Leeds Rhinos' James Bentley quits booze to help him calm down on rugby pitch

15 March 2024 , 07:40

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Leeds Rhinos' James Bentley in opening day win over Salford (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

Leeds star James Bentley says quitting the booze has helped him calm down and improve his game.

He faces former club St Helens tonight as the Rhinos seek four wins in a row. Ironically, the fiery Ireland second-row is back from a one-game ban for striking Catalans’ Tariq Sims. But Bentley, who went public with his sobriety bid in January, reckons giving alcohol a miss has definitely had a positive impact. He said: “I’ve done a lot of work on how I can control myself.

“And I do feel like from not drinking I am a lot calmer; the way I react to things is getting better. There’s still room for improvement and I know I’m not the finished article; what I did against Catalans caused me that ban. So there’s still bits I need to learn from to control and not let other things influence me.

“But I feel a lot better for not drinking - fitter, movement-wise, speed, agility - and like I’m getting to my best rugby. It got to a point where I knew it [alcohol] wasn’t good for me anymore. It was affecting all different areas of my life. Obviously, everyone is different and it’s a personal choice. But I’d definitely recommend it. For me, it’s coming up to six months on the 25th [of March]. I feel mega for it.”

Bentley, who spent four years at Saints and won the 2020 Grand Final with them, realises his former club will be desperate to perform tonight after last week's shock home defeat to Salford. The 26 year-old said: "They’re strong all over the park. They have world-class players: [Jack] Welsby at full-back, Jonny [Lomax] and Doddy in the halves, in the middles they have Big Al [Walmsley], Matty Lees and Morgan Knowles, a back-row with people like Joe Batchelor.

'I stopped drinking booze on dates and it made life much more exciting'

"We have to bring our best. They’re coming off the back of a loss and I know they won’t want to make it two on the bounce. But we have the chance to put four wins in a row together which would be massive for us. I can't wait. It was disappointing to miss a week but it was a chance to rest up, get some niggles right and get my body in a bit better nick."

Leeds' James Bentley takes on Salford (Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

In his absence, Leeds recovered from 16-0 down to win at Leigh last Friday. Bentley, who appeared in the 2022 Grand Final with Rhinos in his first campaign at Headingley, added: "It was a massive win for us.

"To comeback like we did: there was real grit and determination to stick with the process and the result came. We’ve worked on that a lot this year and going into this week we want another win. We’ve not lost at home too which is big for us. We want to keep Headingley a fortress."

David Craven