Only possible as far as his personality didn't affect his professional life. Others seem to think it did. If it did then the detachment you speak of is not practical.

I'm sure a succession of Joey Barton's managers would have been thrilled had they been able to detach the player from the person, to provide a recent example.

Nail on the head.

Spent most of his time during his wifes illness at the white swan in tadcaster. And an attractive blonde landlady

Schofield was IMO a champion player whose services to the sport were recognised via the honour system with an OBE, he earned 46 full International caps and skippered his country - including to a series win - and eventually was recognised as the World's Best Player when awarded the Golden Boot for 1990 off the back of a series win in New Zealand (arguably would have been a 3-0 but for Offiah's mega gaff in the Test that doubled as a World Cup qualifier) and Schofield would also that year play a key part in the 12 man win V the Australians at Wembley after Edwards had got himself sent off for a quite disgraceful challenge on Brad Clyde.

Offiah and Edwards were still champion players also IMO despite those instances. It would take more than the occasional brain-fart moments to over-write a career of enduring excellence on the field but perhaps thats just my warped view.

Domestically Schofield was awarded the Man Of Steel (only the second time a player had won the award while at Leeds - he remains only one of three in its thirty five year history to do so) he topped the try scoring charts in both hemispheres becoming the first Brit to do so in the ARL.



Wonder is right. Wigan finished top of the League seven points clear of the field, they also won the Regal Trophy beating Warrington in the Final 40-10, (Leeds had exited at Headingley to Castleford at the QF stage (14-34) while Wigan accounted for Castleford in the SF (34-6)) before also winning the Challenge Cup defeating Leeds at Wembley 30-10. They also competed well with the touring Australians before going down 20-30 while Leeds had been demolished 6-48 in the tourists previous hit-out.



I couldn't care less what Schofield has said privately or via the media since he retired, that won't ever alter in any way my opinion of him as a Leeds (and GB) player.

I wonder just how effective those fine club players would have fared if having to face the Wigan sides Schofield's Leeds were frequently up against. I doubt the overall record would have been greatly improved ...... if improved at all. The players you mention have only ever been exposed domestically to a salary capped opponent and lest we forget the cap has removed the ability of the top club/s to build squads likes those seen prior to the formation of SL and Wigan set the bar incredibly high as can be seen by their unprecedented trophy haul.



Schofield was a regular pundit on Boots 'N All and by regular I mean a fixture at one point as Hemmings once announced his capture for the season. I'm not sure why he wasn't retained but I don't recall him being particularly outspoken or controversial (perhaps that was the problem) in his regular appearances although he held pretty strict views on the use of drugs in sport. Any transgressor should acquire a lifetime ban and Schofield himself claimed he would never even use parecetemol.

In his book he says Doug Laughton put a stop to it.

I recall him, pre SL days, advocating Leeds emulate the Chicago basketball side and become the "Leeds Bulls".

Good to hear Schofield's moral indignation on drug cheats in sport, even if I prefer not to take moral guidance from convicted drink drivers.

Everyone makes mistakes, like Drink Driving for example, and everyone deserves a second chance. I have heard lots an lots of other first hand accounts of the bloke's conduct, and witnessed it myself when in his company. He's not a nice person and has a significantly inflated opinion of himself.

He also puts waaaay too much salt in his soup..........

Schofield had a penchant for hat-tricks and if I recall correctly that extended to his drink-drive convictions.

While I don't condone in any way anyone getting behind the wheel while being over the prescribed limit I'm unconvinced that alcohol is in any way performance enhancing. That's been my experience at any rate.

That was 1994 and Schofield had been dropped by Ellery as GB coach so didn't play at Wembley. Goulding was the hero that day.

Thanks for the correction. I wanted to get in references to mistakes both Offiah and Edwards had made in the glorious Golden Boot winning year but obviously was trying too hard there.

The 1990 Wembley Test and series was the one Schofield partnered Andy Gregory in then? - Edwards didn't feature. Must have been the Paul Eastwood double try game then. Still arguably the closest GB have come to wrestling the Ashes from the auld enemy since 1970 and Schofield was very much to the fore under Reilly. GB wise don't think I've ever been as gutted as I was at Old Trafford as Jackson bought the Stuart dummy and Meninga muscled his way past Gibson to get on the end of the match clinching pass.

It's not just your warped view, seems we agree on this.

What isn't arguable is that GB lost that series 2 1 and got a shollacking in the 3rd test.

