Giggs could have joined the Saints

HE made his name as a Red Devil - but Ryan Giggs could have been a Saint.

Adrian Morley has revealed how Manchester United ace Giggs inspired him to take up rugby league as a youngster growing up in Salford.

Giggs, who’s three youngsters older than Moz, was a highly-rated youth RL stand-off and the son of a Wales rugby international.

And the England prop tells is his autobiography how St Helens were close to signing a young Giggs before he eventually dedicated himself to football. “I had little interest in rugby league until the summer between leaving primary school and joining high school when I went along to see my brother play for the first time,” said Morley.

“Watching (brother) Chris and his Langworthy team take on Eccles as an 11-year-old changed all that. Chris was playing in the back row and he looked so hard and cool, covered in mud. But as good as Chris was, there was another kid who caught my eye. He played stand-off and he was rapid, with a great chip over. No-one could catch him.

“Every time he’d get the ball, the mums and dads would shout ‘come on Wilson’ and when he didn’t have the ball, they’d shout ‘give it to Wilson’.

“I heard one of the grown-ups say that St Helens were already looking at this wiry-framed kid with the mop of curly hair. He never went on to make it professionally in rugby league. Instead, he changed his surname, changed his sport and Ryan Giggs went on to have a pretty decent career in football.”

Giggs has written the foreword to Morley’s book and reveals his admiration for the Warrington captain.

“You don’t see many rugby league players continuing into their mid-30s, especially not at such a high level, and it’s a huge credit to Moz that he’s been able to do that,” said Giggs.