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Ian Shuttleworth - Past Sandal Captain Interviews
Justin English3 Feb - 13:41
@rfu @yrfu
Ian sat down with Michael Knowles and George Booth and told his rugby story, from the M&J days to playing at the Stoop.
As with many of our Sandal captains, the journey goes all the way back to the M&J section.
“I was brought down by my father, Martin Shuttleworth. He was a decent rugby player in his own right – one of the best full-backs in Yorkshire and in the north during his heyday.
“He brought me down with my grandfather, John Leighton Davies, who moved up to Yorkshire from Swansea.”
The influence of Ian’s father and grandfather had a massive impact on the future fly-half.
“Rugby is in the family and runs through the veins”
“My Grandad came to play at Wakefield Trinity, and I believe he was one of the first rugby union players to come out of Wales to play league.
“It was frowned upon back in Wales, and it was almost unheard of that he left.”
Unlike Ian, his Grandad was a centre, but “playing for Dewsbury he got a really bad injury, and the tackle was a career-ender, as he did his cruciate”.
Shutts was a Silcoates lad and juggled schoolboy rugby alongside his Sandal commitments.
“Some days I was playing for Silcoates first team, and then I would drive back to play for the second team,” said Ian.
“But when I started with Sandal’s first team, that started to become the priority.”
As Ian remarks, Sandal’s first team came calling whilst he was still at school – something which doesn’t happen very often these days.
“I made my debut for the colts and my first team debut when I was 16.
“The first team had Birkenhead Park at home - I started at fly-half.
“Mark Hardcastle was the captain at the time, he was a great fly-half, but he was probably rested for that game as I was coming in for the future.”
Although Ian was given the confidence to play, the nerves soon kicked in.
“I was absolutely sh**ting myself about playing out there with the old boys, but we had a really strong team.”
Ian, throughout his whole career, said he struggled to build size and was once referred as ‘pencil-esque’ in a Yorkshire Post match report.
“It was very scary with the physicality.
“Going in from playing junior rugby and not being a big lover of contact – it was not my forte. But if you play rugby you have to make your tackles.
“When you play at first team level your reputation is at stake”
Despite Ian’s size, it’s fair to say his ‘pencil-esque’ frame didn’t put a stop to him picking up caps for the following teams: Welsh Exiles, Yorkshire U-19s, Yorkshire U-21 and Yorkshire.
Away from his rugby honours, some of Shutts’ fondest memories are playing with Sandal Colts when John Lapish was at the wheel of a strong team.
“John Lapish was an unbelievable colts coach – the best ever. He worked alongside John Riley.
“We were playing the likes of Leicester, Coventry, Orrell and Nottingham.
“We once went to Northampton on a Wednesday night and played in a game sponsored by Carlsberg.
“We had a team from heaven”
Ian was able to set his rugby foundation at Sandal and playing top-class teams at colts level helped him prepare for his senior duels down the line.
“That colts team were dominant on a national level against some of the best teams around.
“We played against Leicester at Nelson Mandela Park, which is just outside the Welford Road stadium, and we drew 13-13.
“Leicester’s senior team played London Irish, and we went to Welford Road after having our showers alongside the superstars.”
As the Colts team reached senior grade, Ian said that the team dispersed in different rugby directions.
Now in the frame with Sandal’s first team and playing for Yorkshire under-19s, he started to get attention a few miles down the road.
“Me and Mick Sykes played for Sandal, he was prop, and I was fly-half for Yorkshire under-19s.
“We beat Gloucester, playing for Yorkshire at Twickenham. Then we were asked to go to Wakefield, but in hindsight we both too young.”
Former Sandal head coach Jim Kilfoyle was the boss of Wakefield at that period.
“During my time [at Wakefield], Jim Kilfoyle was possibly put off by my physique playing at that level.
“He took me to Wakefield saying, ‘I would play fly-half every week’
“And when I got there, I barely had a run in the first team - it was a bizarre situation.
“In hindsight, that was the best thing that could have happened – I was playing with their second team and having that exposure was really good for my development.”
After a period away from Sandal, Ian returned home for another stint with the first team. This time Shutts was alongside his father as he coached the lads alongside Tony Martin, Trevor Barker and Alan Giles.
“I came back here and that was a great period.
“That’s when I was kicking a lot of goals, and we were in the Jewson League National 2.
“There was me and Steve Swindles, who were big goal-kickers.
“Manchester and Sandal were the two main teams, but Kendal was also a tough game.”
Kicking points was Shutts’ thing and his point-gathering alongside Swindles helped Sandal be a competitive side.
Shuttleworth and Swindles managed to compete with the ‘big boys’ of point collecting in world rugby.
Unisys, a rugby data site, had Sandal’s very own at the top of the point-scoring table.
Shutts and Swindles were among names such as, Joel Stransky, Michael Lynagh and Thierry Lacroix.
