Danny McGuire lifts lid on Leeds Rhinos’ exit with ‘I’ll show you’ statement made

Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire has lifted the lid on his exit from Leeds Rhinos at the end of the 2017 season.

McGuire brought about an end to his near lifelong association with Leeds Rhinos after helping them win the 2017 Grand Final against Castleford Tigers.

Speaking on The Bench Podcast, he’s confirmed that he knew that 2017 would be his last season at Headingley, crediting that as a key motivator for his brilliant campaign.

McGuire would make over 400 appearances for Leeds Rhinos and he’s revealed just how hard it was to leaving, having anticipated retiring with the club before working there in an off-field capacity.

“I think back to when I left Leeds and I was devastated,” he confirmed.

“I assumed I’d be at Leeds for all my life and I would never leave and that I’d have a job there till I was 65. That’s kind of how I saw my rugby career and my life panning out and then it didn’t work out like that.”

“Wouldn’t change it” – Danny McGuire speaks on tough Leeds Rhinos’ exit

He’d go into further detail regarding the exit, confirming that whilst the split was not on ‘bad terms’, it hadn’t gone as he’d liked and that lack of backing from head coach Brian McDermott spurred him on to perform during his final Headingley campaign.

McGuire explained: “Not bad terms but it didn’t end how I would have liked it to. I just felt like I wanted to carry on playing and the people in charge at the time, one was ok with it and the other wasn’t.

“I’m talking about Gary (Hetherington) and Brian (McDermott). Brian wasn’t so sure, Gary was keen for me to carry on but I suppose Gary had to back the coach which I commend.

“I can’t really remember how it all played out. I was wounded by that and I suppose that’s why I ended up playing so well in 2017 because that was my way of going ‘I’ll show you’.”

Having scored two tries in that Grand Final, McGuire knew he had more to give and that saw him move to Hull KR, with whom he would then move into coaching. That move was something that’s set him about his current gig at Castleford and a key reason why the 42-year-old explained he wouldn’t change anything about his Leeds exit, despite it being far from ideal.

“When you play for Leeds, there’s always pressure,” he explained.

“I feel like I’ve been under pressure since I was 10 years old. I was proving myself since then and that was another challenge really where someone had decided that I wasn’t the one and I thought ‘I’ll show you’.

“I got the Hull KR journey on the back of it and I wouldn’t change anything. The rugby was really tough for two years at KR and it was very up and down but then the coaching and what I learned, I wouldn’t change it so I’m glad it played out that way.”