Opinions are great and I don't think anyone should stop speaking their mind, but I would offer that two guys in a pub aren't controversial, not because "nobody knows them" but because they have a limited audience.

As soon as you have one (an audience) which doesn't seem that difficult in 'this day an age' with more platforms than a night at a 1970's disco, then you might want to consider what you say, a case of 'know your audience'?

Or maybe not, you'll get a critique no matter what, but sometimes if your best known for being controversial for the sake of it 'just' to stir things up, then some of the good stuff will inevitably get lost as people dismiss or ridicule the content based on reputation alone.

Schofield is quite a unique character.

He has a high opinion of himself but he's quite in touch with ordinary fans. He regards himself as the greatest player who played the game but he never sought to be part of a clique of ex players or media who saw themselves as above ordinary folk. I used to live in Leeds and you'd see him in the pubs watching the games on Sky and he'd chat to anybody about rugby league. He was funny and friendly with people and you rarely see that from sports stars, they always try to keep themselves a bit apart from the riff raff. Everybody in Leeds knew who he was and so he was always getting attention but he seemed happy to exist among the ordinary fans as one of them.

His views tended to be populist and predictable: too many overseas players, clubs don't give young lads with talent the chance to develop, the game these days is crap compared to what it used to be. But over time I think a lot of people started to agree with him especially on the last one. He never fell for any emporers-new-clothes style hype.

And for those of us old enough to remember him as a player he was absolutely world class. There were some incredible British players back then with him, Hanley, Offiah, Davies, Edwards.

It is very sad to hear of his health problems and I wish him all the best.

He was an exceptional player and in his articles spoke his mind, unbowed by what the reaction would be or what the "group think" of the time was. A contrast to the Sky or BBC "yes men" who push the narrative that the game is thriving and the best ever.

Just looking at that 1990 ashes side

Denis Betts
Jonathan Davies
Paul Eastwood
Martin Offiah
Andy Greg
Mike Greg
Steve Hampson
Karl Harrison
Ellery Hanley
Lee Jackson
Paul Laughlin
Andy Platt
He who shall not be named
Garry Schofield
Kevin Ward

Very close series with GB winning at Wembley 19-12 in the first game (I was there).

Those were the days! It seems hard to imagine in the current climate, but in addition to the three Tests against GB, the Aussies played 10 other matches during that tour of England, against Saints, Wakefield, Wigan, Cumbria, Leeds, Wire, Castleford, Halifax, Hull FC and Widnes. They then went straight over to France and played a further five matches over there!

Test test tes

Well, also test test test