playing league for the London Broncos and to pursue further honours in rugby union with Bedford, the Division Two club owned by Frank Warren.
For all his achievements, he has had a love-hate relationship with rugby league fans, often being seen as too flash and too aloof in a sport which remains predominantly Northern and working class. In his autobiography, Offiah gives a refreshing insight into the Wigan phenomenon, the coaches and the players, including the controversial sacking of the Australian coach John Dorahy after just one season, and the money which flooded in when the Super League and the Australian Rugby League started a bidding war for players.
Offiah tells of his life away from the game, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lennox Lewis, Ryan Giggs, Mick Hucknall, and appearing in TV soaps, as he contemplates a career outside rugby. There may have been better players but none, in the history of the game, can claim the national recognition that Martin Offiah has achieved.
In this autobiography, Offiah talks openly about the misunderstandings that have fuelled a contrast of emotions in all those involved in the game. His initial switch from Union to League caused controversy, and Offiah describes the criticisms he had to endure.
Martin Offiah is the most famous rugby league player the British game has ever produced. A dazzling runner and lethal finisher, he has scored over 400 tries in nine seasons with Widnes and Wigan, smashing many records along the way both for his club and country.
Not bad for someone who didn't pick up a rugby ball until he was 11 and had never seen a live game of rugby league until he signed for Widnes in 1987 from Rosslyn Park. In an ironic twist Offiah became one of the very few southerners who went North to seek his fame and fortune. After winning every honour in the game he returned to London in 1996 to continue playing league for the London Broncos and to pursue further honours in rugby union with Bedford, the Division Two club owned by Frank Warren.
For all his achievements, he has had a love-hate relationship with rugby league fans, often being seen as too flash and too aloof in a sport which remains predominantly Northern and working class. In his autobiography, Offiah gives a refreshing insight into the Wigan phenomenon, the coaches and the players, including the controversial sacking of the Australian coach John Dorahy after just one season, and the money which flooded in when the Super League and the Australian Rugby League started a bidding war for players.
Offiah tells of his life away from the game, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lennox Lewis, Ryan Giggs, Mick Hucknall, and appearing in TV soaps, as he contemplates a career outside rugby. There may have been better players but none, in the history of the game, can claim the national recognition that Martin Offiah has achieved.
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00:03To become a legend in your own lifetime, you have to be very special.
00:08Martin the Friar is certainly that.
00:28In three seasons as a rugby league professional, Martin the Friar has stamped himself as a
00:33candidate for the Sports Hall of Fame.
00:35To win such exclusive membership, he must maintain the astonishing rate of progress
00:39achieved through his unique skills.
00:42Speed is the prime asset, he's the fastest thing rugby league has seen for decades, but
00:46that's not all.
00:47Although very much an individual, he loves to be part of a team, especially a successful
00:51one.
00:52He's a showman, a flamboyant artist who wants to be remembered as much as an entertainer
00:57as a sportsman.
00:58Hard now to think he was born within the sound of bow bells and sent by his Nigerian parents
01:03to primary school.
01:05There were good days, obviously.
01:07I don't remember much work getting done.
01:09It was just a case of going to school for about eight o'clock so you can kick a ball
01:13around
01:13to nine o'clock and then kick a ball around at lunchtime again and kick a ball around after
01:17school as well.
01:18And as I say, there were good days, I didn't get down to much work really until the fourth
01:22year.
01:23And I think my 11 plus suffered for that and I think I was thankful that my brother was
01:28quite intelligent so they automatically let me go to Wolverston Hall because if your brother
01:32was there they gave you special dispensation.
01:33So I think I've got to thank him for that really because if not for him, they might not have
01:41let me into the school.
01:42This was Wolverston Hall in Ipswich?
01:44Yeah, that was one of the two boarding schools that Ilya had.
01:47It was a grammar school at the time and obviously weren't comprehensive like most of the schools
01:52weren't in the late 70s, early 80s.
01:54And that's when I was first introduced to rugby and the first time I'd really been away from
02:00home for any length of time and they were good days as well.
02:04This precocious talent was recognised in selection for the English school's rugby union team and
02:09then he took his boots to one of London's top clubs, Rosslyn Park.
02:13There's a funny misconception, some people seem to think that just because you've signed
02:17for rugby league you automatically, I automatically became a good player overnight and I never used
02:21to score tries before. I mean, I was at Rosslyn Park for two seasons and I only played half
02:26the first season because the first part of the first season I was at Rosslyn Park, I was languishing
02:31in the fourths and fifths. As you do when you turn up on a rugby union club's doorstep with not
02:37many credentials, you just start from the bottom and work your way out. And I was the top scorer
02:44of both seasons in London and at Rosslyn Park. So, you know, I'd scored a few tries before.
02:50Witness coach Doug Lawton was the man who spotted Martin on TV.
02:54I've never seen him live. The first time I saw him live was in our first team against Halifax.
02:58I mean, if it's a gamble, then I took a gamble with Joe Lyre, I took a gamble with Andy
03:01Gregg,
03:01I took a gamble with Mick Burke. I mean, I've only seen Colotto for two minutes on Wales television.
