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.

With regards to who was the best player between Stephens and Robinson is subjective.
I never saw Robinson play as a junior before he went to Wigan, so I am not in a position to comment.
However I was in the south Leeds area at that time having finished playing rugby at amateur level. Robinson was receiving rave notices from various people in the game.
Colin Cooper a great rugby league stalwart who was an ex Hunslet prop forward was involved in the hunslet juniors set up ,thought highly of Robinson. So much so he himself took him up to Leeds. No mean feat from somebody from Hunslet, his thinking his future would be better with a big club. No disrespect to Hunslet. To his surprise and many others he was turned away.
The person who took Robinson to Wigan along with Cooper was an ex Leeds scout. Wigan I gather were surprised that Leeds turned Robinson down.
The first time I saw Robinson play before he made into the Wigan first team, was in Perpignan. Around about 1992, the curtain raiser to the Great Britain France game was I believe Great Britain juniors or intermediates (not quite certain) I don't think he had been at Wigan that long.
My information rightly or wrongly that it was laughton who was instrumental in turning Robinson away.
As for robinsons behavior or ego I have no knowledge of that.
What I do know as a kind gesture Robinson gave Cooper an inscribed watch to thank him for his guidance. Colin treasured that highly.

Did you see both Robinson and Stephens play as juniors? .

I always thought that John Monie had a massive influence on Robinson.
I think that Monie moved him into his own home & he & his wife looked after him.
He certainly rewarded them with his contributions to Wigan's success.

I think that would be quite correct, Monie sorted out some of Wigan team who were giving away cheap penalties.
He made it very clear that they were letting the side down, making them defend more and burning up energy.
I always rated Monie as a coach and a man.

Gptcha,

If you were part of the set up back then could you let us have a list of other legendary players you rejected as not being up to it. I suspect it will be a long list to make up so after Wembley is fine.

If what you posted is true then it's an even worse failing on the coaches that they couldn't help an immature young lad realise his potential, unlike Wigan.

However, what I've heard is what is said above, it was a straight choice between Robinson and the son of the assistant coach and nepotism won out.

Yeah, Keiron Dixon is pretty close in terms of size. Outside chance someone would have turned him in to a hooker.

Always a threat from anywhere on the field with his pace off the mark especially his dummy half scoots. Best player in the world in the other code when he converted, even other converts like Rogers, Tuqiri and Saillor couldn't live with him. I couldn't comment on his attitude having never met him.

Saw a fair bit of Robinson, didn't see much of Stephens in the flesh until he turned up at Leeds.

He was the more complete half-back of the two for definite. Robinson had all the physical attributes to be a good player, but he was never going to be a scrum-half in the way that scrum halves were expected to be back then - an organiser, a ball-player, a kicker. Stephens had the edge at that age in all those departments.

Had Robinson come along ten years later, when the likes of Rob Burrow had changed the perception to an extent of what a scrum-half could be, then maybe the outcome would have been different. Like I say, credit to whoever at Wigan recognised that Robinson's abilities could be used in other positions.

You surprise me, for some reason I assumed you were on the younger end of the scale.
When Robinson was attracting interest from all and sundry the year was approximately 1990/ 1991.
Do the mathematics as they say.
One of the biggest ones that got away stories was Mick Shoebottom. Ken Trail the great Wakefield coach wanted to sign mick, his chairman at Wakefield was dragging his heels,in the end he gave ken the green light to sign mick.
Ken drove over to micks place of work I think it would have been bison concrete,the gateman said to ken if you have come to sign mick he has caught the bus to headingley, he is going to sign for Leeds.
I spoke to mick ,in ken trails pub in hunslet many years after mick had to give up the game.
I asked him on more than one occasion ,if ken would have got to you before you caught the bus up to headingley ,would you have signed for Wakefield. He never gave an answer either way, he just used to laugh.

Some interesting bits of info and stories in reply to my query (even if I don't know a lot of the names!). I like it when you all volunteer your knowledge in such ways - your wisdom and wiseness is valued (by me at least)

The guy that signed him was "superscout" Eric Hawley, a Leeds man working at Wigan. Hawley also signed a young Ellery Hanley from Corpus Christi in Leeds earlier in his career when he worked for Bradford Northern. Maybe Leeds should have paid more attention to the quality of their scouts back then. To miss out on 2 of the greatest players of the modern era from your home town was unfortunate to say the least.

Eric Hawley also scouted for Leeds, but I think he was something of a freelancer at times. I remember talking to him in the early 70's and he spent hours on the touchlines at both school and local club matches.

IIRC David Ward was the Leeds 1st team coach when Robinson was turned away. It apparently revolved around a game Robinson wanted to play with his current teammates that clashed with a trial match being held at Headingley. Robinson chose his mates and Leeds passed on a future great.

I have in the past posted a picture on here showing a very young Jason Robinson attending a colts training session at Headingley run by one of Ray Abbey or Norman Smith or possibly both.

Think it would have been Norman Smith back then, working from memory. Think Robinson is about five years younger than me, so it would have been around 1990ish?