Stefan Ratchford was always built right for rugby league according to his former St Cuthberts coach

Wigan Warriors travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium this Saturday to take on the Wolves in a testimonial game for the England international.

Keith Robinson coached Ratchford from an early age at St Cuthberts, alongside former Wigan player Malcolm Swan.

He said: “I started coaching him when he was under 7s, with me and Malcolm winning one of the cups with that age group. Stefan was always built quite stockily when they were young, the smaller lads tend to get pushed around at that age, but he did the business.

“Some players can be a little bit timid, no matter how big they, but Stefan was very confident.

“In that team he was always the best skill wise. There were others who were faster and tougher than him because it is a hard area around the club. Don’t get me wrong, Stefan was tough, but we had one or two who were really tough.

“His mum and his dad always used to come watching him. He also had an older brother who was decent, and a younger brother who was good too.

“He left St Cuthberts at around U11s, when he moved to St Pats, like a lot do. You start seeing the talent more as players get older.”

Robinson says he always enjoys seeing Ratchford play and knowing he had an early influence on his career.

“It’s something nice to share with your friends when a match comes on, you can say that you’ve coached them. When I’ve seen him, he’s always had a chat with me. He’s always knocked about with his old teammates and kept his head screwed on," he added.

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