Liam Byrne ready to be Wigan’s unlikely hero in Challenge Cup final

If Wigan beat Huddersfield Giants in the Challenge Cup on Saturday, do not expect Liam Byrne to feature in many headlines. His try-scoring record of two in 56 appearancessuggests he is unlikely to crash over for the winner. But if Wigan skipper Thomas Leuluai lifts the trophy at Tottenham, everyone in the camp will know Byrne has played his part.

The 22-year-old is one of Super League’s archetypal shift-workers: one of those no-nonsense water carrier players that every team needs. Byrne is the ox who ploughs the field, preparing it for players such as Cade Cust, Jai Field and Bevan French to create acts of beauty.

Rugby league’s greatest teams are full of unglamorous forwards who were not outstanding individuals but who did their job to perfection. Not many people focus on Mitch Achurch or Ian Kirke when reminiscing about the great Leeds teams, or Mike Bennett in St Helens’ epic 2006 side. Rod Doyle, loose forward for Sheffield in their 1998 Challenge Cup triumph, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. It is perhaps no coincidence that Byrne first earned a contract in Shaun Wane’s bump and grind years. The current England coach was that low-profile prop in the Wigan side of superstars.

Byrne was a late developer by modern standards. Rather than come through a Super League scholarship system, he played junior rugby for Cadishead Rhinos in his home village on the south-west edge of the Manchester-Salford metropolis. He impressed on the North West Lionhearts’ tour to Serbia and Bosnia in 2016, and was selected for England Lionhearts – the amateur national team – coming to the notice of Wigan scouts, who invited him in on trial. In his first training session for Wigan Under-19s, Byrne broke his arm, missing his England