Exclusive: Lee Radford on playing for Myton, lining up with his two sons, his stint at Northampton Saints, Scotland excitement, and Lions ambitions.
Lee Radford played for Myton Warriors alongside sons Brad and Logan. (Image: Radford family)
Coaching at the elite level and playing in the community game, Scotland’s Lee Radford can do it all.
The 47-year-old went back to his roots last weekend, appearing for Hull-based Myton Warriors against Moldgreen in the National Conference League – an amateur rugby league competition.
And Radford, who played for hometown Hull FC and Bradford Bulls in a glittering pro career where he won it all, soon rolled back the years.
Playing in the halves, the down-to-earth former back-row forward scored a try in the 32-10 victory, appearing alongside his sons Logan and Brad – the latter of which got the Man of the Match award.
“I spent all game telling one of them (Logan) to get onside,” Radford joked in an exclusive interview. “He was next to me as my back row and he was three metres offside every play of the ball.
“It was slightly frustrating. It was like being back at home, really.
“But yeah, it was a boyhood dream of mine to play at half-back. I couldn’t have picked a hotter day to play or a harder ground to play on, but apart from that it was class.”
On appearing for Myton, Radford, who coached Hull FC to back-to-back Challenge Cups in 2016 and 2017 continued: “The lads mentioned it when they both signed. They played together a few years ago at East Hull, and now they’re at Myton.
“They asked me to have a run-out when the union season finished and I said I’d have a go.
“I thought it was just tongue and cheek, but in being on tour for six weeks, you’re in the gym an awful lot, so I ended up getting in decent shape and thought I’d have a crack at it.
“It was weird. I went to a Bradford Bulls get-together two weeks ago for Joe Vagana and Tevita Vaikona, who had come over from New Zealand and Tonga, and I was speaking with Robbie Paul and Rob Parker, who had both played in charity games recently and both snapped their Achilles.
“In the back of my head I’m thinking, ‘Oh god,’ but to get through the game injury-free was class.”
And on his try, Radford explained it in all its glory. He said: “I was 60 metres out and beat 14 defenders and chipped the ball over them – that’s how class it was. No, I’m kidding. I was 10 metres out and just fell over the try line.”
Myton have proven to be a popular choice for players coming out of the pro game. Alongside the Radford lads, who both played for the Hull FC academy, Kye Armstrong and Lennon Bursell, who both have senior appearances to their name, featured, as did Tyler Eccles, who was in the FC academy earlier this year.
“He was outstanding, Kye,” Radford said. “He played really well. It’s great seeing those lads just playing for enjoyment.
“I love the fact that they come out of the pro game and go back and play amateur. We lose so many players; they quit once that door shuts for them, so it’s class that they all had a run about.”
Radford played for Myton after his first tour as a full-time member of Scotland’s coaching setup.
Now an established defence coach, ‘Radders’ left Northampton Saints after their Prem victory back in May for the Scots after what has been a meteoric rise in rugby union following stints coaching in league at Hull, Castleford Tigers and Samoa.
In his three years at the Saints, Radford helped steer the club to two Prem victories, with a European final sandwiched in between.
“It’s been a game changer for me,” Radford said. “Not only the transition but the club I went to. I was very fortunate to go to Northampton. They are an unbelievable club, well-run, and unbelievably organised.
“I also landed at a time when the playing group’s average age was 24. There were some unbelievable players already at the club, and some even better ones coming through, so it’s been fantastic.”
On helping to turn the Saints into winners, he continued: “They’ve always been a very attack-focused team and prior to getting there, I remember going to meet Martin Gleeson over in Wigan and his words were they need to find some DNA in defence, and if they can do that, they can be the complete package. That’s what we set out to do.
“My first year there we won the Prem. We then got to the semis of Europe in year two. We made a real emphasis on going for Europe. We got to the European Cup final and unfortunately got beat by Bordeaux.
“It’s very difficult to do both, to play in Europe and win the domestic comp. Bordeaux have a salary cap of 23 million euros, and they won it again this year, but they didn’t make the eight in France.
“It’s unbelievably tough to fight on both fronts. So yeah, year one we won the Prem, year two we got to the European final, and then year three we won the Prem again.”
Scotland and the opportunity to coach in a Rugby Union World Cup presents a natural progression for Radford, who is gunning for the top spot and has his eye on the Lions in the future.
“I think it was due to the similarities in how we defend,” he said when asked how his move to the Scots came about. “We are very aligned in how Scotland defended, in terms of the system and what we went after.
“So for that reason, they wanted to keep a bit of cohesion after Steve left in what they were doing and the direction they were going in.
“I had been up there a couple of times and spent some time in camp with them. I just got the phone call out of the blue.
“I’ve just come back from my first tour, which was class. A week in Spain, and then we flew out to Buenos Aires in Argentina and then to Pretoria in South Africa and then flew back into Edinburgh to play Fiji. It’s been a fantastic summer.
“For me, the Lions are the end goal. That’s what everyone is striving for. The magnitude of those tours is phenomenal.
“But I’m only three years into my transition and I’m still learning every day. We’ve got a World Cup coming up in 2027 with Scotland and I can’t wait for that.
“The Six Nations was also an unbelievable experience; I can only describe it as having five back-to-back Challenge Cup finals. Just huge games every week. Sell-out crowds.
“The build-up and the atmosphere are incredible. It’s pretty special. But yeah, I can’t wait for the World Cup. Everyone in camp says the World Cups are special. It will be class.”
Radford’s time in rugby union has opened his eyes. He’s proudly Hull through and through, starting his coaching journey at Hull R.U.F.C, but it’s the world that’s now his oyster.
“This sport is massive,” Radford added. “As a leaguer, and I include myself in this, you’re stuck in this M62 corridor, and you think life doesn’t evolve past that.
“But then you go to Ireland and play Leinster in a semi-final in front of 82,000 people. Dublin is blue and white, like every house has a Leinster flag flying out there. You don’t realise the scale of the sport.
“Likewise when you go to France, it’s huge. Then somewhere where you’d never think – Italy – but you get there and you’re in front of 70,000 people.
“It’s a national sport and unlike league, it thrives off the international game, whereas rugby league thrives off the domestic game.
“The last three years have been class, and like I say, a real game-changer for me. I can’t wait for what’s ahead.”