"Mac" of Steel

This article is taken from the December 2020 edition of Castleford Tigers' monthly club magazine which is available to read online for free by visiting castlefordtigers.com/roar.

Consistent. Tough. Smart.

For Castleford supporters, these are just three simple words that sum up the star hooker Paul McShane, and yet we could use so much more!

Since joining Castleford during the 2015 season Paul has gone on to become an integral part of the squad with his consistent performances and commanding play making him, as Daryl Powell puts it, “one of the best nines in the game bar none,” and boy do we love having him as a Tiger.

Paul’s rugby league journey has not been a simple one, in fact, he struggled to find his feet at local neighbours Wakefield before calling Wheldon Road home, but this was all after being shown the door by Leeds Rhinos who sent him out on loan to a number of clubs.

“Coming through at Leeds as a kid I was playing for the club I supported, obviously my time was up there and I got released and I had to find my own path to see what type of player I needed to be,” said McShane.

“I went to Wakefield and as a team, we were struggling, I didn’t know if I was going to stay as a full-time player or not. Then Castleford gave me an opportunity to join the team and speaking to Powelly, over five years ago now, he gave me confidence in my ability and I wanted to make sure that I gave everything I could for that club for giving me another opportunity.”

It is crazy to think how Paul had thoughts of going part-time whilst at Wakefield to potentially support his family but fortunately, he didn't, which is good because Macca had no idea what he would have done.

“I haven’t got a clue, probably be a scrap man like my old man. I wouldn’t have had a clue because as a kid I had my heart set on playing rugby, I wasn’t the greatest at school I got no real qualifications and all I wanted to be was a rugby player.

“To try so hard to do well at the sport that I love, you never think of getting anything like this. You just do things as a team, to do what’s best for your team so stuff like this is just awesome.”

What was it then that clicked at Castleford for Paul? One of the main reasons is his coach, Daryl Powell who saw a lot of improvement to be made in the hooker back in 2015. Since then that critical analysis, year on year, has made McShane one of the one consistent players in the league.

2016 was a good year for Castleford but a high number of injuries held them back, however signs were showing of the brand of rugby Powell had been looking to build over the years, and key men began cementing their spots such as Macca who was ever-present in all of the Tigers matches in that year.

Then in the incredible season of 2017, McShane played an instrumental role as Castleford made history, finishing first in the top division for the first time and claiming the League Leaders’ Shield. More impressively though, Paul backed up his own performances and then some in 2018! With Luke Gale out for the majority of the season and a young halfback in Jake Trueman stepping up, McShane led from the front and stood out by a distance as the Fords’ best player that season, sweeping the annual end of season club awards. With even more consistent performances in 2019, McShane looked to be an early candidate for the Man of Steel award but it wasn’t to be, so his Head Coach offered him further review and advice to be even better in 2020.

Paul paid tribute to Powell for the influence he has had on his improvement at the Tigers, with his Head Coach being one of the first people he called after finding out he won the Man of Steel.

“Daryl has played a massive part in where I’m at as a player, five years ago he got me back to enjoying my rugby again, so out of respect he deserved to be one of the first people I would let know about the news.

“From when I first joined, he gave me plenty of confidence in my ability, told me he sees things in me, and said I’ve always got more room to develop and become a better player. Even after my best seasons he still said to me that he sees 10 or 20% more improvement and he has always pushed me to strive for international honours. He’s just been an honest coach and friend.”

The Tigers 2020 season is a bit like a tale of two halves, a high flying start saw Castleford head into the season suspension second in the table, but following lockdown close results and a number of defeats made it a tough period for the club.

Throughout it all though, McShane shone with individual performances and his desire to get the team performing well on the pitch, his passionate play resulted in him becoming a runaway leader in the Man of Steel leader board earlier in the campaign.