03:06So, I'm a great believer in first impressions and I think that, like, you can explain away your
03:10first impressions or you can not believe them. But I'm one who says, well, that's my first impression.
03:15Everything that's in my mind is there, because, like, I've played with the Volanholms and the
03:18Bostons and the Ashtons and all the great players. I've been lucky to be at clubs where
03:22they've always been great players, like, since Helens, Wigan and Witness. And I think mixing with
03:27great players, you get to know, it might be just some way they walk, I don't know, you get to
03:30recognise a great talent when you see one.
03:32The first we really heard of Matt, who was off a television producer, who was watching the
03:37television, watching the actual match, and it was the Hong Kong Sevens, and we were playing at
03:44Wigan's, and he just happened to mention to us over the bar, there's a flying wing, one playing for
03:49Rosalind Park, called Orkia. So, we looked through the boots, there's no such flailing. Anyway, the week
03:55after, we'd be on the television again in the Sevens, and cheering off this black chap, running down the
04:00wing, there were a big bandage round his leg, and his name was Martin Afire.
04:05And then I was watching the Barberians at Cardiff, and it was Bill McLaren, and I thought it was
04:12Nigel Stammer-Smith or somebody saying, when this boy gets in the England team, it'd be a tremendous,
04:17exciting talent. So, I thought I'd better get off my backside and get down there and see that.
04:23I tried to get in touch with him, which was, you couldn't like, he was ex-directory,
04:27so I phoned the secretary of Rosalind Park, and told her I was looking for an up-and-coming young,
04:34you know, rugby union lad, you know, we're doing a bit of a story on rugby union wing-wanging up
04:38-and-coming
04:38lads. And he gave me Martin's phone number.
04:43Uh, the first time I actually met Dougie Lawton and Eddie McDonald in a pub in the East End of
04:50London,
04:50uh, which was, because they couldn't actually fire my house, so I directed them to the nearest pub,
04:56and I met them there, and I remember them asking me if I wanted a drink, you know, and we
05:00ordered
05:01a couple of drinks, and I ordered an orange on my head. And, uh, yeah, we're just about to sit
05:06down
05:06at a table, and, uh, Eddie McDonald knocked a pint, or half a pint of lago all over a pair
05:12of white jeans
05:13that I had on at the time. Not yellow. It's the popular story, isn't it? Dougie's got a bad memory.
05:19I know, I can't imagine myself in the yellow pair of trousers, actually.
05:21I got round the main objection, which was England cap. And at the end of the day, you've got to
05:25be
05:25honest, you've got to come down and say, well, what I'm doing basically, I'm putting a price
05:29on an England cap. I mean, and Martin can say, as he did say, that there is no price on
05:33England cap,
05:33I want an England cap. But as I say, that was an objection we had to get over.
05:37What decided you to turn professional? Was it purely the money?
05:40Oh, I wouldn't actually say purely the money, but I look at it more like, uh, you know,
05:45I could make a career at being a sportsman. It's not too many people, I can say that, you know,
05:50get paid for things, you know, that they actually enjoy. And know whether I was getting paid for
05:55rugby or whether I was not, you know, that was something I wanted to do.
05:58I mean, I think I've got a gift for spotting great players. And I'm very pleased that God
06:02given me, it's a wonderful gift to possess. It's my job.
06:05Now there's a chance for a player. He's taken the pass, and he's only got the fullback to beat,
06:09for his strength and speed. Take it, Christophe. Yes, they will. The highest skipping of fire is in.
06:16Try number 42.
06:17The fire's electric pace and devastating finish were by this time the talk of Rugby League.
06:23It was all too much for Hunslet on this occasion.
06:26The Championship trophy was on the horizon in his first season.
06:32And so was try number 43 in all matches.
06:41What a phenomenal first season it turned out to be. Once he'd crossed the Runcorn line for his first try,
06:46Martin never looked back. Records began to tumble at his feet. There were 42 tries for his club alone,
06:52and in one superb sequence, he reeled off tries in 15 consecutive matches, 11 of them in the first division.
07:00In response to public demand, he won his first international call. That was against France in Avignon.
07:07The match resulted in a comfortable win for Malcolm Reilly's side, and on the hour, Martin of Fire launched his
07:13test career with his first try in typical fashion.
07:16It was to be the first of many. Two and a half years on, Martin enjoys some of the trappings
07:21of being an international celebrity.
07:23He's a household name at home and abroad, has guested on television quiz shows, appeared in fashion magazines, and gets
07:31regular fan mail.
07:32All unthinkable. When he came north for his very first training session at Widness, that was in the summer of
07:3887.
07:40I remember coming down and being introduced to all the players, one by one, and I think I was introduced
07:46to Darren Wright,
07:47and Andy Courier, and Rick Thackeray, and a few others, and shook their hands and sat down and thought,
07:53it's quite a big lads, a few of these, and on my first impressions, I remember thinking,
07:58I asked them what position they play, and they also had center, center, wing, and I thought, you know,
08:02where's all the forwards? Expect, you know, to think, in the second one, rugby union. It's normally the forwards,
08:08the second rows, we were towards people like Andy Courier and Darren Wright, but I must admit,
08:11I was quite amazed at the size of some of the players. Did the names mean anything to you?
