Liam Byrne believes the culture he has been a part of at Wigan Warriors over the last few years has been ‘second to none’, and hopes he can add a bit of that flavour to new club Warrington Wolves come 2026.
Byrne‘s breakthrough at Wigan did not come easily. Starting out at community club Cadishead Rhinos, he was handed a trial by the Warriors as a teenager having caught the eye of a local amateur coach.
Catching the train to Wigan so he could attend training sessions, the Salfordian eventually got his first-team chance in 2019 having pulled on a shirt as a loanee for both Swinton and Leigh by then.
Scoring a try on debut for the Cherry and Whites against Hull FC, he never really looked back: and six years on, departs for Warrington having scooped seven major honours.
New Warrington Wolves recruit Liam Byrne shares ‘culture’ ambition amid fond farewell to Wigan Warriors
Seven-time Ireland international Byrne had put pen to paper on his two-year deal with Wire before a ball had even been kicked this season, and came close to the fairytale ending as he reached Old Trafford with Wigan.
It wasn’t to be last weekend as Matt Peet’s side were beaten 24-6 by Hull KR at the Theatre of Dreams, but having played over 150 games for the Warriors, he moves on with nothing but pride.
Speaking to LoveRugbyLeague about his move, the front-rower said: “I’ve had so many fond memories and there are so many lessons I’ve learned at this club.
“The culture that Matt’s built here in the last three of four years has been second to none, and I’m obviously grateful to have experienced a culture like that.
“Hopefully I can go in there (to Warrington) and we can build on what they’ve got now.
“Warrington are a great club, I used to watch them a lot when I was younger and I really idolised some of their players.
“This is massive for me.”
Byrne will join a Wolves squad headed up by Sam Burgess which failed to deliver in 2025, reaching the Challenge Cup final where they came minutes away from glory but finishing eighth on the Super League ladder.
He remains confident of a bright future at the Halliwell Jones Stadium though, adding: “They might not have been happy with how the season went this year, but Sam has got a good group and they’ve got the potential to be a great team.
“I think it’s good to go somewhere, scrap everything and start afresh.
“I’ll see what I can add to that group.”
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