Knights' Taylor Pemberton on 'most enjoyable 40 minutes of his career'

The young hooker arrived on deadline day on loan from Betfred Super League heavyweights St Helens, with head coach Andrew Henderson thrusting him straight into the action at Widnes Vikings on August 20.

Introduced on the half-hour mark in place of Will Jubb, Pemberton backed himself with a superb dart out of dummy half to level the scores after Widnes had taken an early lead through Sam Wilde.

EXCL: Pemberton 'absolutely loving' life at York Knights amid St Helens loan

Despite seeing an impressive debut cut short by a rib injury, Pemberton described it as “the most enjoyable 40 minutes” of his career to date.

“I was more excited, because I just wanted to go out there and show what I can do on the field,” he told The Press.

“I’ve not really had much game time this year to go out there and prove it so to get the opportunity for me in the first week coming down to York, it was quite a shock and a surprise.

“But it was an opportunity that couldn’t go un-missed, and that second half was probably the most enjoyable 40 minutes of my rugby career. I think people can see that from the pictures from the game and my facial expressions.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the only game, but it’s definitely a game that I enjoyed probably the most in my career. Not just with a new set of lads, but with how quickly a new spine can gel together. It was really good.

“Just watching the game unfold and just being a part of that second-half performance that was exciting rugby, it was a really good day.”

Pemberton crashed over from close range out of dummy half to mark his York debut with a try. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

The reality of his fast start did not sink in until after the match, with the young talent admitting that he never envisaged scoring on his debut, let alone within seconds of coming onto the pitch.

“I think I’d only been on the field for about a minute!” he laughed.

“We’d had a quick set and we were five metres out from the line, Kirmo [Danny Kirmond] got us a quick ruck and I thought ‘I’ll just have a crack’.

“I managed to barge my way over, but I was never expecting to score on my debut, never mind in the first minute and with my first touch!

“It didn’t really sink in at first because you’re in the moment and you’re in the game. But when I sat down, I was like ‘I’ve just scored on my debut for York in the first minute, what the hell is going on!’

“It was good, it was really good.”

Henderson calls for York Knights to finish home campaign on a high

While predominantly a hooker, Pemberton can also cover at loose forward, half-back or in the back row, with Henderson describing his versatility as a younger version of “Mr Fix It” James Cunningham.

He was given his first run-out alongside Liam Harris in the halves after an injury to Josh Daley at Bradford Bulls on Sunday, garnering praise from spectators and his head coach alike after helping to swing the crucial tie in York’s favour.

With the Knights allowed to advance from halfway after a strong defensive set saw them pin the Bulls back within their 20-metre line, Pemberton delivered a grubber into the direction of AJ Towse, the young winger converting into the left corner to fire his side back in front.

Pemberton was typically humble about his contribution however, stating that the Knights’ ‘team-first mentality’ spurred him on to do his best in the halves - despite not having played in the position, or even trained there during his time in York.

“I’m used to playing in all sorts of positions,” he explained. “I think that I’ve played in every position but prop, and hopefully I never have to do that!

“When I got the call from Hendo to go into the halves, I wouldn’t say that it was panic stations, but it was ‘you’re going in somewhere that you’ve not trained in at York, you’ve not trained there for a very long time’. But you’ve got to go in there and do your job.

“It’s what Hendo says though, keep it simple, think through your processes and just play what’s in front. That’s what you’ve got to do and you’ve got to put the team first.

“Having that team-first mentality really brings out the best in everyone, and if you implement that into your game, you can spur other people on.

“I think that going on in the halves, it adds extra strings into your bow because it also brings more opportunities across the line if someone does go down, you know that you can go and do a job in a different spot.

“It does only benefit the team as well as me, so I think having that team-first mentality, that was what got me through the Bradford game.”

Taylor Pemberton's face when asked by a fan his reaction after AJ Towse scored from his grubber kick. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

Pemberton, though, was as shocked as anybody at his assist. Asked whether he believed that his kick would fashion a try, he joked: “If I’m brutally honest, no!

“It was a bit of a brain fart moment, but I just saw that people were high in the line and I thought that if I put a kick through, something might come of it.

“My initial thought was that the ball was going to go dead and that we’d end up defending seven tackles and the game would be different.

“I was panicking, but when AJ picked it up and scored, it was a massive relief. I think I’ve never celebrated a try as much in my life! He probably saved my backside.

“They say, though, that if you never try stuff, you don’t know if it’ll happen, so I think if you play off-the-cuff rugby, then just back your skill and it’ll come off.”