08:19Well, before I actually signed for Widness, I remember Dougie Lawton telephoned me, and I remember
08:26my first thoughts after the telephone call were, Widness, aren't they that team that play red and white?
08:31Not bad, so that shows a bit about my knowledge of rugby league before I joined, but no, I must
08:35admit,
08:36I had heard of, before I actually arrived at my first training session, I had heard of Kurt Sorensen,
08:41and I had heard of Tony Myler, but I think that was about it as far as the Widness personnel
08:46was
08:46concerned. What was your attitude going into that session? Were you apprehensive or were you
08:50absolutely determined to put on a show? I was, I've always been like that. I've always thought
08:55that first impressions count, and I must admit, especially when it came down to the sprinting,
08:59and I wanted it to be known that there was a new kid on the block. And I think that
09:05I turned a few
09:06heads, you know, which is always a good thing to do, and things went well pretty much from day one.
09:10When he came down for the first training session, we had a game of tick and pass,
09:14and it really proved to us from then, from the first training session, that he had the ability
09:19to go all the way, and he's proved that. How much did he have to teach rugby league into him,
09:24as opposed to rugby union, which he'd played until? Well, not really that much, really, because
09:28being a winger, there's not much difference. Not very often they get caught with a ball in rugby union,
09:33so it was only the fact of playing the ball and a little bit of defence, but he picked that
09:37on the
09:38way, so there wasn't much coaching involved. You pitched him straight in. You didn't even put him
09:42in the A-team. You decided to put him in against Halifax in the first team. That was a bit
09:46unusual.
09:47That's very unusual for me, because I like to think that once I've signed a player, I think I'd give
09:51him
09:52as easy a transition as I can, because it is a different game. Having said that,
09:56Wingy's probably the easiest place to make the transition in, but to be honest, he came training.
10:02I mean, when I left him in London, I said, now, the next thing, when I see you're up in
10:05about five weeks,
10:06come up and be the fittest you've ever been. Win all the races, and he did all of those things.
10:12I mean, the lads, you know, if I'd have left him out, the lads would have started going crazy,
10:14because he was whipping them out to pieces in tick and pass. So we stuck him in. I think he
10:19was about
10:19five or six games before he scored. Has it changed your game at all, playing alongside him?
10:25Well, it has. I think before Martin came, a witness went through a period where they didn't have
10:29real specialist wingers. John Basnitz had just left, and he filled that gap.
10:35And he brought me along well, because I'd only just started off real at the same time.
10:38Have you ever tried to keep up with him? Well, I'd take over him half the time.
10:43You know, it's always nice to know that wherever you break, he's got good vision,
10:48support vision, and he tends to be on one of your shoulders. So you don't, you know,
10:54initially run to his left wing. You run where the gap is. But if you make space, you know,
10:59he's usually there.
11:04Well, it's a good long kick again, and a fire streaking towards the ball. Gibson goes back.
11:09Oh, it's a slip. The fire's got a chance here as he hacks ahead, and the fire slowly is in
11:14for a try.
11:15A disastrous mistake by Steve Gibson. This was a try which showed another side of Martin
11:22of fire. Pace gave him the chance to pounce on a mistake, but it was allied to courage,
11:27self-preservation ignored as he injured himself against the post in the act of scoring.
11:31The world's price had come to witness the rugby league debut of Jonathan Davies,
11:36but a fire was not to be upstaged. Now they're going in for Hulme.
11:45It looks like two more important championship points here for Wittnes,
11:49who started the day three behind the lead is Castleford. And a fire's come, and a fire comes into the
11:55action,
11:55and you don't stop, Martin, a fire. Well, they've come to acclaim a new hero,
12:01but a fire's not going to be out of the spotlight for very long.
12:04His was a breathtaking performance in this match by any standards. Every one of his tries is different.
12:11His witness teammates obviously look out for him whenever possible close to the line,
12:15and he enjoys scoring so much, he's usually somewhere around. His unique combination of
12:20grace and power excites the fans, but a fire's trademark is his showmanship.
12:26Now a break, and the speed of Myler, and a fire's on the left, and a fire is away.
12:32And he'll be chased all the way, but surely no one can stop Martin, a fire. Try number three.
12:42Isoluz, yet another fine build-up by Wittnes. And it's turning into a benefit match for Martin, a fire now.
12:50Opponents don't always relish a fire's tries as much as his witness teammates. Notice once he gets
12:55the ball here, how he taunts Salford's ex-Welsh international wingman Adrian Hadley.
13:00Come and catch me, he seems to be saying, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to. It's a characteristic
13:05that's brought him criticism, but nonetheless it's part of the man's make-up. Most of Martin
13:11a fire's tries are scored in the corner, as you'd expect for a winger, but he does bob up in
13:15some
13:16unexpected places. In this instance, after a break by Emosi Colotto, he turns up on the outside of
13:23Jonathan Davis, on the right flank. And that was his fourth try of the match.
