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33 minutes ago
“Growing up down south I played rugby union and I went to school in Guildford. That’s quite unusual in rugby league, I’ve heard. Me and Oli are bringing the southern numbers up at the moment.”
Alfie Johnson and Oli Leyland have had a more unconventional path to the 13-a-side code given their respective upbringings.
Warrington Wolves have looked south to bolster their squad ahead of the 2025 season, by recruiting former London Broncos half-back Leyland and Johnson to their ranks.
Such is their faith in Johnson in particular, that despite his massive inexperience in rugby league, they offered the recent cross-code convert a two-year contract with the club.
BBC Radio Merseyside spoke to the pair to discuss how they went from growing up hundreds of miles from rugby league’s heartlands to signing for one of the giants of the sport.
Johnson’s pathway into professional sport came after he earned a contract with the England Sevens squad, having previously come through Harlequins’ academy.
The Covid pandemic ultimately put paid to that dream following a season where he had made 12 appearances and scored one try.
He then went on to earn a scholarship at Newcastle University, where he completed an undergraduate and masters degree and played rugby union alongside his studies.
From there, an opportunity with Leeds Rhinos followed, which led to a trial with the Super League giants and then a meeting with one of the sport’s biggest names.
“I got a text from Sam Burgess directly asking to meet up for a coffee, which was quite an interesting text to receive,” Johnson said.
“I sat down with him and he said Warrington were interested in signing me, he said he thought I’d fit rugby league very well and I might be a different sort of player to the ones they have at the moment, with my size.
“Obviously he’s done the transition from league to union and thought he could help and would be a good voice and supporter to help me do the same kind of thing.”
Leyland’s route to rugby league came at an earlier age compared to Johnson.
Having spent his early years playing rugby union, he crossed to rugby league at the age of 10 and “never looked back” after winning a scholarship with London Broncos and rising through their ranks to eventually reach the first team.
Such was Leyland’s importance to the club, he eventually appeared in every Super League game for the Broncos last term and earned himself a move up the M6 from 2025.
“The challenge is different [at Warrington],” he said.
“You’ve got so many different players around you. I’m not saying London had bad players but [there are] players [at Warrington] that are massively proven and have years of experience.
“You’ve got internationals but also someone like Stefan Ratchford. You talk to him and he’s 36 now and he’s done it for 20 years – just the little things he can give you and training alongside him, it does improve you.”
Going from smaller crowds at London to regularly playing with the level of expectation that Warrington brings is something that Leyland says he will learn about while on the job.
“London have a great group of loyal fans that are loud and proud. The money and time they spend travelling up and down the country is phenomenal and they’ve got massive respect,” he added.
“Here you’ve got 10 or 15 times that, which is going to be daunting. It’s going to be interesting playing in front of a packed Halliwell Jones every week.
“I’m excited to meet people and get to grips with it and try and put my best foot forward and represent this town, which has a great club and history and deserves to be represented in the right way.”
Johnson launched into a gruelling pre-season in a new sport shortly after he signed for the club in October but said that it has come with a steep learning curve to get his head around how things work in comparison to rugby union.
“I’ve watched the NRL quite a bit but I’m quite new to Super League. Growing up it was not even on the radar, it was rugby union for me,” Johnson admitted.
“In terms of playing, I’m a novice. I still have moments where my brain is thinking I should be doing something when actually I should be doing the opposite.
“It’s been massive but I’ve really enjoyed it and learned absolutely tonnes in pre-season and all the coaches have been fantastic with me.
“They sit down after every session and go through the footage and pick out where I can be better, what I can do differently, doing extra stuff with all the coaches.”
One thing Johnson has noticed since transitioning to rugby league is that the sport works quite a bit faster than what he had been used to in rugby union.
“The codes are so different now, for me to come in here and have the arrogance that I would be better than anyone would be crazy. I need to learn first. These boys have been doing it from such a young age,” he continued.
“I’m 23 and in a rugby union sense I’m probably quite young. In a rugby league sense I feel old in this training group.
“We did something the other day and I was in the old group. It just shows how talented this young group of lads are.”
