Wizard Kel put blind faith in his Saints life

PETER JACKSON

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW

Kel Coslett got home late one summer’s night from the afternoon shift at the steelworks to be confronted by a mysterious double whammy. Two men he had never met had come to spirit him away to a place he had never heard of for the purpose of playing a game he had never played. Before the sun rose the next day, St Helens Rugby League club had got their man.

Vice-chairman Lionel Swift and secretary Basil Lowe made the long haul from Merseyside to the village of Bynea bearing a heavy wad of readies all wrapped up in the proverbial brown bag, no doubt borrowed from Swift’s bakery business.

Whatever the fivers added up to, the sum was enough to compensate the 20-year-old Aberavon full-back for the lifetime loss of his newly-won status as Wales’ first choice last line of defence. The fee for his conversion from a Wizard to a Saint, estimated at circa £4,000, was never disclosed.

Sixty years on, Coslett is not about to change the habit of a lifetime. “I’ve never said how much and I never will,’’ he said. “I will say that when I met a very nice young lady (Jackie) in St Helens and got married, it helped us buy a house.’’

Had they paid him enough for two houses, Saints would still have been congratulating themselves on a smart piece of business in adding to their stable of Union signings headed by the famous Springbok wing Tom van Vollenhoven.

“I got back from the steelworks just before midnight to find my mum and dad there with Mr Swift and Mr Lowe,’’ Coslett says. “They made an offer and I thought it was fair enough. I signed there and then even though I didn’t know where St Helens was. I didn’t know that it was only ten miles or so from Liverpool. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I’d signed but I never had any regrets.’’

Far from turning their back on a favourite son for taking the League shilling, family and friends in Bynea had a whip round to ensure young Kel headed north equipped to project a clean-shaven image. They bought him an electric razor. “It was a nice going-away present,’’ he says. “People were very good to me. They all said they didn’t want to see me go but they wished me all the best. Once I’d signed there could be no going back, not that I wanted to.’’

Saints also fixed him up with a part-time job. “I drove a dumpertruck for the council,’’ he said. “And after that I used to drive a wagon for the local brewery.’’

Swift proved as good as his name in making sure Saints got their man in such a rush that Coslett’s abrupt exit left him with a goalkicking tally for Wales which could be counted on the finger of one hand. In three matches during the 1962 Five Nations, Coslett managed one penalty, the winner against France in his last match at the Arms Park.

“I signed there and then, even though I didn’t know where St Helens was”

Despite the brevity of his Union career, it was long enough for the novice full-back to play an unwitting role in ensuring that his debut at Twickenham would be of historic interest. His five missed penalty shots, the majority from long-range, helped secure the last pointless draw between England and Wales.

Saints had done their homework on Coslett and what they found out convinced them that he had the ability to kick goals galore in addition to providing an attacking threat from full-back. He could hardly have wished for a better mentor than his Wales predecessor Terry Davies, a Lion in New Zealand in 1959.

He also happened to be another local boy who first made a name for himself with Bynea. “I was lucky enough to train with Terry at Llanelli,’’ says Coslett. “He gave me a lot of help and advice.’’

In 14 years at St Helens, he kicked more points than any other Saints player before or since – 1,639. None were more precious than the five at Wembley in the 1972 Challenge Cup final victory over Leeds, a captain’s role which earned him the Lance Todd trophy as man-of-the-match.

The 50th anniversary falls next month, an occasion which will put Coslett back on centre stage along with the nine other surviving members of the starting team, among them ex-Cardiff wing Frank Wilson. Two other Welshmen who belonged to that team will be fondly remember-ed: Graham Rees and John Mantle.

Rees, signed from Maesteg, scored the opening try of the 1972 final in 35 seconds, still the fastest on record. He died suddenly at the age of 51. Mantle, whose Great Britain Test status testifies to one of the finest converts to League, died four years ago at 76.

Coslett played more games for St Helens (531) than anyone. His total of 3,413 points has stood the test of time since he retired in 1976 after another winning Wembley final, against Widnes.

The place he had never heard of has long been proud to claim him as one of its own. They proved it by naming one of the roads leading to the stadium in his honour: Coslett Drive. “St Helens has been my home for a long time,’’ he said. “I’ve been here for 60 years now and I still watch the Saints. I’ve been very lucky that everyone has been so kind.’’

He and Jackie have three daughters, seven grand-children and five great grand-children and the family will be out in force to support the patriarch on the golden jubilee celebrations of a Cup final won long before most of them were born.