He's big, he's fast, he's an up-an-coming star of the rugby world - and he loves his mum. As Mother's Day approaches, Helen Mead spoke to Bradford Bulls player Leon Pryce and mum Janet about their relationship.

LEON PRYCE is a talented youngster. Only 18, he plays rugby league for Bradford Bulls, pitting his 6ft 2in frame against some of the toughest guys in the game. Yet at his Bradford home he's just Leon - one of the family, having a laugh with his younger brother Karl, dad Dennis and mum Janet.

The family, who live near the Bulls' Odsal home, are close and have always got on well. Leon's rise to rugby stardom has not changed a thing. "He's the same person he always was," says Janet, 36, who is proud of both her tall, good-looking boys.

Adds Leon: "It is a great job because I like sport, but it is just a job at the end of the day, it does not change anything else."

When Leon was at school at Wibsey Middle and Thornton Grammar there was no indication that he had a future in rugby. "It was later on, in his teens, that he shone," says Janet, who with Dennis and Karl, went along to every game. "We went in all weathers," she says, adding: "I cleaned his boots and washed his kit - and now Karl plays for Wibsey Warriors so I do the same for him."

Says Leon: "All the family, my nan and grandad and uncle, and lots of our friends go to the games. I really like them being there."

Karl does not miss out on the action - he's a ball boy at Odsal Stadium, a job Leon used to do before he joined the Bradford Bulls Academy in 1998.

Leon's down-to-earth personality may not have altered through being catapulted into the limelight. But some things have changed. His life is so hectic that he does not spend as much time at home as he used to - and is missed. Says Janet: "He is so busy, I miss him being around the house."

Yet when he is at home, the teenager has not lost any of his more irritating traits. "He's not very tidy and I still have to pick all his things up from the floor," says Janet.

Leon is not entirely appreciative. "She gets on my nerves sometimes," he jokes, adding that the two are similar characters, which is not always a recipe for harmony.

Says Janet: "We are both very stubborn, but overall we get on well."

Janet not only looks after Leon at home, she helps him with his finances - something which could be daunting to an 18-year-old. "He will ask me for advice and I'll go into town with him to help sort things out."

And he often turns to her for advice on clothes. "If he's got dressed to go out he will ask for my advice and if I don't give the right answer I get into trouble," she jokes. "But I will do the same and ask him - I value his opinion."

Janet works hard to give her sons a happy, comfortable home, yet there is one thing she does not do. "Dad does all the cooking, he's really good," says Leon.

Although Janet praises her eldest son for his maturity and independence, she still worries about him. "I feel very protective of him as his mum - which is natural. I keep a watchful eye on him and have stood my corner for him a few times."

She admits to being anxious when, in September 1998, Leon made the leap from the amateur game to professional level. "It was very scary. It is quite a big jump - it's more physical. I felt a mixture of nerves and pride."

Now, with his striking looks, Leon is often recognised in the street. Janet says the attention left her feeling a bit strange at first, but says she has grown used to it. And Leon is proud when people notice him. "At first I found it a bit strange as well, but it's nice to have people recognise me."

As for female admirers, Janet lets her son deal with that by himself. "I don't let that worry me. He's always been very sensible and capable. He has a good head on his shoulders."

Leon has a regular girlfriend, Carly, who gets on well with his mum. "Although we don't often see them," says Janet, "Leon isn't one for sitting down on the sofa drinking tea. He pops in now and again with Carly but we don't all live in each other's pockets."

Karl, a pupil at Buttershaw Upper School, may well follow in Leon's footsteps. Says Leon: "Being my brother he will be under a lot of pressure in that sense, but it is up to him to do his own thing and go at his own pace."

And like his big brother, whatever he does he knows he will always be well looked after at home by his mum.

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