Kris Radlinski details Wigan Warriors' meticulous Bevan French recovery plan after Challenge Cup win

Wigan Warriors chief executive Kris Radlinski has revealed the extraordinary lengths the club went to in order to help Bevan French return for Saturday’s Challenge Cup final triumph at Wembley.

French had not played since suffering a significant hamstring injury in Wigan’s win over Toulouse Olympique on March 7, with the club initially announcing the Australian would be sidelined for around 16 weeks.

However, the Warriors’ star man returned after just 12 weeks, coming off the bench in Saturday’s 40-10 victory over Hull KR and marking his comeback with a try less than three minutes after entering the action.

His inclusion in Matt Peet’s squad came as a surprise when the 21-man squad was announced in the build-up to Wembley, but Radlinski has revealed the club had always targeted a return around the Challenge Cup final.

“There has been ‘will he or won’t he?’ and the reality is, we’ve known all along it’s 12 weeks,” Radlinski explained to Wigan Today. “We announced more because we wanted to take that ‘will he or won’t he?’ out of it.

“But at some point, he was always going to come back into our team, and Bev’s done a brilliant job on himself, getting himself ready and committing to a recovery programme and then ultimately, he delivered a strong message that he thought was right.”

French’s comeback story became one of the main talking points of Wembley week, but Radlinski believes it had another significant benefit for Wigan.

While much of the attention focused on whether French would return, 20-year-old Jack Farrimond quietly prepared for the biggest game of his career.

The homegrown halfback produced a sensational performance, scoring two tries and collecting the Lance Todd Trophy for being the man of the match.

“We didn’t plan for the Bevan story to overtake the week, but what it did, it took pressure off Jack to do what he did,” said Radlinski.

“There is a story to be told about what’s happened over the last 12 weeks, but what it did was take so much pressure off a young lad.

“Jack kept his head down, and he doesn’t feel fear or anything - he just gets out there and performs, so it’s one for the ages.”

French’s rehabilitation programme was one of the most detailed Radlinski has encountered during his decades at the club.

The Warriors chief executive praised both the player and Wigan’s medical team for the work carried out behind the scenes.

“The best doctors and the best physios in the world don’t know a player’s body like a player knows his body,” he said.

“So as soon as he said ‘yeah, I’m ready to go’, then it was on. I reckon it was about 10 days (before the final when he told us he was ready).

“We had markers all along the way of things he needed to hit, and we had specialists and opinions.

“I have to say, in all my life in rugby league and at Wigan, the programme that we put together was just different level.

“I would imagine (Lionel) Messi and Argentina would get a similar kind of programme! That comes with investment, and it costs money, but we put a marquee recovery plan for our marquee player - and it worked.”

French’s return inevitably carried some risk given the severity of the hamstring injury. However, Radlinski said the club’s faith in the player never wavered.

“It was a risk, but it comes with trust,” he added. “If Bevan thought he wasn’t up to it, he’d put the team before himself and he wouldn’t have put himself forward.

“The bloke writes his own scripts, he doesn’t have a nerve in his body and the game was won when he came on, but he lifted the energy.

“I love a player playing with a smile on his face and he just looked like he was in the place he wanted to be. In life, when that happens, good things happen.”

French’s appearance from the bench was met with huge cheers from the thousands of Wiganers inside Wembley, highlighting just how popular he has become since arriving at the club in 2019.

Radlinski believes his impact stretches far beyond what he produces on the field.

“There’s been a lot of talk about what defines a marquee player,” Radlinski continued.

“Is he a good player? Does he sell jerseys? Does he get you in other publications? He does it all - and he’s calm with it.

“The best thing about him is that he’s the ultimate teammate and he does the unselfish things, but he can flick a smile, and he can be in vogue - he’s got that much about him.

“We’re lucky to have him as a skilful player, but we’re lucky to have him as an unselfish teammate because these guys love him for doing the not so flashy jobs as well.”

Next up for Wigan is a historic trip to Paris to face Catalans Dragons at the Stade Jean-Bouin - home of Stade Français and Paris FC - on Saturday.