Castleford Tigers star celebrating a special lockdown delivery

Little Laurie Milner, son of Tigers stalwart Adam Milner and partner Beth Smith, is a lockdown baby, born two months ago at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

So while most of Milner’s team-mates have been struggling to keep themselves occupied during almost three months without rugby, the loose-forward has been on a steep learning curve in the art of parenting.

The birth itself came during full lockdown, at a time when the NHS was dealing with the worst effects of coronavirus.

Laurie was born at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield and Milner recalled: “It was quite difficult.

“Beth got induced two weeks early; she was given a date and a time to go into hospital, but I wasn’t allowed in.

“I had to wait until she went into labour and then it was just a waiting game for me.

“I was at home with her mum just waiting for a phone call. As soon as I got that, it was a quick rush up to the hospital.

“Luckily, I only live down the road from Pinderfields; I walked into hospital, they put a mask on me and took me to the room and an hour later he was born, so it was quite an exciting few hours.”

Mother and baby are both doing fine, but for Milner his new role has been “a bit of a challenge”. The 28-year-old, who made his debut for Castleford a decade ago and won three England caps in 2018, reflected: “Every day is a concern with a new born and you’re just hoping for the best for him.”

Milner has been on furlough since before Laurie was born and so has had more time than usual to get to know his son.

He conceded: “I am not sure how a lot of people cope; lads have had to go and play games pretty much the day their baby’s been born, but I’ve been fortunate and had the luxury of spending every minute with him really. That has been a bit of a blessing for me.”

Super League is expected to resume in August and Milner described the layoff – since Tigers’ win over St Helens on March 15 – as “tough”.

He continued: “Just before lockdown came we were told to grab as much gym equipment as we could, but you have got to share that between 30-odd guys.

“At Cas, we’ve got limited resources as it is so to share what we’ve got in the gym around 30 blokes is a bit of a challenge, but I think we are doing all right. We’ve all got weights in the back garden or at home so we’ve been able to do our gym stuff, then it’s literally going to local fields and training there.

“We get sent programmes to keep us ticking over, but it’s all ifs, buts and whens over when we’re going to return. I think for the first couple of weeks we were excited to be doing our own little bits, but you go through slumps where you lose motivation in training. It’s obviously a tough situation everyone’s in, but those are the cards we’ve been dealt and we just have to crack on with it.”

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor