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Times
3 days ago
- Times
Ray French: icon who spread good word of rugby league beyond the north
When Alan Tait, a Lion in rugby union and league, published his autobiography, there were two forewords: one by Bill McLaren, one by Ray French. They were the voices of their codes. 'Only those who, like myself, crossed the once-great divide between rugby union and rugby league can appreciate the nerves experienced by a former 15-a-side international as he waits to take the field before an often highly critical audience in the 13-a-side code,' French wrote. 'Whatever a player's skills, speed, mental toughness or attitude in union, he stands a naked man on the touchlines of rugby league.' Ray French's death at the age of 85, announced on Saturday, is a passing of sadness for rugby league, but it should be marked across the divide. He played for England as a lock forward in the 1961 Five Nations before turning professional, winning four caps for Great Britain. French didn't even have to move towns, for he was a man of St Helens, where — so he said — they didn't care much if you played union for England or were a Lions team-mate of Willie John McBride and Dickie Jeeps, as he might have been in 1962 had he stayed. It was all league. French's voice then carried the 13-man game across Britain as the BBC's voice of rugby league, calling the Challenge Cup finals from 1982 to 2008. He was the successor to Eddie Waring, who was a light-entertainment figure impersonated by Mike Yarwood but divisive as a reinforcer of stereotypes. In Tony Hannan's biography of Waring, French explained his approach to the role. 'You have to engage with every viewer, not just those who live in the north of England,' he said. 'Of the people watching, 85 per cent aren't from rugby league country. The biggest proportion comes from down south or in Wales or Scotland or wherever. 'People have said to me, 'Ray, why do you always say players come from such and such a place?' It's because people don't know. You might know in Wigan or Warrington that he's from St Pats, but nobody in Hackney Wick knows that, do they?' Those, like me, who didn't know their St Pats [an amateur rugby league club in Wigan] from their St Helens tuned into this slightly alien form of rugby on a Saturday afternoon and had French to explain the action. It was fascinating to discover — only in recent years — that French was a rugby man with time for both variants, even if league was his natural home. French wrote about and coached the 15 and 13-man games, content to praise and criticise alike and to refer to diehards on either side as 'bigoted'. My Kind of Rugby: Union and League came out in 1979. Ten years later there was More Kinds of Rugby. French liked that union retained a gulf between forwards and backs, but believed it overly orientated around set-piece tedium. Citing small club attendances in London and the north, he presciently warned that 'professionalism will present more problems to union than even its most ardent supporters can imagine'. In union, French was not immune to the social and geographical distinctions inseparable from the story of the codes. He recalled, in Joe Hall's oral history of England players, being served lobster thermidor the night before a trial and not knowing what to do with it. Huw Richards's The Red and the White, a history of Anglo-Welsh rivalry, tells the story of French counting snooker and rugby league as hobbies, but for a programme profile he listed them instead as squash and skiing so as not to stick out. '[Carston] Catcheside, when collecting the answers, asked where he skied,' Richards said. 'French answered 'the Bergi', and was relieved that no further information was sought. The Bergi was, in fact, a St Helens landmark, a vast spoil-heap created by glassmakers Pilkington.' French started playing rugby on the street near his home on McFarlane Avenue, with handkerchiefs around his knees. He watched St Helens in the 1953 Challenge Cup final at Wembley, and knew of union only when he passed the 11-plus for Cowley School. He went on to Leeds University and became an English teacher, returning to Cowley to coach union and league. John Hopkins focused a section of his 1979 book Rugby on the success of rugby at Cowley. French believed in handling and running, not kicking and scrummaging, and limited the latter practices in training. 'Rugby is like a concertina,' he said. 'It goes in and it goes out … You've got to vary your game.' Reading French's quotes now, he strikes as the sort of inspirational coach that schools desperately need today. 'The Firsts are the key to a school's success,' he said. 'They determine a school's spirit. They are the side who appear in the local press and they are the ones the little boys are reading about. After them, the most important are the under-12s. Get a lad at 11 and you've got him for life.' When the Ashes returns to Wembley on October 25, the clip of Jonathan Davies's famous try against Australia in 1994 will do the rounds again and French's voice will ring out. A man who crossed divides and codes into living rooms. He would often say he still liked union but league was his calling, admiring its honesty and modesty, and translating that warmth to 85 per cent of his audience. He loved the game and the game loved him. 'Whatever happens, whatever the future for the oval ball, I have no doubt that it will continue to give pleasure to countless thousands,' French wrote in 1989. 'Hopefully, whatever code they play, coach, or commentate upon they will receive as much satisfaction as I have done from my involvement with the greatest game of all — rugby.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Danika Mason enjoys a romantic rendezvous just days after receiving shock update about her footy star boyfriend Liam Knight
