Just watched Jason Robinson on Sports Life Stories - not being in Yorkshire my whole life or a Union fan I knew very little about him prior.

Anyway, didn't realise he was from / raised in Leeds. How come he ending up going direct to Wigan from Hunslet boys? Were Leeds never interested early on, or later on before he switched over to Union? In talking about his switch he sounded like a proper Leeds person in his condescending attitudes (even at the time) to southern rugby.

The programme was interesting though didn't really ask either of those questions - I figured some on here would likely be able to enlighten me a lot more than most. Thanks

IIRC he had a trial with Leeds as a half back but, we (Laughton?) knocked him back.

Yeah be we got that curly haired kid instead...stephenson was it? So all worked out just fine!!!

Robinson was a half-back at the time and we signed Gareth Stephens instead. Iirc his dad Gary was on the coaching staff at the time (might actually still have been playing. Either way was a pal of Dougies).

Was a good programme the Robinson one, including a bit on the legendary 10p-a-pint Mondays at the Rooftop Gardens. Am sure that helped make Jason the player he became.

The Robinson/Stephens decision was made before Doug came to Leeds. His view was that Leeds should have signed them both. However with Leeds as it was then it's likely his abilities wouldn't have been nurtured and he would have fallen by the wayside so Wigan was a better place for him. A massive shame he wasted his talents and retired from Rugby League at such a young age.

I don't see it like that so much myself.I think League got to see the best of Robinson for a long period, he achieved all he could.He was a key member of the great Dominant Wigan side when he broke through in the early 90's winning the lot.Figured prominantly on the international stage too and signed off from league with a MOM performance in the GF against us in 98.For him to then go on and have such a long and distinguished Union career, playing for the lions, scoring a try in a winning WC final and becoming a legend in that code as well as league i don't reckon there is much he wishes to change about his career path. He is the man many have tried to emulate since by crossing over but nobody has come close really to having the impact he had.

I always thought the decision to sign Stephens over Robinson was made by Bob Pickles...

The story i heard when i was younger was that Robinson had a bad attitude at Leeds and when he turned up once late for training without his boots was sent away and told not to bother coming back. Always took it as the reason.

Whatever the reason, i agree with Ghost99, 100% the right thing he signed with Wigan at that time.They made him the ultimate pro he went on to become and we all know about our set up in those days.

Laughton had nothing to do with it. I was also part of the junior set up then, and Gareth Stephens was a miles better player, and that was all It was. Robinson wasn't as good as he thought he was then until someone got a hold of him, and his ego stunk.

Such a shame that lads from Robinson's background didn't/don't/can't have the maturity we all had at his age.
Shades (sic) of Hanley still maybe?



Personally, I was delighted from a club perspective to see the back of him when he joined Bath he was a constant thorn in our side.
What made it even better was that Robinson well & truly shoved Stuart Barnes' & Steven Jones' anti-RL bias up their back passages when he proved what a great rugby player he was.

He was nowhere near Stephens as a half-back, that's a certainty.

Credit to whoever at Wigan recognised that his ability in space meant they could make a world class winger out of him, and to Va'aiga Tuigamala for introducing him to religion and stabilising his home life and attitude.

I wonder what position Robinson would play now if he was a junior coming through? He'd probably be too small for the wing IMO. Full back would be my bet.