Former Vikings star Chris Houston joins Tim Holmes in an exclusive club interview as he is awarded his heritage number

Widnes Vikings General Manager Tim Holmes caught up with Australian Back-row Chris Houston, reflecting on his time at the club.

The former St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights man made over 150 NRL appearances before linking up with the Vikings back in 2016.

Chris would remain with Widnes until 2018 making 68 appearances for the club, before calling time on his playing career.

In an extensive interview a wide range of topics was discussed including the famous collisions with former Super League referee Phil Bentham.

Chris shares details on his arrival at the club and the challenges he faced moving across to the UK both on and off the field.

In trademark Houston style, he revealed only having two training sessions with the club before his first match.

He also shares his experiences of the town on and off the field and reveals who in the Rugby League world he still remains in touch with.

Life after Rugby

The former Widnes star now works within adult learning, delivering sessions and workshops around mental health and wellbeing.

During the interview, Chris revealed how Widnes Vikings and Tim Holmes had key influences in shaping his career after Rugby League.

Chris went onto say “Arriving at Widnes I had a teaching degree, but I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to teach full time, but with the help of the club teaming up with the NHS, we started to develop wellbeing programmes to teach in schools.”

“I was passionate about it and got the opportunity to go to some schools within Widnes and give it a trial, after that I got the opportunity to sit in a mental health first aid course up in Leeds, I remember you (Tim) encouraging me to go to that.”

“I remember thinking on that course I am learning so much for myself, but also for my teammates and family to relate and support them.”

“Pretty much from that day I thought why don’t I do this moving forward and progress into the adult learning space.”

On being awarded his heritage number

During the interview Chris was presented with his heritage number 1074. To his delight he expressed the importance and value of being awarded his heritage number.

He went onto say “It is really special, it was a big part of my life, to be connected with the Vikings during my time playing and now life after Rugby League is really special to me.”

“When I took the field I had pride in my performances, I was playing for my teammates for sure, but also the community and honouring the people who had worn that jersey before me and that is what the numbers represent.”

For the full length Chris Houston interview, alongside Kurt Sorensen’s and other bonus content, please head over to the Widnes Vikings You-Tube channel to sign up for the premium package costing as little as £2.99 per month.