OLIVER GILDART hopes to write his own story of glory at Old Trafford after penning a childhood letter to his hero, David Beckham.
Basically, it said, “Please, please, please do not leave.”
Oliver Gildart stars at centre for Hull KR[/caption]
David Beckham was Gildart’s childhood hero[/caption]
The Hull KR centre is a huge fan of Manchester United — ask him about the current side and he sighs.
But there is no doubt who his hero was back in 2003.
And Gildart — whose dad Ian played rugby league for Wigan — revealed his heartfelt plea as a youngster hoping to stop Becks leaving for Real Madrid.
He said: “I used to copy his haircuts. I don’t think I did them all, though. My mum wouldn’t let me!
“I had the blond streak and the long mullet-type one he had, flicking it around.
“And I actually wrote him a letter as he was leaving United. I was in pieces.
“I remember my mum telling me that I wrote him a letter, just begging him to not leave.
“The spelling wouldn’t have been great and, obviously, it didn’t work!
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“But Beckham was my hero. I enjoyed watching him wherever he went.
“I played football from really young. Central midfield, big engine on me, just pinging it everywhere.
“I was at Everton for a bit, so I was pretty good but I was playing rugby on the Saturday and football on a Sunday. I had to pick one over the other, so I stuck with rugby.”
Saturday’s Grand Final against Wigan Warriors will not just be a chance to walk in Sir David’s footsteps.
It can see Rovers seal a treble of their own after winning the Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield.
It will also see a reunion of the 2011 school rugby league team for Wigan’s St Edmund Arrowsmith as Gildart and Joe Burgess face the Warriors’ Luke Thompson.
‘AN ABSOLUTE BEAST’
Gildart, 29, added: “They were both a school year older than me but I played a year up. Very good times. Tommo was as big then as now. Massive, an absolute beast.
“Joe and I are best friends off the field. Our parents live within ten minutes of each other in Wigan.”
Gildart came through at Warriors — and played in the famous 2020 Covid-affected Grand Final when Jack Welsby snatched a last-gasp 8-4 win for St Helens.
He said: “My last Grand Final was against St Helens, during Covid. Obviously, there were no fans but it was a hell of a game.
“I’ll be looking forward to the full house this week, though.”
Gildart’s retiring KR pal Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 36, has been cleared to play — after the Kiwi forward’s three-game ban for a head hit was overturned on appeal.