One game which stands out in Ian’s memory was captaining Sandal in a 73-17 victory over Litchfield.
The scoreline swayed Sandal’s way that day and Ian managed to get 43 points to his name.
Only five tries and nine conversions in a single match.
A record which possibly still stands.
“My dad was the coach at that point. It was the only time I had gone out and had a few beers the night before.
“He was seething as I was captain. I would never normally touch a beer on a Friday night, but because we were mid-table, and they were bottom, I went out.”
Scoring 43 points in a single game obviously sticks out in Ian’s memory. As he told this story he laughed saying, his like for a beer probably started at a young age when a Wakefield prop filled his bottle with ale and sent him crawling over to his mum!
A move came up for Ian to play for another team on the other side of West Yorkshire – Otley.
A 10-year stint at Otley allowed Ian to play at Championship level, which he says was a “wonderful period”.
Ian spoke about a couple of his Otley memories, both of which involved high-tackles – not bad for someone who wasn’t a fan of contact.
Prior to Leeds facing Otley at Headingley, BBC Radio Leeds joked about the one-on-one situation which could occur.
Ex-Australian international, Graham McKay v Ian Shuttleworth.
Of course, McKay broke through and had a one-on-one scenario with Shutts.
“He broke through and had no intentions of going around me, my pride was at stake.
“I jumped about three feet in the air and gave him the biggest close hanger you’ve seen.
“The crowd was baying for my blood! If he got up, I was dead, but he took it well!”
Another one of Ian’s high-tackle episodes was at the Stoop as Otley faced Dean Richards’ Quins side.
Tasked with playing against a strong Quins team, Otley arrived early and decided to have a sneak into the home team’s dressing room before they arrived.
In the corner stood a flipchart with Richards’ keynotes…
“Bag of bones with a step”
‘Bag of bones’ that day stepped up to the mark and greeted World Cup winner Will Greenwood with a high-tackle.
Yellow card and sent to the bin. On a positive note, Greenwood took the Otley lads out to Infernos in London – true rugby spirit.
Shutts ended his proper playing days at Otley and then moved over to Huddersfield to take on a coaching role and coached some of the first team lads who are now in the mix at Sandal.
I think it’s fair to say Shutts has had an eventful, but successful rugby career which has seen him represent Yorkshire at top-level, play in the Championship and of course captain Sandal’s first team.
Ian is now an avid supporter of Sandal, if he’s not at the rugby, he’s either playing cricket or crown green bowls in which he’s an exceptional bowler – Aka. The Dragoon.
As with many of our Sandal captains, the journey goes all the way back to the M&J section.
“I was brought down by my father, Martin Shuttleworth. He was a decent rugby player in his own right – one of the best full-backs in Yorkshire and in the north during his heyday.
“He brought me down with my grandfather, John Leighton Davies, who moved up to Yorkshire from Swansea.”
The influence of Ian’s father and grandfather had a massive impact on the future fly-half.
“Rugby is in the family and runs through the veins”
“My Grandad came to play at Wakefield Trinity, and I believe he was one of the first rugby union players to come out of Wales to play league.
“It was frowned upon back in Wales, and it was almost unheard of that he left.”
Unlike Ian, his Grandad was a centre, but “playing for Dewsbury he got a really bad injury, and the tackle was a career-ender, as he did his cruciate”.
Shutts was a Silcoates lad and juggled schoolboy rugby alongside his Sandal commitments.
“Some days I was playing for Silcoates first team, and then I would drive back to play for the second team,” said Ian.
“But when I started with Sandal’s first team, that started to become the priority.”
As Ian remarks, Sandal’s first team came calling whilst he was still at school – something which doesn’t happen very often these days.
“I made my debut for the colts and my first team debut when I was 16.
“The first team had Birkenhead Park at home - I started at fly-half.
“Mark Hardcastle was the captain at the time, he was a great fly-half, but he was probably rested for that game as I was coming in for the future.”
Although Ian was given the confidence to play, the nerves soon kicked in.
“I was absolutely sh**ting myself about playing out there with the old boys, but we had a really strong team.”
Ian, throughout his whole career, said he struggled to build size and was once referred as ‘pencil-esque’ in a Yorkshire Post match report.
“It was very scary with the physicality.
“Going in from playing junior rugby and not being a big lover of contact – it was not my forte. But if you play rugby you have to make your tackles.
“When you play at first team level your reputation is at stake”
Despite Ian’s size, it’s fair to say his ‘pencil-esque’ frame didn’t put a stop to him picking up caps for the following teams: Welsh Exiles, Yorkshire U-19s, Yorkshire U-21 and Yorkshire.
Away from his rugby honours, some of Shutts’ fondest memories are playing with Sandal Colts when John Lapish was at the wheel of a strong team.
“John Lapish was an unbelievable colts coach – the best ever. He worked alongside John Riley.
