'If I could live one day again, that would be it': Challenge Cup hero Leroy Rivett recalls Leeds Rhinos highs and lows

Leroy Rivett has found himself back in the old tunnel at Wembley countless times since making history as the first player to score four tries in a Challenge Cup final on May 1, 1999.

On a day when Leeds Rhinos ended their 21-year wait for a major trophy with a record 52-16 win over London Broncos, Rivett was front and centre.

It was an achievement that was impossible to top, a feeling that could never be matched.

He quickly faded into the background but for a day, Wembley belonged to Leroy Rivett.

"Watching Leeds as a kid and getting to don the shirt, nothing made me prouder," he tells The Yorkshire Post.

"I remember the send-off. The fans came out in their thousands to Headingley. We spent a few days in London, trained at Eton College and went round Windsor Castle. The weather was fabulous that week.

"The day itself was like comic book stuff. When you walk out of that Wembley tunnel, you're absolutely in awe.

"It's incredible, almost indescribable. I might have scored four tries but the highlight for me was that tunnel walk.

"All you can see is a dot and as you walk closer that dot gets bigger and bigger and bigger. All of a sudden, you're out there and the noise hits you.

"Emotional moments can create life-lasting memories. That particular time in my life is one that's cemented in the memory bank."

As he reflects on his crowning glory as a rugby league player on the eve of the 24th anniversary of the final, Rivett recounts a sliding doors moment.

Born in Leicester before moving to Leeds at a young age, his fairytale story began in the humble surroundings of Pendas Panthers – now known as Whinmoor Warriors – aged six and continued at East Leeds.

His move to Leeds RL owed to a special set of circumstances.

"It was kind of by accident," he recalls.

"We had a successful side at East Leeds. Castleford expressed an interest in me and invited me down but I wasn't driving at the time so I went where the transport went and that was to Leeds with the other lads.

"As it turned out, I was the only one that signed out of our group from East Leeds. My career would have gone in a very different direction had I signed for Castleford."

Although he was born 100 miles away, it has always been Leeds for Rivett.

"We were fierce rivals with the Milford club but we came together and sat on the wall for Leeds games," he adds.

"The stadium was very different going back 35 years. We used to go down there on the terraces to watch our heroes.

"We used to scamper onto the pitch and the security would run over so you'd scamper back onto the wall."

Within a few short years, he was the one doing the chasing.

A winger with electric speed, Rivett played outside the great Kevin Iro on his debut and was a Super League Grand Finalist in 1998 as a 21-year-old.

The Rhinos were edged out by Wigan Warriors that night but gained a modicum of revenge four months later after shrugging off Barrie McDermott's early red card to launch their Challenge Cup campaign.

Wins over St Helens and Bradford Bulls followed to set up a Wembley date with the unfancied Broncos.

"There was an element of us thinking we'd done the hard work," says Rivett. "You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise after beating all the big teams.

"You've got a job to do but you know you're going into the game as strong favourites.

"London gave us somewhat of a scare early on and certainly made a game of it."

The Broncos – a team that could boast Martin Offiah and Shaun Edwards – raced into a 10-0 lead and restored their advantage early in the second half.

So often the bridesmaids, Leeds could have been forgiven for letting anxiety creep in.

"I would think maybe as a fan on the terraces," says Rivett.

"Historically, we always played second fiddle. Wigan were phenomenal for a period so Leeds would get to the final and fall short.

"But for me, I always felt our strength as a team was the last 20 minutes because our fitness was superior.

"Even though we were down 16-12 in the second half, I never doubted us."

His faith was rewarded emphatically in a one-sided final quarter.

McDermott scored a memorable try to nudge Leeds back ahead before giving the floor to Rivett.

The flyer went over three times to add to his opener, the highlight a scintillating 90-metre effort.

"I got the penalty when Barrie scored," he says.

"I chipped it over, ran for it and got taken out. Then Baz ran up, gave them the big sidestep and dived over.

"It was quite close up until I got my third try. They were pressing for a try to get them right back in the game and then Karle Hammond threw out the long ball, I plucked it and that was game over.

"I was caught up in the moment so had no idea I'd made history. If I got the chance to live one day again, that would be it."

With characters like McDermott and Adrian Morley in the team, the celebrations that night were never likely to be a quiet affair.

Sadly for Rivett, he missed them.

"It was kind of a rite of passage in that era with alcohol," he says.

"The professional has become a bit more sanitised now. That's the era I grew up in so I'm a little bit old-fashioned.

"That's what builds team spirit and is an important part of the game but it's gone very scientific now.

"The night itself I was actually unwell. I don't know if it was the nerves or the excitement. Certainly the homecoming at Headingley the day after was a big celebration.

"It’s been 24 years but that bond that we created is still there.”

Ironically, Rivett's last appearance for the Rhinos came in a chastening Challenge Cup final defeat to Bradford at Murrayfield almost 12 months on to the day.

After scoring 30 tries in 68 games for his boyhood club, just like that it was all over.

"I think it broke me a little bit," says Rivett, who went on to play for Huddersfield Giants, Keighley Cougars and Hull KR among others, and even dipped into rugby union.

"After that I really struggled. I think it broke my heart. I lost my passion for the game.

"I moved from club to club and never got anywhere close to the highs I had at Leeds.

"It was almost like a grieving process. One year you're the cup hero, the next you're out of the door and surplus to requirements.

"I found that really difficult. I was lost for a little while and didn't start enjoying playing rugby again until I went to Hull KR under Justin Morgan right at the end of my career – but then it's time to retire."

Rivett still lives in Leeds and is stopped in the street by fans of a certain age.

Importantly, he has rediscovered his purpose through his job in the Youth Justice Service as a mentor for struggling teens.

"It's massively rewarding," says the 46-year-old.

"I tell people I've gone from the best job in the world to working in a job where I'm trying to make a difference and impact society.

"As a rugby player you're something of an entertainer, whereas now working in probation you're trying to be a guide for young people who are disaffected within society.

"I recognise now how sport can be a conduit for social behaviour and transferrable life skills that can help you be a better version of you as you transition into the adult world."

It is far removed from his days as a full-throttle rugby league player competing at the highest level for one of the sport’s biggest clubs.

Although he could never quite reach the heights of that famous spring day at Wembley in 1999, Rivett reflects on his career with fondness.

"I still look at it as a massive success," he says.

"Do I think I could and should have achieved more? Absolutely.

"But I'm very proud and privileged to have had a career as long as I did.

"It started with a bang and finished with bringing Hull KR back into Super League."