For the love of Higgy...

MICK Jewitt and his son Adam (right).

MICK JEWITT has devoted his life to Higginshaw Rugby League club — at considerable cost to his body.

The 42-year-old, who has an association with the club that stretches back almost 25 years, has been under the knife more times than a Christmas turkey.

A catalogue of operations throughout his rugby career have resulted in Jewitt having metal plates inserted in both ankles, eight bolts and a plate in his shoulder and metal pins in a wrist.

With that lot, you would expect the centre — who works by day as a window cleaner — to set off a cacophony of alarms when passing through the metal detectors at an airport. But it hasn’t happened yet.

“I’ve never been abroad,” Jewitt revealed, as he talked to the Chronicle in-between painting the changing rooms at Higginshaw’s St Stephens Street base red, white and black.

“For me it’s rugby on Saturday, match fishing on Sunday and golf on Monday so I don’t get the chance.”

Jewitt’s devotion to the Higginshaw club, who operate in North-West Counties League division four, is the stuff of legend.

He has overcome all manner of injuries to carry on playing the game he loves, the most recent of which came when breaking a lower leg in three places during a tackle on him in December 2005. Jewitt stayed in hospital for four days and his playing days were said to be finally over.

“It’s a devastating blow to player and club,” said Higgy secretary John Mellor at the time, prior to arranging a fund-raising event for Jewitt that reached a total of over £1,000, a symbol of the high esteem he is held in.

“Michael has been a superb servant to the club, on and off the pitch, over the past 20 years.”

But Mellor, who also knows more than a thing or two about long service to Higginshaw, really should have known better than to use the past tense.

Seven years ago Jewitt suffered his most serious injury when fracturing his neck. At the time, the medical advice he received was never to take to the field again.

But such was his determination to overcome such minor difficulties, Jewitt discharged himself from hospital and later carried on playing once more — albeit after subsequent hospital appointments showed the injury to not be as serious as first feared.

His latest comeback was a recent one and this season Jewitt is currently playing alongside his 20-year-old son Adam, of whom he concedes “he’s better than me”.

“What I said to the coach was, if we are short then I’ll play,” he said. “My wife doesn’t like it though!

“Higginshaw is my heart and soul. It is always a struggle for money here and we are the poorest club around, but we’re getting a good craic together at the moment and the future looks good.”