GB have been "that close" many times since 1990.

Well, I might as well tell you now. Most of the current Rhinos lot may all be internationals who have won five SL titles and 3 WCC's. But as far as I'm concerned, the first thing they can do for me is to chuck all their rings and all their caps and all their pots and all their pans into the biggest f***ing dustbin they can find, because they've never won any of them by being any good. They've done it all by being bloody ordinary.

Schoey by plenty - a world class player but more importantly, a world class international player - the primary yardstick for measuring any players world class credentials.

Its nice to be important......

He has spoken the truth

Whats your problem?

It wasn't a shellacking in that 3rd test but they were well beaten in the end 14-0.


They were closer in 1992 down under. Lost the 1st Test 6-22, won the 2nd Test 33-10 (masterminded by Schofield) and were edged out in the decider 16-10 (another great Schofield performance). I still haven't forgotten ET's try-saving tackle on Martin Offiah.

Since Schofield's international retirement, we've been nowhere near to beating the Australians in an Ashes Series or any other tournament for that matter. In fact, since Schofield's retirement, we've endured the heaviest defeats in our international history, like 64-10, 44-4, 52-4, 46-16... etc... Peacock played in all of those.

I was there (as were probably a lot of guys on here) It was p!$$ wet that day. Suited the Australians and their ball control game better than GB, and still it was tight until they broke through on our left while Carl Gibson off the field injured. We were down to 12 men at the time. After that we just couldn't get into the game and control the ball enough in the wet to exert pressure on them.
Pressure in the end got to GB, not surprising as the hangover from '82 and '86 must have been a killer. Our chance was in the second test, and unlike on any other occaision since, GB very nearly took it.

I agree with the comments above, two Ashes series revolved around small incidents at Old Trafford 1990 and Brisbane 1992, even the 1992 World Cup final was nip and tuck all the way through and came down to one slip by Alan Hunte that let Renouf in and made the difference.

When you think about the cricket Ashes 2005 and England winning by 2 runs at Edgbaston in a game that could easily have gone the other way and England been 2-0 down and no way back, those rugby Ashes in the early 1990s could have led to a very different history, GB could have won back to back Ashes had a bit of luck gone their way in key moments.

I do think the Aussies were the better team though, as they showed by beating us convincingly in some of the Tests, but we were close enough that we could have won. I still think that era was the golden age of rugby league, from around 1988 to 1995, in terms of who was playing the game and the amount of greats. More recently there has been a golden age in Australia with all the superb outside backs that have been produced but the game has never been as well balanced with legends in both hemispheres as it was back then.

I agree we were close in 92. Still a 2-1 series defeat however you cut it. How many of those have there been since 1992? In fact 2-1 to Australia was the result of 5 consecutive Ashes series betweebn1988 and 2001 wasn't it?

Schofield won 1 series against the Kiwis didn't he, just like Burrow who won man of the series?

New to this thread but I suspect some anti Schofield bias and some pro Burrow blinkers.



Schofield was in possession of far more skills than the still redoubtable little fella you champion. Schofield was a pleasure to watch and kept me coming to Headingley more than any other. The fact that Kirke for example has gained more winners medals than one of the games's legends is one of the cruel ironies of sport.

How can there be bias in the cold hard facts I posted?

Isn't that an oxymoron

schoey was a world class poacher centre
was he an international class stand off , not sure

was the 93 semi against widnes rumours abounded about dressing room fights

he may be a rent a gob but hardly controversial to say the present side is too old and playing e. The wigan side is not as class as past ones but very well coached.

Against NZ, Schofield won 2 (1990 and 1993) and drew two (1985 and 1992). GB 'won' both of the drawn series on aggregate! He missed 1989's series win through injury.

Seriously?!

I distinctly recall Schofield taking a lead role at stand-off and as tour vice-captain to Mike Gregory in New Zealand in 1990 (a tour beset with GB withdrawals as certain players didn't appear to fancy it or the PNG leg that preceded it) Schofield either scoring or having a hand in almost all the test tries scored. Gregory and Schofield were IMO the outstanding players on that tour. Either would have been deserving of a man of the series award if it existed.

I also recall him lifting a trophy at Headingley after another series win V New Zealand. I didn't appreciate all the bling on show but each to their own. IIRC the third test was marked by a try in the dressing room corner by a young Andy Farrell, possibly on debut.

Open to correction though as I'm the first to admit the International memories are somewhat less reliable than the Leeds ones.