A tribute to Leigh and rugby league legend Des Drummond

Former Leigh Journal Sports Editor Mike Hulme, who knew Des well as a man and a player, has penned his own personal tribute.

A PLAYER whose brilliance, athleticism and personality transcended the sport.

All descriptions that perfectly sum up the man. But Des Drummond was far more than that. Despite reaching the highest echelons of rugby league the real Des Drummond genuinely couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

He was the sort of bloke who would rather talk about anything other than himself. ‘I just do my job to the best of my ability,’ he used to tell me. And that was Des in a nutshell.

The outpourings of grief, shock and memories that followed the announcement of his untimely death at the age of just 63 at the weekend, were warming, touching and heart-felt. They were an indication of the strength of feeling the entire rugby league family felt for the sudden loss of one of their own. From Leigh, to Wests in Sydney, to Warrington, to Workington, to Barrow, stunned fans paid tribute to the great man. And rightly so. Fans of every club he represented took him to their hearts – enthralled by the on-field brilliance of a humble and modest man.

De Drummond being tackled by Phil Ford. (Pic: Eddie Whittham).

Having covered Leigh RL for the Leigh Journal for over 30 years it was my privilege to have seen virtually every game Des played for his beloved club.

From a shy, unassuming teenager Des blossomed into one of best international wingers of his generation. He became a firm personal friend and we spent many happy hours chatting and putting the world to rights. But whatever the conversation, it was never about him. That was the man.

We became even closer following the tragic death of Alva while on holiday in Cyprus. The loss of his brother hit Des hard but I’m convinced that whatever he achieved in the game was done in Alva’s memory.

I recall his first tentative steps into senior rugby. A slight lad stuck out on the right wing, 5’ 8” and 11 stone wet through. A miss-match we all thought. How wrong we were.

He was raw but the lad had pace, bags of it. He would skin players of far more experience just for fun. But it was his fearless tackling against far bigger opponents that stood Des out far above the rest. It was a style that would be the trademark of his entire career. He was no respecter of reputations.

But it was a career that may never have got off the ground but for the foresight and perseverance of one man, then Leigh director Brian Bowman.

Des’s elder brother Alva was already on Leigh’s books and it was during one ‘A’ team trip to Barrow that started the ball rolling.

Brian persuaded the coach to give Des, whose only experience was a couple of Colts games, a run out that day – and the rest is history.

At the next board meeting Brian insisted that Leigh snap up the teenage Drummond immediately. For some reason they were reluctant but Brian stuck to his guns and gave him a signing on fee of £50 out of his own pocket.

Brian’s faith in Des was repaid hundreds of times and they remained firm friends. I know his death will have shaken Brian to the core.

Born in Jamaica but raised in Bolton, Des was always immensely proud of his Caribbean roots and played an influential role in the setting up of the Jamaican RL.

Des was such an approachable and personable bloke it’s no wonder he was a favourite with fans at every club he played for. Des shared his time freely and willingly.

I suspect it was his personality and his prominence in the Great Britain team that brought him to the attention of the BBC and signed him up for their popular Superstars TV series in the 80s.

And what a real superstar he turned out to be. His all-round athleticism quickly saw him bloom on the national TV stage. He finished second overall in the British final and went on to compete in the World Superstars event in Hong Kong, further raising RL’s profile.

With Leigh fortunes in decline, Des appeared to lose his appetite for the game for a while but a £40,000 move to Warrington re-ignited his career. His appetite back, Des was a leading figure in Warrington’s march to Wembley in 1990 and the following year skippered the side to a Regal Trophy success.

His career may have tailed off as retirement loomed but Des never changed. He was still the unassuming bloke I’d grown to love years before.

Even now, days after his untimely passing, I really can’t take it in. The world has lost not only a great rugby league player but a beautiful human being.

Fly high on heaven’s wing old mate.