Leeds Rhinos were inspired in the build-up to their Grand Final “threepeat” by watching videos of Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Los Angeles Lakers and Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose Antarctic expedition of 1914-17 was one of the great feats of human endurance.

Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, was crushed by pack ice and the crew survived on ice floes for five months before reaching Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five others traversed 850 miles of the fiercest seas in an open boat to reach South Georgia Island and make it back with a rescue ship.

Brian McClennan, Leeds’s New Zealand coach, said: “We watched the DVD of Shackleton’s expedition to set the environment for what we wanted as a team. We wanted to secure that mindset. It’s a great analogy of a group of men, mainly Englishmen, plus an Aussie and a New Zealander, and it’s a brilliant story. The New England Patriots used it for one of their Super Bowl wins and we decided to do the same.

“They survived for 20-odd months without losing a single life. The message was all about strength and unity. The whole philosophy was about working hard together and you saw that with us.”