Super League champion Richard Mathers returns to Leeds Rhinos to help develop young full-backs

Mathers was Rhinos’ No 1 when they won their first Super League title, beating Bradford Bulls at Old Trafford in 2004.

He starred in the famous World Club Challenge win over Canterbury Bulldogs the following year and moved to Gold Coast Titans at the end of 2006.

He then had spells with Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, London Broncos and Bradford Bulls before retiring in 2016.

He worked on the commercial staff at Warrington and is now national account manager for Goodyear Commercial Tyres UK, but insisted Rhinos remain close to his heart and he is keen to give something back to his first club.

Mathers was approached by player pathway development manager John Bastian last week and spoke to coach Richard Agar - who he played under at Wakefield - before taking the voluntary role.

“John told me they’ve got a really talented crop of full-backs, from the scholarship to the academy and would I do some specialist one-on-one coaching with them,” Mathers said.

“I was flattered to be asked. I spoke to Rich out of respect and asked him if he was happy for me to do it - as we are close - and he said he thought it was a brilliant idea.”

According to Mathers, the technical nature of the full-back role means one-on-one coaching is particularly valuable. He explained: “It’s no disrespect to any coach, but I think full-back is such a specialist position, if you’ve not played it, it is really difficult to coach.

“You can coach the basics of it, but the intricacies are really complex.

“I liken it to a goalkeeper in football - and a goalkeeper has a goalkeeping coach.”

The 38-year-old, who was born in Leeds, said he had no aspirations to coach, but insisted: “I always said I’d like to work with and mentor young full-backs. To have that call, completely out of the blue, was great.”

Mathers helped out at his first training session last week and admitted it was an emotional moment, returning to his professional roots.

“I had not been to Kirkstall [Rhinos’ training base] since I left,” he said.

“I walked in and there are tributes on the walls to Billy Watts, John Ahm and Scrapper [Steve Carter], who were absolutely the heartbeat of the place and are sadly no longer with us.

“Seeing all that, I got a massive lump in my throat. It was lovely to go back.

“Glynn Bell [Rhinos’ equipment manager] had got me some training gear so I had Rhinos kit on for the first time in 16 years. I couldn’t take a smile off my face.”

Mathers will spend around one day per week working with Rhinos’ young full-backs, but will also be doing a question-and-answer session for the whole academy squad this week.

He revealed he kept a journal of tips and ideas from various coaches, team-mates and opponents throughout his playing career, which he reckons can help players coming through now.

“Rich Agar featured heavily in that,” he said.

“He helped me develop loads - stuff at 27 that I’d not been taught before.

“There’s also stuff from Tony Smith; it’s not just positional work and skill work, it’s attitude and sacrifice.

“I put a bit of a tip list together for full-backs and took that in and the coaches - Mark Butterill, Chev [Walker] and John Bastian - were happy for me to share that with the players.

“John is passionate about having the right people, who have come through the system and love the club, passing on to the new generation what it is to be a Leeds player and what you have to be to do that.

“Not all of them [the academy squad] will make it, but it’s the ones who sacrifice the most and work hardest at training who will make it.

“One thing I want to do when the matches start is video sessions with the full-backs.

“We’ll look at the video and the positioning and ask them ‘what were you thinking here, why were you stood there?’.

“I can give them stuff I picked up along the way, all of which was pretty much self taught, barring snippets here and there.

“If you can give a 15-17-year-old everything you’ve learned, surely - if they’ve got the talent and they take some of it in - it’s going to be a massive benefit.”

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. You'll enjoy unlimited access to the latest on Leeds United, Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity, as well as other West Yorkshire rugby league clubs. With our sports digital subscription, you'll also see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times and get exclusive content. Click here to subscribe.