Ross Heppenstall on LinkedIn: Welsh warrior Rodon loves being in the wars as Leeds aim to go up (2024)

“I carry more from my time at Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club in my job now than anywhere else I’ve been.“I watched how the likes of Andy Farrell, Phil Clarke, Denis Betts, Kris Radlinski MBE Radlinski, Terry O’Connor and Neil Cowie trained.“Their motivation, dedication and desire just to be as good as they could be – even in training – stayed with me throughout my whole career and still does to this day.“It’s why I’m here in this role at Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. I can vividly recall walking into Central Park as a 14-year-old, having just signed for Wigan.”- Part two of my interview feature with Jon Clarke, this time reflecting on his long playing career which saw him establish himself as one of the finest hookers in Super League

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Piece for kwiff on Sunday’s EFL (English Football League) Championship play-off final between Leeds United and Southampton Football Club

Profile piece for Planet Sport on highly promising St.Helens R.F.C. youngster George Whitby, who played rugby union at Sale Sharks Rugby Club and football for Burnley Football Club before committing to rugby league.

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Really enjoyed speaking to Jon Clarke about his fantastic journey in rugby league and rugby union. He played for Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club, London Broncos Rugby League, Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings before embarking on a successful career as a performance coach.Clarke was a key figure in Eddie Jones' backroom staff when England reached the World Cup final in 2019.After a spell with the Wallabies under Jones at last year's World Cup, Clarke is now back in rugby league at NRL outfit Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.Here, the 45-year-old former Great Britain hooker talks about his various experiences in both codes and why he is loving life down under. Planet Sport

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Really enjoyed talking rugby with Dean Richards for this feature. 👍 🙌 💪

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Report in today’s Daily Mirror as Tottenham Hotspur Football Club thump Sheffield United Football Club 3-0 to finish fifth and qualify for the Europa League.Ange Postecoglou and his players flew straight to Melbourne after the game for a lucrative friendly against Newcastle United Football Club on Wednesday. ⚽✍🏻🗞️ #sufc #twitterblades #thfc #spurs

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“I've had a huge amount of messages, with old teammates like Will Carling O.B.E popping up on LinkedIn to say ‘good luck'.“We know a lot of people are viewing the The Players Platform website and app and we think it could become pretty big three years down the line.“It's all very new to us but we're learning from it and it's not just restricted to rugby union; far from it. We're looking at a range of other sports including rugby league, football, cricket, netball and hockey.“I think all these sports could benefit from having something like the Players Platform. I likened it to Tinder, but it's actually more like a LinkedIn for sport in terms of promoting yourself and making connections throughout the world.”- Dean Richards in today’s edition of The Rugby Paper Ltd 🏉✍🏻🗞️

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“If the right club and the right opportunity came along, I’d do it.“I thrive on building a culture and overachieving, which I did at Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club in terms of being the lowest spenders every year but only finishing bottom once.“That was obviously disappointing, and there were various reasons for that relegation, but it was the same at Leicester Tigers and Harlequins.“At Leicester, we weren’t in the top two or three spending-wise, but we finished top four years on the trot and won the European Cup twice as well.“At Quins, we were in the bottom four or five spenders but took them to second in the league.“I enjoy building a culture and overachieving, whether that’s a DoR or consultant, I’m open to anything provided it’s right for me.“It would have be something special to tempt me away from Tynedale because it’s a club I love and my four kids grew up playing there.”- Interview feature with former England captain Dean Richards in today's edition of The Rugby Paper Ltd

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“I’m proud. Not many people backed us, but we did enough to get the win.“I just love working with this group and we’ll start thinking about Wembley soon because it’ll come around quickly.“Last year’s semi-final defeat to Hull KR hurt, but we learned a lot that day and I feel we’ve improved since then.“I’d love to win at Wembley because you can’t talk about Wigan’s history without mentioning the Challenge Cup.”- Matthew Peet after his Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club side thrashed Hull KR to book their place in next month's Challenge Cup final.Report in today's Mail on Sunday

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