FAREWELL TO RAY
TALKING RUGBY LEAGUE
WithMARTYN SADLEREditor
LIKE everyone else in Rugby League, I was so sorry to hear of Ray French’s passing after a long battle against dementia, which is such a cruel and arbitrary disease.
Over the years I had many conversations with Ray about Rugby League, agreeing with him about 80% of the time and agreeing to differ on some of the other issues we didn’t see eye to eye on.
Ray was a great traditionalist in many respects. He hated squad numbers, for example, while I endorsed them.
I first became aware of him in 1966, when St Helens came to Wakefield in the first round of the Challenge Cup on 26 February that year and won 10-0, with Ray having a great game that made me, as an avid adolescent Wakefield supporter, not too kindly disposed towards him. He would subsequently be part of the St Helens team that won the Cup and League double that season.
But when I was the Chairman of the Student Rugby League in the 1980s my attitude changed. Ray was commentating for the BBC he was always extremely helpful and would talk and write about the student game with obvious enthusiasm whenever he could.