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Article: Rugby League: Mather's educated brilliance
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 22, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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BARRIE-JON MATHER is custom-built to stand out like a sore thumb
in his sport, writes Dave Hadfield.
There is his height; rugby league does not lend itself to many
6ft 5in giants. There is the name - a gift from a father with a
penchant for eccentric spelling as well as for Welsh stand-offs.
And there is the background - a fee-paying school on the Fylde
Coast rather than the local comprehensive.
Mather's displays this season in two contrasting roles for Wigan
have confirmed him as a young man whose talent is exceptional as
well.
He began the season in the second row, scoring six tries in the
first five matches as he seemed finally to have beaten off the
ferocious competition for a place in ...