Former Salford Stand Off Half, John Taylor, Looks Back At His Time As A Player At The Willows During The Seventies And Eighties
CONTENTS
Part 2 His Memories Of His Time With With The Team Of Stars
Part 3 He Remembers His Former Salford Teammates
Part 4 His Later Rugby Career And Return to Salford
Pt 1 His Early Rugby Career
Born in Wigan, and younger brother to former Salford stand off half, the late Mark Taylor, who had held that position with considerable regularity throughout the late sixties. John Taylor eventually followed in his brother’s footsteps in taking up rugby league, but nowhere near as early in life as one might have expected for this quality street gang legend.
“I didn’t start playing rugby until around the age of thirteen, which was really quite late especially for a Wiganer, starting at Rose Bridge Secondary School, but back in those days they didn’t seem to start playing any earlier. Once I had taken it up, though, I was promoted to play for the age group above my own, which stood me in good stead for when I got into the fourth year, when I went on to join Wigan colts.”- John Taylor
“They played their matches on Coronation Park, which had become the haunt of Salford scout, Albert White. Once anyone had made an impression on him, though, he became quite persevering in trying to persuade them to give it a try at The Willows. I, however, also had Wigan making overtures to me but with Mark being at Salford, I was rather more drawn to them, especially as Mark was in the army, at that time, so I wasn’t getting much chance to see him. I just thought that it would give me a better chance to do so if I went to Salford.”- John Taylor
“It proved to be the right move for that very reason, because playing and training together, our relationship just got better and better, which was quite remarkable because there was a sixteen-year gap between us. From a rugby point of view, it was an extremely good move as shortly after my arrival, in 1971, Mark took over as coach of the ‘A’ team from Ken Roberts, and that proved to be a great help to me.”