Check out just some of the stats which back up Paul’s massive performances:

• Over 1,000 metres covered from scoots at dummy half
• An average gain per carry of 9.5m
• 604 tackles with a 92% success rate
• 108 marker tackles
• 17 of his 50 kicks were retained by Cas
• 8 assists

“There have been some tough periods throughout the year with results not going our way, but the lads have been turning up and trying their hardest and they have helped me win this award,” said McShane.

“I just hate losing, I want to be the best at everything I do and if that’s playing rugby, or lifting weights or even playing cards, I want to win and I’m driven to be better and I think that is something that really ignited in me when I joined Castleford.”

Daryl Powell confirmed that the squad had the aim to help Paul get the Man of Steel accolade and that each player in the team believed he richly deserved it on the back of such a strong season.

“If it wasn’t for my teammates I wouldn’t have been near, at the end of the day I go out and play rugby for them, I want to do my best for them and for those guys wanting me to do well it means a lot,” smiled McShane.

“I owe a lot of this to them, the players, the staff, even board members and fans just want the best out of you and we’ve really missed playing in front of our fans this year, they play a big part for us. It’s a massive thank you to everyone involved at Cas.”

It’s all well and good everyone at your club believing you deserve it but the best analysis as to why Paul McShane was justly crowned the Man of Steel came from one of the sport’s greatest EVER players, the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel Chairman Ellery Hanley MBE.

“The award deservedly goes to Paul McShane because he performs in every game he plays in,” said Hanley.

“He is ‘Mr Dependable’, and everyone holds him in the highest regard. As a player, he consistently displays bravery, skill, and athleticism. This is a man who wears his badge of honour in every action he delivers on the rugby league field. The phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’ fits Paul McShane perfectly. You only have to be in his company for three minutes to discover what a gentleman and first-class human being he is. We are so lucky to have him in our game,” added Hanley – whose words humbled Paul greatly.

Paul became the fifth Tiger to secure the highest individual honour in the Super League era and the third in Daryl Powell’s tenure at the club, following in the footsteps of Adrian Vowles (1999), Rangi Chase (2011), Daryl Clark (2014) and Luke Gale (2017).

The whole event was surreal for Macca, a traditionally jovial man appeared to be a bit stunned when he first found out he had won. Whilst it is far from the end of his career, it must have felt the culmination of a long journey for both him and his family.

“A big thanks to them really, they gave up their time and effort for me as a kid since I was six years old at Hunslet Parkside until I left at 16,” commented McShane.

“My parents, my mum going to every game and my wife, she has been on this journey since I was 15 and 16 years later to get this—”

At this point of the interview with Sky Sports’ Brian Carney, the emotion of what it meant to him seemed to dawn on Paul, who apologised for his own ‘soppiness’ later via Instagram, which he did not need to do at all, we all understood how big a moment this was! In a press conference following the broadcast of the Super League Awards, Paul had a bit more time to compose himself and thank his family properly again.

“For my family, I couldn’t say on the video with Brian because I couldn’t speak but the sacrifices they’ve made for me as a kid coming through and they’ve been with me through the tough times, hopefully, it makes them happy that their sacrifices paid off.”

One of the best things about Paul McShane is his passion. His passion for the sport he loves, for the team he plays for and his determination to win in anything he does.

Expect McShane’s passion to remain a strong driving force behind his ambition to not only succeed with Castleford Tigers but also his aim for international honours too. Following conversations with England Head Coach Shaun Wane, Macca believes it is up to himself to perform well enough for selection for the World Cup next year.

“It’s down to me really I just need to keep performing and hopefully I can push my way into his plans, we have had a couple of conversations and speaking with him he buzzes me up about how he passionately he is about England. So, for me, I think it is down to me and I’m looking forward to next year already, I still feel like I am going to improve so it rests on me to get myself in that squad.

“I want to win something with Cas, I’m really desperate to do that and also I want to play for my country, it’s something I haven’t done just yet and it’s something that I am really passionate about and really want to do.”