13:34It was a cotton wool introduction to rugby league for Davis, who afforded us one tantalising
13:39glimpse of his genius. His day was to come later. This one belonged to Martin a fire.
13:46You give the impression of being supremely confident, and yet I think early on, you got
13:51quite nervous, especially about the big occasion matches, and didn't, you know, when you were first
13:55sort of mooted as an England player, a Great Britain player, you thought, I'm not quite ready.
14:00Well, obviously things moved along pretty quickly, and I believe in taking things as they come.
14:05And obviously the more of the importance of the occasion, and I suppose like any other player,
14:09I mean, you get nervous. I mean, I would not try and be so bold to say, you know, that
14:13I never got
14:14nervous, and that I wasn't inexperienced. And I'll have to, I mean, I played rugby league for what,
14:20four or five months before I got my first Great Britain cap, and before the end of the season,
14:24I was on the Great Britain tour, and I'd become alive, and achieved like what most people try to
14:28achieve in quite a lot longer time anyway. So I suppose that, yeah, I suppose I got nervous. I suppose
14:35I
14:36don't get as nervous now, but I like to consider myself, you know, a more professional player,
14:40a more experienced player, you know, who can handle big occasions far better.
14:58Fitness is a key factor for any professional sportsman. Boxing sessions with his best pal,
15:03Dave Myers, the Wigan winger, form just one small part of the essential training schedule.
15:11Nowadays, I have to work on it a lot more than, uh, than before, because I mean, there's a lot
15:15of
15:15people tell you, getting to the top is not a hard thing, staying at the top, because, you know,
15:19in season, after season, you know, somebody else, you know, will be coming, trying to knock you off your
15:24mantle, and with the help of the press, and whatever. So I suppose to stay at the top is the
15:30hardest thing.
15:31So I work on my speed and fitness a lot more than, I suppose, when I first came to the
15:34game.
15:35When I was quite young, you know, you think that everything comes easy, and you don't work, you don't
15:41try to aspire. But, uh, when you are at the top, I suppose you realise what more you have to
15:45lose, and
15:46you tend to work at your game. All aspects of your game are a lot harder.
15:51He's lucky he's got a level of natural fitness. I mean, we often talk about people having natural fitness.
15:56Martin has. He can miss a couple of training sessions and still perform on the day as well.
16:02And he keeps himself very fit. I mean, he watches what he eats, and he's a natural athlete. He's very
16:07dedicated to his sport. Now, you're pretty busy on a Sunday afternoon, obviously, treating all the
16:11players' injuries. Are you actually able to enjoy him in full flight when he's charging up down the
16:15wing as well? Yes, I am. I'm always sort of, um, heart in mouth. I mean, Martin's that type of
16:21player where
16:22you get goosebumps. Tony Mile is another player like that, where you think, you know, you just
16:27know they're going to do something extraordinary. He's never failed to, like, not only amaze me,
16:31amaze all the players around the club, all the coaching staff, everybody, you know, because
16:35of the things he does, I haven't seen another player in the game if I do those sorts of things.
16:39As a watcher then, he excites you? Yeah, there's been times, like, when my assistant said,
16:46we've lost this one. I said, oh, Martin hasn't scored yet. So you always think that
16:50if you were in the distance, that he might just get in.
16:55It's an important scrum that for Airster Will for Widness. He's not the regular hooker, of course,
17:00as Tullotta once more sets off. Oh, and he gets the ball away in the tackle, and the fire is
17:05here!
17:06The fire's got his try! Oh, and isn't he joyful? The fire knew exactly what was on there. He throws
17:13the
17:13ball into the crowd, takes the congratulations of the Widness fans. The fire's broken what was for him,
17:19a barren run. Once the ball was in his hands, he was on his way. No one relishes scoring tries
17:27more
17:27than Martin. His distinctive style lends itself to exuberant celebrations. So whenever he's on his way
17:33to the opposition line, you can almost hear him singing in jubilation. His colleagues are used to
17:38joining in, but imagine what it's like if you're in the other team. The opposition doesn't always
17:42appreciate the antics. I remember a player, and I won't name him, a couple of years ago,
17:50who was a bit furious about the fact that I think he'd waved to him on the way past sort
17:54of thing,
17:54and he said, one day I'm going to catch him. Now, do you think there are a lot of players
17:57with that
17:57attitude towards you? Well, I don't seem too big-headed, but I suppose, you know, obviously,
18:03there's going to be a few people that are going to have that kind of attitude towards you. I mean,
18:07like anything else, you know, in life. If they can't catch me by one way, I'm sure they'll catch
18:14me by another way. It's sort of just part of the game, obviously. If you're scoring a lot of tries,
18:19then people are going to try and stop you now and up any which way they can. You do like
18:22to celebrate
18:23tries. Do you think sometimes you overstep the mark? Oh, well, maybe I do, maybe I don't. I think
18:28that's not really the issue. I mean, I enjoy myself, and that's what I enjoy doing. Obviously,
18:32I take a lot of stick and certain quarters of the press and other areas, you know, other coaches and
18:39maybe players as well. I don't know. But as I say, I like to enjoy the game. I know the
18:44game is a
18:45highly professional game, but I still think there's room for characters in the game. And I think it
18:49will be a sorry state of affairs if rugby league is purely a professional game with no characters.