“We were playing the likes of Leicester, Coventry, Orrell and Nottingham.
“We once went to Northampton on a Wednesday night and played in a game sponsored by Carlsberg.
“We had a team from heaven”
Ian was able to set his rugby foundation at Sandal and playing top-class teams at colts level helped him prepare for his senior duels down the line.
“That colts team were dominant on a national level against some of the best teams around.
“We played against Leicester at Nelson Mandela Park, which is just outside the Welford Road stadium, and we drew 13-13.
“Leicester’s senior team played London Irish, and we went to Welford Road after having our showers alongside the superstars.”
As the Colts team reached senior grade, Ian said that the team dispersed in different rugby directions.
Now in the frame with Sandal’s first team and playing for Yorkshire under-19s, he started to get attention a few miles down the road.
“Me and Mick Sykes played for Sandal, he was prop, and I was fly-half for Yorkshire under-19s.
“We beat Gloucester, playing for Yorkshire at Twickenham. Then we were asked to go to Wakefield, but in hindsight we both too young.”
Former Sandal head coach Jim Kilfoyle was the boss of Wakefield at that period.
“During my time [at Wakefield], Jim Kilfoyle was possibly put off by my physique playing at that level.
“He took me to Wakefield saying, ‘I would play fly-half every week’
“And when I got there, I barely had a run in the first team - it was a bizarre situation.
“In hindsight, that was the best thing that could have happened – I was playing with their second team and having that exposure was really good for my development.”
After a period away from Sandal, Ian returned home for another stint with the first team. This time Shutts was alongside his father as he coached the lads alongside Tony Martin, Trevor Barker and Alan Giles.
“I came back here and that was a great period.
“That’s when I was kicking a lot of goals, and we were in the Jewson League National 2.
“There was me and Steve Swindles, who were big goal-kickers.
“Manchester and Sandal were the two main teams, but Kendal was also a tough game.”
Kicking points was Shutts’ thing and his point-gathering alongside Swindles helped Sandal be a competitive side.
Shuttleworth and Swindles managed to compete with the ‘big boys’ of point collecting in world rugby.
Unisys, a rugby data site, had Sandal’s very own at the top of the point-scoring table.
Shutts and Swindles were among names such as, Joel Stransky, Michael Lynagh and Thierry Lacroix.
One game which stands out in Ian’s memory was captaining Sandal in a 73-17 victory over Litchfield.
The scoreline swayed Sandal’s way that day and Ian managed to get 43 points to his name.
Only five tries and nine conversions in a single match.
A record which possibly still stands.
“My dad was the coach at that point. It was the only time I had gone out and had a few beers the night before.
“He was seething as I was captain. I would never normally touch a beer on a Friday night, but because we were mid-table, and they were bottom, I went out.”
Scoring 43 points in a single game obviously sticks out in Ian’s memory. As he told this story he laughed saying, his like for a beer probably started at a young age when a Wakefield prop filled his bottle with ale and sent him crawling over to his mum!
A move came up for Ian to play for another team on the other side of West Yorkshire – Otley.
A 10-year stint at Otley allowed Ian to play at Championship level, which he says was a “wonderful period”.
Ian spoke about a couple of his Otley memories, both of which involved high-tackles – not bad for someone who wasn’t a fan of contact.
Prior to Leeds facing Otley at Headingley, BBC Radio Leeds joked about the one-on-one situation which could occur.
Ex-Australian international, Graham McKay v Ian Shuttleworth.
Of course, McKay broke through and had a one-on-one scenario with Shutts.
“He broke through and had no intentions of going around me, my pride was at stake.
“I jumped about three feet in the air and gave him the biggest close hanger you’ve seen.
“The crowd was baying for my blood! If he got up, I was dead, but he took it well!”
Another one of Ian’s high-tackle episodes was at the Stoop as Otley faced Dean Richards’ Quins side.
Tasked with playing against a strong Quins team, Otley arrived early and decided to have a sneak into the home team’s dressing room before they arrived.
In the corner stood a flipchart with Richards’ keynotes…
“Bag of bones with a step”
‘Bag of bones’ that day stepped up to the mark and greeted World Cup winner Will Greenwood with a high-tackle.
Yellow card and sent to the bin. On a positive note, Greenwood took the Otley lads out to Infernos in London – true rugby spirit.
Shutts ended his proper playing days at Otley and then moved over to Huddersfield to take on a coaching role and coached some of the first team lads who are now in the mix at Sandal.
I think it’s fair to say Shutts has had an eventful, but successful rugby career which has seen him represent Yorkshire at top-level, play in the Championship and of course captain Sandal’s first team.
Ian is now an avid supporter of Sandal, if he’s not at the rugby, he’s either playing cricket or crown green bowls in which he’s an exceptional bowler – Aka. The Dragoon.
Further reading