Long before he died on Friday morning, John Dawes had been elevated to a status reserved for the few who dared to change their sport for the better.
They belong to a rare category, one that cannot be defined by a single act no matter how historic like Joel Stransky and Jonny Wilkinson dropping goals to win extra-time World Cup finals. Doing justice to what the blacksmith’s boy from the coalfields around Chapel-of- Ease achieved over a period of time required a broader canvas.