‘Make best of what you’ve got – I didn’t’

During the 1980s Milton was arguably the most talented homegrown player to wear the chocolate blue and gold but forever, it seemed, he was displaying his immense skills in the shadow of his father (Dick Huddart) and his own self-destruct button.

Heavy-drinking, lack of dedication and a self-confessed chip on not one but both shoulders led to his fall from rugby grace.

Dick (Tiger) Huddart, who has lived in Australia for the last 25 years, is rated by many good judges as the best attacking second-row forward ever to play the game and a living legend at three clubs, Whitehaven, St Helens and St George Dragons in Sydney.

The talented but enigmatic Milton played for Whitehaven, Carlisle, Canberra Raiders in Australia, and finally Leigh.

At the height of his career with Whitehaven, Milton, who had his early upbringing in Sydney, won an England cap in ‘84-85 against Wales, an international baptism which he hoped would prove the stepping stone to achieve his ambition of a Great Britain tour of Australia.

The chance to emulate his all-time great father, a star of two Ashes-winning tours, never materialised.

In a remarkably frank interview, Milton Huddart revealed for the first time how, like Jason Robinson, he practically drank himself to a standstill and still managed to play the game at a high level.

“I didn’t do myself justice, I drank too much (around six pints a night), I suppose I was an idiot because sometimes I could hardly walk never mind run.

“The drinking was terrible, at one time I would be out every night with the likes of John Bulman (Haven team mate) but I was a professional athlete and should have known better.

“I’m not saying I had a drink problem but I lacked confidence. A lot of it was Dutch courage and it involved confidence. John Bulman was the best winger I played with but the problem with John was that he didn’t know how good he was.”

The same could be said of you! — “I suppose so. I was brilliant in one match and average the next. I couldn’t understand why; it was only when I stopped drinking that I realised how big of a problem I had. If I knew then what I know now I would have been a lot better player. I lacked dedication in spades. No wonder I under-achieved.”

You always looked like you had the air of confidence: “I know I looked self assured on the field and issued a lot of stick but I did lack a lot of self belief. Nerves used to attack me badly before any big match, it sometimes killed the game for me from the Thursday onwards. I was bad that way, by the time I got on the field the energy had gone out of me and it was 10 or 15 minutes before I was getting into the game. It’s one of the reasons I was glad to finish. There were no more sleepless nights.”

What about your one and only international appearance for England, a match you won comfortably 28-9 at Ebbw Vale? “It was the best and worst day of my life. I got to Wales and to be honest I don’t think I really enjoyed it. I was with all these top players, including Ellery Hanley, and I felt an inferiority complex. I remember training with them at Huddersfield and hanging out of the touch rugby because I didn’t feel worthy. Anyhow, I played at loose forward and after the final whistle I felt depressed. I didn’t do the things that got me there. I had been given one chance and I thought I’d blown it. It sounds dramatic, but my career went downhill after that. I was still being pig obstinate and didn’t knuckle down.”

Was it not a strange move to go to Carlisle? — “It was one of those fits of pique. This had a lot to do with Gordon Cottier. We’d just had a great win in the First Division and the week after we were sitting on the team bus waiting for Gordon to go to Salford. Something happened concerning Gordon, he said he wasn’t going to Salford and he didn’t. We had never won at The Willows, we had a young side and we were beating them 18-0 only for them to come back and beat us 20-18. I was so disappointed because we had the chance to create a little bit of history so I said I’d never play with Gordon again, although to this day we have stayed good friends.

“I put in a transfer request and within a few days I’d gone to Carlisle, with Whitehaven getting about £20,000. It was a mistake, a knee-jerk reaction. Looking back I should have waited my time. Alex Murphy came up with Leigh soon afterwards and said: ‘What were you doing, we were looking at you.’

“I had chips on both my shoulders and just wanted away. At Carlisle it was the lowest point of my career. Among the players were a lot of mercenaries, old Yorkshireman who were just in it for the money, but the club had paid a lot of money for me, they were expecting big things and I didn’t give them my best.”

Why did you lack this self-confidence? — “I have always felt (and I don’t know whether or not it was the Dick Huddart thing) that I was never judged on myself. I was either as good as my dad or rubbish. With a lot of people there were no in-betweens. If I had been Smith or Jones and not Huddart they might have said I was a good lad. I always felt a weight of expectations. At the time I didn’t think it bothered me but looking back it did.”

So was your dad’s fame more of a handicap? — “On balance, no. I have thought about this a million times. I think the name Huddart did get me noticed to start with. Obviously I didn't compare with my dad but even now it sounds daft that some people think I only got in the England team because of him.

“I never saw my father play and I had no relationship with him, really, although I had a good upbringing and my mam was special. I know I was definitely hard to handle because of these chips on my shoulders. I think I was a bit insecure and wanted to be told I was good and valued as a player.

“Looking back now it’s like two different people. I don’t recognise the person I was. My life is brilliant now, I have a lovely wife and daughter. I only have a social drink in the house and I am a lot more settled and content.”

What were your main attributes as a player? — ”I think I could see things maybe a couple of tackles ahead, I had a decent pass, I could kick, I wasn’t slow but most of all I suppose it was the vision.”

Influences on your checkered career? — “Alan O’Fee used to help me when I was a young lad at Kells, he was more of a life coach than a rugby coach. When I went to Whitehaven there was Phil Kitchin and John (“Spanky”) McFarlane. “Spanky” was not the most technical of coaches but he got a lot out of us and we respected him. He didn’t believe in big game plans but he got you fit and didn’t overload you with information. I loved “Spanky’s” famous team talk: ‘If you win you can go out tonight and get drunk and have a bit left over....... if you get beat on losing money you can still get drunk and have nothing left.”

Do you like the game today? — “I wouldn’t like to play it. I think the players are marvelous athletes but I don’t think the emphasis is on skill any more, you are more lauded for the least errors you make than the good things you do. I think the fun is being coached out of it but I have never been a great lover of coaching.”

You must have exasperated people. — “Oh, I must have done, the directors more than the coaches. I was a pain in the backside and if I could I would apologise to the likes of Kenny Shepherd, Ron Batty and David Wigham. Maybe I was arrogant, thinking that if it wasn’t done my way, then ‘sod it’ I’ll walk away, but the problems were more off the field. I always tried to do my best at training and in matches.

“I suppose if you said to lads now that you will play three seasons in the top flight, reach the semi-final of the Challenge Cup (under Billy Benyon at Leigh post Carlisle), play for a top club in Australia (Canberra Raiders) get capped for England and captain your county, they would be satisfied, but I knew I could have done more.

“It was only a game, I couldn't be happier today, but at times it does eat away at me that I under-achieved. If there’s a lesson to be learned for any young kids out there it’s to have a go when you can and make the best of what you’ve got. I didn’t; I hit the self-destruct and I always had that chip on my shoulder.”