Ex-Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane opens up about being 'punched and kicked' as a child... by his own dad

Shaun Wane has spoken candidly about the physical abuse he suffered during his childhood - at the hands of his father.
Shaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last yearShaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last year
Shaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last year

The former Wigan coach recalls urinating in his pants during beatings, which left him bruised and bleeding.

Wane said the physical punishments were his dad's way of dealing with him and his brother Tony.

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"We got in quite a bit of trouble, pinched things, and when word got back to my dad his way of doing it was to lock me in a room and butcher me for 20 minutes," Wane told the Out Of Your League podcast.

Shaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last yearShaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last year
Shaun Wane left Wigan with his third Grand Final success last year

"It was full on. Full on.

"You're in the corner being punched and kicked, 20 minutes, non-stop, (urinating in) your pants, black eyes, cut lips, stuff like that.

"We brought it on, my brother Tony and I did stupid things.

"(But) I just remember feeling really bad for many nights, in bed with my two brothers... it's not a nice place to be."

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He added: "My dad was bigger than I am, and that was the way he was brought up so he thought it was the norm.

"I though it happened to everybody, until I got a bit older."

Wane has previously spoken of his tough upbringing but went into far greater detail during the fresh interview with the BBC's Will Perry and Salford and ex-Wigan forward Mark Flanagan.

He left home when he was 15 after his dad discovered he had called in a bomb-scare to his school. Wane moved in with his girlfriend Lorraine, who is now his wife and mother of his two daughters.

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"It's not done me any harm," said Wane, who made amends with his dad during his playing career. "The way I look at it, it made me a better dad. I didn't want them to feel the way I felt."

Wane, who left his role as Wigan coach last year and works part-time for Scotland RU, said the memories resurfaced during conversations with Tony when he was on his deathbed, battling cancer.

Though he spoke with apparent candor - and without self-pity - Wane said he's only revealed "five per cent" of details of his childhood.

The Out of Your League interview is available on YouTube (see embedded link) and as a podcast.

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