At St.Helens R.F.C.’s 150th Year Celebration Dinner on Saturday 18th November, The Greatest Of All Time – James Roby took his rightful place among our Club’s icons in the St.Helens Hall Of Fame.
The St.Helens R.F.C. Players’ Association welcomed Roby to join the highly esteemed group of men, with Club Chairman Eamonn McManus and the legendary Harry Pinner on stage presenting Saint #1136 with a special award to acknowledge his inclusion in our Hall Of Fame.
His induction is a break in tradition by the Players’ Association who typically wait a number of years following a player’s retirement. However, given Roby’s exceptional service to the Saints, and on the eve of St.Helens R.F.C.’s 150th anniversary date of its founding James Roby now joins the likes of Kel Coslett, Billy Benyon, Alex Murphy, and Tom van Vollenhoven to name just a few of the icons who are part of the Red V’s Hall Of Fame.
It was an extraordinary moment for all who came to the Celebration Dinner, with so many players across many eras of the Club in attendance celebrating a historic moment in rugby league; 150 years of St.Helens.
You name it, James Roby has done it for the Saints across a wonderful and highly successful twenty-year career which he brought to an end upon the conclusion of the 2023 season in October. ‘Robes’ is one of the finest players that the sport of rugby league has ever had with; six Super League titles, eight League Leaders’ Shields, four Challenge Cups, and two World Club Challenges to his name.
The hooker retired as the man with the most match appearances for St.Helens, recording an astonishing 551 matches in the Red V after overtaking Kel Coslett in May 2023, who held the record for 47 years.
