parents but he was still in touch with Paul Charlton, who has moved to Australia. Kate also provided some background on Steve Nash, who played for Salford later in his career, even putting me in touch with him. Steve told me he had wanted to go to the World Cup this year but was a little short of funds. I felt humbled by his honesty, which really brought home to me how our sporting heroes of yesteryear often have the same issues as you and I.

Having chalked off Hesketh, Nash, Charlton and Stevo, I moved on to my next target. Castleford press man Dave Smart filled me in on Brian Lockwood, while Widnes put me in touch with George Nicholls - another great bloke. The St Helens HeritageSociety website told me all about John Walsh. Just as well as he now lives in Canada. That left seven.

Skipper Clive Sullivan unfortunately died in 1985 but such was the brilliance of his career that finding information about him was a straightforward task. My father-in-law, a Hull FC fan, had already lent me a few books about him.

As for the others, my colleague Phil Harlow was busy chasing down several of the other players. He ended the process musing that it is not every day that you get offered sage advice on the property market while conducting an interview with a World Cup winner. That's just what happened when he spoke to former Hull KR star Phil Lowe, who dabbled in property investment after his playing career ended.