18:55People can't come and have a laugh about certain things as well when they come to watch a game on
18:59a
18:59Sunday afternoon. Brilliant individual that he is, Martin would have achieved nothing without the
19:06ball. And that's where playing in a great side comes in. He didn't choose Midnes, they chose him.
19:11But he appreciates he's with the best possible club to exploit his talent. Obviously, it's good,
19:17you know, everyone likes to play in a good side. And I think Dougie's got a pretty good side together
19:21there. And I do enjoy playing for Great Britain and everything, but also, you always look forward to,
19:27you know, getting back to playing with the lads as well. Well, it's like a United Nations in our
19:32changing rooms. You know, you've got Australians, New Zealanders, Scotsmen,
19:38Tongans, Joe Grimm is from Malta. So it's, you know, it's a cultural shock to everybody who
19:45walks in our changing rooms because, you know, but we all mix together. We have a point after the game
19:49and it's, you know, a small family club and, you know, everybody has been welcomed with open hands.
19:56That's got a lot down to Doug Lawton. He's got a, he's got a good bunch of players together.
20:01Not only are they, you know, good actual rugby players, but they're also good lads as well.
20:06And as you said, they've all come from different backgrounds, different cultures,
20:09and they've all got, you know, like an ingredient to add to, to the recipe. And obviously, you know,
20:15things have worked pretty well.
20:17Witness's teamwork was never better illustrated than when it came to the crunch in the
20:21championship decider against Wigan on April the 16th, 1989. It was winner take all,
20:27and the match winner was in a number five shirt.
20:29Groomer, Lucas and Shelford, two crops clinging on to him. Paul Hume, Sorensen, looking for that gap,
20:42and Ayres, going away for Sorensen once more. They've kept it going. Down, just managed to hold on there.
20:50Aaron Tate, he's got support here from Martin Ifaya. And it appears, and it's good!
20:55Oh, yes!
20:58Well, yeah, try. Ifaya's 50th of the season for witness, and it's given them something to cheer.
21:07Everything Martin Ifaya does is accomplished at speed. Even in slow motion, he appears unstoppable.
21:12In this case, notice the classic S-bend, which outwits the defenders and turns Wigan inside out.
21:25A minute from half-time. Tate, again, does well with the pass.
21:30Now, throwing the ball around, there's no doubt about that. Tate along the one for Colotto. Colotto inside O'Neill.
21:35O'Neill manages to get away from Goodway.
21:37Oh, once more. It's out of the handle. It's going to get ahead. It's going to get a try from
21:42Martin Ifaya.
21:43The referee's hit play on. The fire picked it up, went over behind the posts. The referee awards the try.
21:51This was another match revealing all the varying attributes of the modern game's ultimate hero.
21:56Not all tries can be classics, but even when teams think they've contained witness, that man of fire can scuple
22:02them with a flash of opportunism.
22:04He preys on mistakes and plays to the whistle, often to the cost of the opposition.
22:09His philosophy is that all tries count the same, whether they're the culmination of an 80-yard dash or a
22:15pickup close to the line.
22:20But not even a fire gets it right all the time.
22:34It wasn't long before the press dubbed a fire chariots for obvious reasons.
22:38Wigan's wheels came off when he left everyone in his wake with one of the most memorable tries ever seen
22:44on television.
22:45Just watch and admire as he seems to take on and beat the entire Wigan team.
22:54And again, witness are trying to spread it.
22:56Grimmert, long ball out for a fire.
22:59Now, what can a fire do this time?
23:01Down the middle he goes.
23:02Can they stop a fire?
23:03Martin Ifaya is going to score here.
23:05He went to fall back.
23:06Hapsen can get it.
23:07Hapsen's hat-trick.
23:09What a super try.
23:12The whole of witness goes absolutely potty.
23:17Martin Ifaya, yet another hat-trick.
23:23He's having the most sensational season yet again.
23:27And from the moment he took the ball in his hands, nothing on this earth was going to stop him.
23:33It was a try that had everything, sidesteps, handoffs, awareness, determination,
23:39elusiveness, blistering pace of course, and bravado, summed up in one word, class.
23:47Little wonder that minutes later when the championship had been clinched,
23:51witnesses worshippers chaired their newest god from the field.
23:54It was a day of personal triumph and collective success, a day of never-to-be-forgotten celebration.
24:07The second season had been even more spectacular than the first.
24:1160 tries in all, 58 for witness, five in one match against Warrington.
24:15There had been eight hat-tricks and a century of tries in all competitions in record time.
24:21He was the hottest property in rugby league.
24:24You scored 60 tries in your second season. Now that must have given you more pleasure
24:28because it meant you'd improved on your first season.
24:30Oh, very much so. I've always tried to get better and better.
