| Adam Kettle couldn’t get any more Scouse if he tried, being born on the Wirral and attending the Wirral Grammar school for boys makes him about as Liverpudlian as it is possible to be. Coming from that background his first love sports wise was football, in fact he is the nephew of Brian Kettle (who made it as far as the Liverpool first team and captained their reserves for many years, a great achievement).
“I couldn’t believe my mum had sent me to a school where there was no football” Adam told us, “I remember crying on the first day, not because I was missing my mum but because I’d just realised I’d be playing rugby throughout my school years”. His entry into rugby was forced, and Adam admitted he just did as he was told at first. “Unlike other players I have no rugby hero’s from my childhood, I didn’t watch the game it was just physical activity at school for me at first”.
As the years rolled on Adam became accomplished in the back row, and the game grew on him. “I can’t say when I became a rugby player, instead of someone who just played rugby at school” He admitted “it was a gradual change of attitude for me over the years”.
Appearances for New Brighton Colts turned into a Semi Pro contract with New Brighton as Adam’s career began to take shape. “I remember thinking I’d hit the big time at New Brighton, getting paid £40 a game was magic as far as I was concerned.” As a young back row player Adam had 4 years at New Brighton, making over 100 appearances. A team mate in his last season was Chris Planchant, and after this the pair of them headed off to New Zealand as part of a group to play for North Otago. “There are some stories from those 6 months, but I’ll leave them for a later article” Adam apologised. “One of the highlights was having my photo taken on a night out with Andrew Mehrtens and them facing him the season after in a game against Harlequins”
Bedford was the port of call on his return to England, after a successful one month trial Adam stayed for two years. “Finished second in the league behind Harlequins, and scoring a try in a Twickenham final were the highlights for me” He enthused “Looking back taking the chance to go full time with Plymouth might not have been my best decision, but at the time it seemed like the right move”.
While at Plymouth Adam had the distinction of being red carded for a slight altercation with his good friend Chris Planchant, “Who knows, maybe Lynn Howells remembers me because of that game” Adam jokes “but whatever the reason after I was notified of Lynn’s interest I made a quick decision to come to Doncaster”.
And his comments on the Knights setup so far? “It’s a good back row setup, but I think I can compete for the 6 or 8 shirt” was his first comment. “It’s closer to home for me, which is good and Doncaster has some great Chinese Takeaways which is a result.”
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