Kris Radlinski’s thoughts will drift to a marble gravestone in Warsaw when he hops in his car and heads down to St Helens for the short derby trip.
Prior to becoming chief executive, he made 322 appearances as one of the club’s all-time greats, and that is how long his love affair with Wigan began.
He refers to the Saints game as the “jewel in the crown” of British sport since it “never disappoints,” starting from the Christmas he unwrapped his first Cherry and White hooped shirt and continuing through many encounters.
However, he claims that it wasn’t just one specific instance in his incredible playing career that ignited the spark. Instead, it was the kindness Wiganers showed his family when the Radlinskis relocated to the town from Poland at the close of World War II, even before he was born.
“I’m here 100% because of that,” he declares. “The love my grandparents and nan had for the town. Who knows what my trip might have been had it not been for that.
“Even simply talking about it makes me emotional. Everything that occurs has a purpose. My journey began while I played for Wigan and continues now that I work for Wigan. However, it all began with them.
The 47-year-old Radlinski will then talk about this Good Friday matchup, which has all the makings of a classic considering that Wigan is the current Super League champion and the Saints have won the last four finals.
He will talk about how much he has always respected the club on the other side of Billinge Hill, which he joined as a schoolboy before Wigan called.
Additionally, he will discuss how close England rugby union player and former national captain Owen Farrell was to changing codes and donning a Warriors shirt for the first time.
But not before letting his heart open on the journey he and his father John took to find the final burial place of Polish Special Forces member Jan Radlinski.
“I will always cherish the moment I found my grandfather,” the Wigan chief says. “My dad had been trying to find him for years, but had not been successful.”
According to Radlinski, a few years after the war, Jan had left his wife in Wigan with their three children—including Kris’ father—in order to serve in the military in Poland.
Kris adds, “We thought my granddad had passed away because he stopped communicating with his family. Then, unexpectedly, we receive a letter from Poland’s pensions department in 2006.
The letter informed us of his death, which occurred in 1976—the year I was born—and provided the address of his Warsaw tomb. Dad and I boarded an aircraft right away, and once we were airborne, we headed to this enormous cemetery.
“Even now, remembering that moment when we pulled back weeds and branches that had grown over the gravestone to reveal his name, makes me shiver. Dad never thought he would find him.”
“It was the kind of thing you read about in books or watch on TV.”
History, namely the notable past of the Wigan Warriors and its influence on the present, continues to play a significant role in Radlinski’s life.
“There’s a lot of pressure to be the chief executive here,” he says. “First of all, I have to remind myself every day that I’ve gone from coveting a Wigan jersey as a child to actually playing one and contributing to its design.
I’ll never take it for granted since it’s a true privilege, but there is a lot of strain attached. This town has very high standards. Our rugby heritage has set us on a challenging course.
Maybe, but Matt Peet’s team, who emerged victorious from the World Club Challenge and are now the only undefeated team in the Super League, seem to be inspired rather than burdened by it.
It’s time for the actual test, which Peet believes will be much harder than the one Australian champions Penrith presented at the DW earlier this month.
Radlinski states, “There is a fierce rivalry here.” “We are eight miles apart, two communities divided by a hill. Some individuals from St Helens are employed in Wigan, and vice versa. families having conflicting allegiances.
However, I honestly think that because we bring out the best in each other, the competitiveness stems from a place of great, deep respect. In the end, what the Saints have accomplished in the past four years has improved us.
“To reach their levels, we’ve had to examine ourselves and consider what has to be done on the inside. Respect for one’s profession exists. When the final whistle blows, you’ll witness it as the players embrace.
There has been optimism in Wigan since Owen Farrell’s boyhood days playing league for St Patrick’s, believing that the record England points scorer would return from union to join his father Andy’s old club.
It has never occurred; Farrell said in January that he will sign a two-year contract with Racing 92 in France this summer, leaving Saracens.
However, Radlinski disclosed to Love Rugby League how near he thinks the Warriors were to signing him in the previous season.
“I’ve known Owen for twenty years,” he begins. Since he was a small child, he has always been around our club and our training, and I have often asked him if he would ever want to play for Wigan.
“It’s possible that those conversations were only six or seven months ago, when he had to make a decision since his future at Saracens was questionable. We probably didn’t get any closer than that.
We were present at the celebration, right in the middle.
On Friday, Radlinski and Farrell will support the Warriors together, but the former is now content that the latter does not really play for the team.
Could it possibly occur? At this point, I believe it to be one contract too far,” Radlinski says. Owen will be spending a few years abroad.