24:33And to score 60 tries in my second season was a great, you know, a great, a good feeling,
24:40a really good feeling. Mainly because after the first season, as I say, it's not getting to the top,
24:45but staying there, and people were saying, you know, after you had this sensational tag,
24:50you know, the papers was all rugby league sensation, sensation this and sensation that,
24:54you know, you were never referred to as an established, you know, rugby league player
24:58or a class player. And so to come out and do it in the second season, obviously show people that,
25:02you know, there must be a bit more to you than speed.
25:05You had great expectations of him when you brought him here, obviously.
25:08Has he exceeded those expectations?
25:11Oh, you'd have to say that, yes. I mean, I knew I had something special, but
25:15I mean, there's a Wigan that goes in me local on occasion and says to him, like,
25:19I think I said, I said, when I signed Mick Burke, I said, I've signed a great player here.
25:23And then when I signed the fire, I said, he said, I'm sick of you.
25:25Tell me you signed great players.
25:27I saw a fire play in the Lancashire Cup final, and I don't think he was 100% fit.
25:32But even fire 75% fit, you can see he's a classy wingman.
25:37I like the way he runs. He's obviously very fast and he's, yeah, I think he's a very good wingman.
25:41And it's great for the game that people like Martin Afire have come along.
25:44Yes, I think we need, actually, we need more characters in the game.
25:47You know, if you talk about the 50s and the 60s, you can take any team in the league,
25:52you can name five characters. And at the moment, I think you struggle to name five characters,
25:57or even two characters in every side.
25:59In my recent history, Martin Afire is not like any other winger.
26:03He's just, he's so good and he's so special in that special way of his own.
26:08And it just sets him completely apart from everyone else.
26:12You've played with and against some of the greatest players. Where would you put him at this moment?
26:18Well, I always thought the best winger was Boston, because he was pretty fierce in defence.
26:25But I only played again Boston when he was 28, 29-ish.
26:31Now, I think Martin's record is going to be better than anybody else's.
26:36And I think that should speak for that. I certainly think he's better than all the rest.
26:39But then, to probably say that's because I like him, but I like Billy Boston.
26:42You know, he's a great mate of Billy's.
26:44I mean, Billy was, I mean, put it this way, I'd love a Boston on the other wing.
26:49Do you think you'll end up scoring as many tries as Brian Bevan, Van Vollenhoven, Boston?
26:54No, as I say, I just try to go out and better myself each time and keep on scoring.
26:59People always tell me, because obviously I wasn't around in those days,
27:02that the game now is a lot harder to score tries in.
27:05But as I say, you know, I don't really take that as an excuse for scoring or not scoring.
27:09I just go out there and give it my best shot.
27:20Do you know when I was in the boutique theater you had to hire in?
27:23Whatever I could spend about you?
27:29So, we'll be with me.
27:35Then we'll see him in the moment during the festival.
27:38I don't know if you guys see anything.
27:42You're about to be the only game now.
27:43I'm looking at the game now.
27:44Alan
27:44Oh, oh, oh.
28:13He can't beat a man for pace. He can catch a ball. He knows what to do. He reads the
28:18game well. I mean, he pops up all over the show. I mean, for anyone who doesn't even understand the
28:23game, you can see he's streets ahead of a lot of people.
28:46He can't beat a man.
28:48He can't beat a man.
28:53He can't beat a man.
29:03He can't beat a man.
35:09I mean,
35:10Myler, David Hume and Imosi Koloto are just three of the others.
35:14But even they get it wrong sometimes.
35:17It is that speed that they've got that sure seems to be catching.
35:21Hull out, airs into the gap, and away goes Myler.
35:24Oh, and he flings it down to Martin of Hire.
35:26That was a fallen pass.
35:28So the high-skipping is at no avail.
35:30He throws the ball high, almost into the crowd.
35:34Exasperation for Martin of Hire, but the referee was right.
35:40Oh, and it's more.
35:41David Hume couldn't hold on, so Sharp makes tracks towards the witness line.
35:47Made a few mistakes in the second half of witness.
35:50Yes, I think it's time for them now to cut out their sort of fancy football,
35:54just steady it all up, get everybody used to feeling the ball again,
35:57taking it through, using up your six-play of the balls, and settling down.
36:00They're trying to do everything at 100 miles an hour.
36:03They were so much on top at one stage in the first half,
36:05you would have believed it possible.
36:06That ball is put down, and it's put down, and given to a fire.
36:10Oh, they won't stop him.
36:12Away he goes.
36:13Thank you very much, he says.
36:16That's Kildhoeller.
36:18One simple mistake, just what you were talking about.
36:21Try number 38 for Martin of Hire,
36:24and that surely has eased witness into a winning position.
36:32What an extraordinary man he is.
36:42And the fire has to go back to his left-wing position in the hope of getting the ball for
36:55his hat-trick.
36:55Will it come now?
36:57McKenzie, and the fire's got back over there.
37:00The Hughes passes to him, and the fire goes for the corner.
37:04It's another Martin of Hire hat-trick.
37:07And it's a happy lad.
37:12There's no stopping him at all.
