sport news Walmsley takes inspiration from three letters written on his wrist trends now

sport news Walmsley takes inspiration from three letters written on his wrist trends now
sport news Walmsley takes inspiration from three letters written on his wrist trends now

sport news Walmsley takes inspiration from three letters written on his wrist trends now

In the heat of battle, Alex Walmsley takes a look at the tape above his wrist, where he finds three handwritten letters which give him the strength to carry on.

When the 6ft 5in, 18st colossus, one of the finest props of a generation, slumped to the turf in 2018 with a suspected broken neck after mistiming a tackle — and wondered if he would ever play again — his inspiration came from the same place.

‘Mum,’ St Helens’ enforcer tells Sportsmail. ‘I write it there before every game. If I’m feeling sorry for myself, if I’ve taken a knock or am tired, I don’t need to look far.’

Alex Walmsley said his mother remains his inspiration throughout his daily life and on the field of play

Alex Walmsley said his mother remains his inspiration throughout his daily life and on the field of play

Alex was 10 when Marceline Walmsley took him aside at his aunt’s house and gave him the news that she had cancer. ‘I burst into tears,’ he recalls, 22 years on. ‘As a kid you think that’s it, that she’s going to die.’

For 13 years, Marceline fought. On multiple occasions, and against doctors’ orders, she discharged herself from St James’s Hospital in Leeds and headed for the touchline as her boy made a name for himself in the amateur game. ‘It became a running joke,’ Walmsley says. ‘She’d be in for chemotherapy but she’d come out and watch me and my brother Liam play for Dewsbury Celtic and then readmit herself. The doctors knew her well enough by the end and knew nothing would stop her.’

Keeping it normal for their three children is something she and Walmsley’s dad, John, devoted their lives to. It was not easy.

Walmsley, one of the best props for a generation, has experienced great pain in his life

Walmsley, one of the best props for a generation, has experienced great pain in his life

‘Dad has been poorly pretty much all my life,’ Walmsley says. ‘He has a rare condition where the immune system attacks the skin, muscles and hands and is heavily disabled. But there was no passing the burden. We had an amazing upbringing because they were brave. We were

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