Hurricane Paul whirls towards Wembley

As a youngster in the Auckland suburb of Te Atatu, Henry Paul would prop his eyes open with matchsticks, lean over the foot of his bed and watch the Challenge Cup final live from the other side of the world. Those early hours memories centre around one player: "Kevin Iro always seemed to score two tries," Paul said.

His memory is as good as his rugby. Iro scored twice in three successive Wembley appearances for Wigan. This Saturday, the kid who marvelled at his faraway heroics will be out to prevent him recapturing past glories for Leeds. It says much for him that, for all the Wembley pedigree of players such as Iro, Ellery Hanley, Shaun Edwards and Martin Offiah, the player who, more than any other, looks made for the place is Paul.

There is an expansive, joyous quality about his play that cries out for the setting of the big occasion. The prospect of Paul picking up the ball and running from deep at Wembley is a mouth-watering one. Not that he is completely new to the place. Just 18 months ago, as captain of the Junior Kiwis, Paul played against Great Britain's Academy side before the first Test against New Zealand.

Word had preceded the Junior Kiwis that Paul was something special and in that match he showed that the advance publicity was correct. Among the interested spectators was David Topliss, the then Wakefield Trinity coach, who had the presence of mind to seek Paul out and sign him for the rest of the season. "He was obviously an outstanding talent, already capable of playing at the highest level," Topliss recalled.

"Wembley was where it all started for me," Paul said. "It has been an amazing 18 months - beyond all my expectations."

Paul immediately stood out for Trinity, never more than in leading them to a remarkable victory at Wigan. Someone else was watching and taking note this time, the Wigan chairman, Jack Robinson. Wigan wanted him, but there was a complication. As the most exciting young talent in New Zealand, Paul had already been signed by the Auckland Warriors in preparation for their entry into the Winfield Cup this year.

His first six months in England had seen his market value soar, however, and Wigan were prepared to improve vastly on his Auckland contract. In return for Wigan's waiving of the transfer fee for Andy Platt, the Warriors released him, a decision that could have long-term consequences for both clubs.

Playing everywhere from loose-forward to full-back, Paul has been a revelation in his first full season in Britain. "I was expecting to spend most of the season in the reserves," he claimed. "Everything that has happened has been a bonus for me."

Paul, now 21, gives much of the credit for the speed with which he has settled in at Wigan to an old neighbour from Auckland whom he had never met. "I knew about Va'aiga Tuigamala, of course - he was a legend. We didn't live far apart, but I didn't meet him until I came to Wigan. Since then, he has really looked after me, like the true friend and the true Christian he is."

The two can usually be seen together after the end of normal training, putting in some extra work on their handling skills, either out on the pitch at Central Park or on an improvised basketball court to the side of the Whitbread Stand. They are not players who actually need remedial work on their technique, but that does not stop them; these are fellows who love their work.

Paul also gives Tuigamala, or rather players like him, the credit for another trademark of his playing style. He and his younger brother, Robbie, now at Bradford Northern - like Sherlock Holmes with Mycroft, Henry always claims that Robbie is the more talented - both have a knack of spinning out of a tackle in a way that both bemuses and infuriates defences.

In Henry's case, it sometimes seems that he accepts the attentions of a tackler only to use him as a fulcrum upon which to make his escape. "It goes back to when I was 13 or 14 - a little white kid playing against Samoans who were as big then as Inga is now. You had to learn to spin. You certainly didn't want to run straight into them."

Paul has undeniably put defences in a spin this season. Always exuberant and willing to try the unexpected, he is the sort of player who makes things happen. The match earlier this month against St Helens was an outstanding example. Following up a drop-out from Andrew Farrell, Paul picked up the ball's second bounce on the half-way line to score a try unlike any that even the oldest of old-timers at Central Park could recall.

That bubbling enthusiasm comes through off the field, too. Wigan have their share of wary old pros - and even one or two wary young pros - but Paul will chat away and spin a yarn with anyone. The little white kid from Te Atatu is like a breath of fresh air. Last year on Cup final day, Paul did not even watch the match. "I was playing cricket for a team in Wakefield. I thought I could wait for Wembley until I went myself."

This Saturday, he goes there - and could spin through the old stadium like a small whirlwind. Nobody who has watched his progress through the past 18 heady months would be the least bit surprised.