KNOWN as a hard man on the football field, Stuart Pearce never thought he was good enough to have taken up a career in the oval ball game.

Having been brought up on rugby union, a fellow football coach showed the Warrington Wolves fan and former England football manager the ways of the 13-man code.

“I used to play rugby union at school, when you’re brought up in the south of England you don’t really have that association with rugby league,” said Pearce, who clubs included Nottingham Forest and Manchester City as both player and manager.

“A friend of mine and a fellow football coach, Steve Wigley, comes from east Manchester so he has a real affinity with rugby league and taught me about it.

“From there it was just a case of going to games and I found it to be so refreshing.

“It’s such a physical game and I think it’s a real shame that it hasn’t spread across more of the country.”