Channel Nine sports presenter Danika Mason has jetted off to Singapore for a romantic getaway with her footy star boyfriend Liam Knight, who has sent her a heartfelt birthday message. Their trip comes just days after Knight, 30, inked a 12-month contract extension with Hull FC in the Super League. Mason first uploaded an image from the Tanjong Beach Club with the accompanying caption: 'Out of office.' Hours later the glamorous media identity posted another Instagram story, featuring her in a cosy couple shot next to Knight in Singapore. It was then the footy star's turn to publicly declare his love for Mason. In a gushing message, Knight also posted a number of images featuring the couple travelling abroad together. 'Happy birthday to my best friend,' the front-rower posted on Tuesday night. 'I love doing life with you. Many more adventures to come.' Knight, who hails from Alice Springs, was released by the Bulldogs last year after playing just two matches during the 2024 season. But since his arrival at Hull FC, Knight has impressed, and is a fan favourite at the Yorkshire-based outfit. It is understood he flew to Singapore for a mini break, with John Cartwright's team next in action on August 11 against Salford. 'I'm stoked to be staying here – I really love this club and I'm really excited to see what we can keep building over the next 12 months,' Knight told the club's website. 'I've really fallen in love with the fans and the atmosphere, both home and away – they're so dedicated. I love the playing group we have here and the coaching staff too – it's a fun place to come to work and that's being reflected in our performances.' Mason and Knight went public with their relationship back in 2024. The holiday comes just days after Knight (pictured with Mason) inked a 12-month contract extension with Hull FC in the Super League Knight signed for Hull FC prior to the 2025 season, and the loved-up pair have enjoyed some time travelling around Europe, taking a trip to France (pictured) and Italy Mason and Knight (pictured playing for Hull FC) are committed to staying together despite the long distance separating them The footy star took to social media to publish a loved-up snap of the couple embracing, while writing: 'My life's good.' The pair have since jetted around the world together, with Mason flying to London to spend some time with her beau in October, before also travelling to Rome and Paris. Mason began dating the footy star after calling off her marriage to Todd Liubinskas. The Wide World of Sports presenter, who recently replaced Alex Cullen on Nine's Today Show, was due to tie the knot in October of last year, but cancelled the ceremony, which was due to be held at the Greystone Estate in NSW's Hunter Valley. Mason - who initially began working for Nine as an intern - has also worked on Nine's NRL coverage and fronted the outlet's coverage of the Australian Open.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Super League votes to add two clubs and return to 14-team competition for 2026
Super League will expand to 14 teams in 2026 after clubs approved an increase in the competition by two at the earliest possible opportunity. Officials from all clubs met in Leeds on Monday to discuss a strategic review of the professional game that had been led by Nigel Wood, the former chief executive of the Rugby Football League who has now returned as the governing body's chair, despite being paid more than £300,000 to leave in 2018. His review recommended that Super League's best course of action for a strong financial future was to increase the size of the competition. Nine clubs voted in favour of that proposal on Monday afternoon; the Guardian understands that Hull FC and Hull KR voted against the idea, while Wigan Warriors abstained from voting. However, the next steps towards expansion are complicated and epitomise the chaos that continues to engulf the sport's boardrooms following Wood's controversial return to power. Twelve of the 14 teams that play in Super League next year will be determined by the IMG gradings system which was introduced last year. That measures clubs in a variety of on- and off‑field metrics, giving them a score out of 20. The 12 clubs which rank the highest in October will be automatically assured of a spot in Super League in 2026. The expectation as things stand would be that the Championship side Toulouse would replace Salford in the top 12. But that will not be the only change, as two more clubs will essentially be handpicked by an independent panel, based on a selection of criteria that is yet to be finalised. That panel will be led by the RFL board member Lord Jonathan Caine but will also include members of Wood's strategic review committee. Wood was, up until earlier this year, the chair of another side that will now be strong favourites to return to Super League, Bradford Bulls. They are not the only ones who will be hopeful of promotion through this unique and somewhat peculiar method. The Championship leaders York Knights are confident they have a compelling case to become a Super League side for the first time, while London, who would have missed out under the gradings system, now have an increased chance due to support in the boardrooms at certain clubs for the Broncos. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion A move back to 14 teams for the first time since 2014 comes at a crucial time for the sport. Super League is keen to position itself in as strong a position as possible ahead of a new broadcast cycle beginning in 2027. Supporters of the move believe a more simplistic fixture list, with the elimination of loop fixtures where some teams play each other three times, will appeal to all stakeholders. There were also concerns in some quarters about having two French sides, Toulouse and Catalans, in a 12-team competition, which would limit revenue streams.