37:15Patrick's just keep on coming.
37:18Fifth of the season, 16th in his career,
37:21and the man is in the record books for all time.
37:31The meteoric rise of Martin of Hire has been reflected at all levels.
37:35In five international appearances against France, he's scored in four of them.
37:39This try in Perpignan must have made him seem like the scarlet pimpernel to the French defence.
37:45He's so keen to impress on the biggest rugby league stage of all,
37:48that the Australians and New Zealanders can expect to see much more of Martin of Hire as well.
37:58By the end of his third season, a fire top scorer in the league for the third consecutive time
38:03had etched his name firmly in the record books.
38:06His feats predictably meant awards were coming his way again.
38:11Tonight, the top try scorer receives £25 a try,
38:17and the top marksman £5 a goal.
38:19Would you please welcome on stage to receive £1,125 and £975 respectively
38:28a warm welcome please for Martin of Hire and Mike Fletcher.
38:46I suppose, in some way, it's a disappointing season for you, only 45 tries.
38:50Yeah, it's disappointing. I've only got 45 and it's disappointing that you're still only playing £25 a try
38:54I don't think you're doing the same for this season again.
38:57Everything else has gone up apart from the £25 a try.
39:00Exactly, exactly, yeah.
39:02He's got a sense of humour too.
39:04More accolades, more awards.
39:06Enough to turn anyone's head, you might think.
39:09How aware are you of a responsibility towards kiddies?
39:12The youngsters who come up and ask for autographs who want to be the Martin of Hire of tomorrow.
39:17Yeah, obviously, I think I like kids a lot, and contrary to what a lot of people think,
39:22you know, like you could be coming off after a match and somebody just stepped on your hand,
39:26you've got a bad ankle, you've got an injury,
39:28your first commitment is to yourself and to the team to get in there and treat that injury.
39:32And if you don't stop to sign a person's autograph after 80 minutes of intense football,
39:38and then tomorrow in the papers it might say,
39:40or on the terraces people say, oh, that Martin of Hire, you know, he's horrible,
39:44he doesn't sign the kiddies' autographs, for one incident like that,
39:47they don't, like, step back and look at the situation,
39:50because I like, as I say, I like kids a lot, and I've got lots of time for them,
39:54and, you know, many a time, you know, kids come to my door and disturb me at all hours of
39:58the day and night,
39:59and no matter what I'm doing, you know, I've always, like, got no time for them.
40:03There's a saying in the town that Dougie's done a lot for Martin,
40:05but that is true, he's also done a damn lot for me.
40:09You know, he's helped me side with him, and he's been a nice,
40:13he's no trouble to have as a coach, I've heard people say he's a bit distant,
40:16but he's not, I mean, all the stories, I mean, you always get stories about great players,
40:20but he's got wonderful time for kids, he never knocks a kid away,
40:25I mean, the little lad from next door coming out, he's only three,
40:28he's a smarty, like, from next door to kids, a real smart kid,
40:32and he said to Martin, when he's seen the inside of Martin's hand,
40:34and he says, they're white.
40:37He said, so all the rest of it's muck.
40:40Now, the wife's looked at me, and I just laughed, and Martin laughed.
40:42I mean, but, like, that is it, I mean, a fella, I took him,
40:46I went to a wedding once, he wanted to see him, he said,
40:48I've got to go to this wedding, he said, he's made to mind getting married,
40:50like, so we went, he said, you can come to do it, he said,
40:52it's only in the local.
40:54And the fella whose wedding was got a bit out the, over the top, like,
40:57and he fell, as he fell off the stool, Martin caught him.
41:01So Martin, instead of putting him on the stool,
41:02put him with his back to the wall.
41:04He said, what have you done that for?
41:06He said, well, if you fall that way, he said, I'll be able to catch you.
41:10That's the kind of fella he is, he's, er...
41:11He's a star, but he's very human.
41:13Oh, he is, yeah.
41:14He's, er, you know, I mean, I won't meet many nicer fellas.
41:19What's been the greatest moment for you in rugby league?
41:22The greatest moment for me in rugby league?
41:26That's a pretty hard question,
41:27cos there have been hundreds of great moments.
41:31But obviously, I suppose the two that stick out, or three that stick out, I suppose,
41:37are winning the, the test match against Australia at Wembley,
41:42beating Canberra Raiders, and, er, winning the championship, I suppose, against, against Wigan.
41:47That title decided we had the last game of the season.
41:49But as I say, there's, there's hundreds of more that, you know, I could, I could pick out.
41:53And pulling on a Great Britain jersey, I would imagine.
41:55I see pulling on a Great Britain jersey, yeah, going on the tour,
41:58playing, playing my first game in the Sydney competition, you know,
42:01these are all, like, moments that I remember, but, obviously,
42:04you know, they're for when I retire.
42:06Those things are for when I retire.
42:07And the worst moment?
42:09Oh, obviously, it's got to be dropping that ball in, er,
42:12in New Zealand in the, in the third test of the,
42:15of the summer tour, on the summer tour in 1990.
42:19Yeah, that'll definitely stick out in my mind as, as the worst moment.
42:23Obviously, you know, I think the week before,
42:25having scored the try, which, er, clinched the series, you know,
42:28from such a high to come down to such a low.
42:30But it just, er, it helps you keep perspective, and,
42:34and it's not a good thing to happen, you know,
42:36it could have happened in a game where we ended up winning by 40 points,
42:39and nobody would have mentioned it again.
42:40But, because it happened in such a, a big match,
42:43was, was beamed live from, from the other side of the world,
42:45and, er, and it was the, the, for World Cup points and things like that.
42:49And, even though it did happen in the, the beginning of the game,
42:52I still managed to score a try, you know,
42:54it still hangs over your head, and, and people, you know,
42:57I still, still like to mention it as well, and more and more.
43:00I remember once a reporter saying to me, you know,
43:02did it bug you, the fact you dropped that ball?
43:04I said, it's not the fact that it, I dropped it now, which bugs me.
43:07It's the fact that people keep reminding you, that's the fact that bugs you.
43:10But, as I say, it's, it's part of life, you know.
43:12I'm a firm believer of taking the ups and the downs,
43:14and you've got to soldier on, and, and great things have happened to me,
43:19even since that.
43:21A new season gave rugby fans in Wales the chance to see a fire live in action
43:25in the charity shield against Wigan at Swansea,
43:28and he didn't disappoint them.
43:36In the Lancashire Cup final, poor old Salford were on the wrong end of Martin's magic again,
43:41and it was a try befitting a forward.
43:50The next milestone in the Martin of Fire story was his 100th try in the first division.
43:55He chose Castleford as victims for a new chapter of rugby league history.
43:59He reached the century more quickly than Billy Boston, Tom van Vollenhoven,
44:04or any of the all-time greats.
44:10Rugby league honours his achievements, but that doesn't mean that opponents stand back and applaud.
44:15The game wouldn't be the same if they did.
44:22Soon afterwards, a fire was on his way to the next 100.
44:39And soon after that, on his way to yet another hat-trick.
44:50Norton Park has rejoiced so many times at the sight of a fire in full flight,
44:54but here against Leeds, he's on a Sunday afternoon stroll.
45:01Witnesses supporters share with the man the joy he brings with every try.
45:05There have been lows too, like the Ashes' defeat by Australia,
45:08after Britain won the first turn at Wembley.
45:11But within 24 hours of despair at Elland Road, he was back in club action at Oldham,
45:16doing what he does best, scoring tries and adding to the reputation of being
45:20one of the most exciting players ever to grace rugby league.
45:24Martin of Fire is still only in mid-twenties.
45:27This is only his fourth year in a sport that's booming.
45:30No one personifies its high profile more than Martin of Fire.
45:35Do you think he will go on to become one of the all-time greats?
45:38Well, I think he already has proved that.
45:40He's a top try-scorer in 100 games, league games,
45:44so I think he's proved to everyone already that he is one of the greatest,
45:48so it probably won't be too long after he's probably finished that he's in the Hall of Fame.
45:53I think he's certainly, and I don't think particularly,
45:56he'd want the allocate that he's the greatest, but I think he probably is.
45:58What do you think you'll do when it is all over?
46:00You said he might have another ten years.
46:02Yeah, I'd like to think that I'll have another ten years.
46:04I'm not really looking to retire until I'm at least 35.
46:07John Ferguson in Australia has played on that long,
46:10so I'd like to think that I could do that as well.
46:13But when I retire, I've always been a person that's liked to keep my options open.
46:17I've never been one to say that I'm going to do this in five years,
46:21I'm going to do that in seven years, I'm going to do this in ten years.
46:24I've always liked to think that when I get to that stage,
46:26I've got the option of doing this, that, or the other.
46:29I'd like to keep it like that.
46:30Obviously, coaching is something that I would like to do.
46:34I feel that I do have quite a big input in the teams that I play in now,
46:40whether it be for Great Britain or whether it be for Witness.
46:41Even though I do play on the wing and there is a bit of a stereotype that, you know,
46:47the wingers are only out there and they catch the ball and run.
46:50And that's, I mean, as people who see me play know that that's not the way I play.
46:54And as I say, I've got Doug Lawton to thank for that,
46:58because obviously, you know, he's talked to me a lot,
47:00and we talk about the game quite a lot and things like that.
47:03There's one thing, you'd be able to sit down because of modern technology
47:05and look at a hundred and odd tries, two hundred and odd, three hundred and odd.
47:09Yeah, maybe, you know, I don't know much.
47:12I think I'm getting close to two hundred now.
47:14Obviously, you know, I'd like to get past that.
47:16And as I say, just keep going and going.
47:18I've only been in the game, at the end of the season, will be four years.
47:20So, you know, with another ten to go, you know, who knows how many I could score.
47:24It's a thousand.
47:27We'll have to see, we'll have to see how far I get.
47:37See you later.
47:40We'll be back if you will.
47:42Hey!
47:46We'll have to see how they live.
47:47Bye!
47:50Bye!
47:53Bye!