Farewell Ray French

It is sad to learn the passing of a man so well-known and hugely respected in rugby circles, both locally and nationally. Raymond James French was awarded the MBE in 2011 for his services to rugby league, an honour he richly deserved.

He was truly a man of many parts: a dual code county and international rugby player, coach, television and radio commentator, author and columnist, after dinner speaker, rugby club President and more besides. Above all, there were no airs and graces with him whatsoever.

Born in St Helens on 23rd December 1939, Ray had rugby in his DNA. His father, Richard, was a sorter at United Glass Bottles [UGB] and played loose forward against Hunslet in a Challenge Cup tie at Parkside in 1939. There were always games of rugby going on in the area where the family lived, in Macfarlane Avenue, close to Saints’ Knowsley Road ground and he became a huge supporter of his local team. Ray attended Rivington Road school, initially, before going to Knowsley Road juniors, where he shared a desk with his close friend Geoff Lee, who became an author of renown in his own right.

Young French passed his scholarship and went to Cowley Grammar School where he thrived – particularly in games lessons – showing that he was to develop into a powerful rugby union back-row forward. He showed academic prowess and went on to study at Leeds University for four years, being awarded an honours degree in English, Latin and rather bizarrely, Russian, together with a Diploma in Education. He initially applied to do teacher training at Loughborough but was turned down because he was then a rugby league professional!

Meanwhile, his rugby career had blossomed with county and international recognition beckoning. He represented England in all their Four Nations matches in 1961 and his tough, all-action style was soon attracting scouts from rugby league clubs, such as Oldham, Leeds and Saints. It is well-documented that he ‘turned’ for a £5,000 fee but the lure of playing for his home town club proved to be irresistible in the end. There was also the influence of his Knowsley Road heroes in the mix too: Steve Llewellyn, Stan McCormick and Alan Prescott, his first coach, who taught him the need to be mentally, as well as physically tough.

Ray became a Saint on 21st August 1961 and was immensely proud to take up a position in the dressing room between skipper Vince Karalius and Dick Huddart. His senior debut was in a midweek league match against Wakefield Trinity, on 30th August 1961, who were no slouches. Supporter Adrian Lawrenson remembers the occasion well: “He was in a makeshift pack which, between Abe Terry and Dick Huddart, was filled with rookies. The boys did something right – they beat the team of the 1961-62 season 10-5; Trinity didn’t lose again for 20 matches! Ray became an integral part of the forward ‘engine room’ and late in a game, a lazy tackle from a tired opponent resulting in a Saints’ try was caused by the likes of Ray, John Warlow and Cliff Watson’s unselfish work doing the hard graft to lay a platform.”

Ray’s teaching career had begun with an appointment at Fairfield School in Widnes. He stayed there for three years before returning ‘home’ to Cowley Grammar School where he taught English Language, Literature, Latin and, inevitably, rugby! He married local girl Helen Bromilow in 1963 and a busy domestic and sporting life was to follow.

As we have seen, he had established himself as a grafter, tackler and enforcer – like Morgan Knowles in modern day Saints’ teams – in a pack which was one of the most formidable in the league made up with a cache of former rugby union stars like himself. He won a Lancashire Cup winner’s medal in his first season [1961-62] and two more [1963-64 and 1964-65]. In the Western Division final at Wigan against Swinton in 1964 he scored a rare touchdown to win the match, diving over the line in the right-hand corner. His coach, Stan McCormick, leapt up from his position in the dugout and smashed his head against the concrete ceiling! As Ray received his medal, Stan was being stretchered off!

A county representative in his second season, Ray earned the respect of his team-mates and became ‘pack leader’ by the mid-1960s [his great friend Alex Murphy was Club Captain] and was a tower of strength during the 1965-66 season, when the team won four cups, including the Championship final and a memorable 21-2 victory over old rivals Wigan at Wembley. If Len Killeen’s marvellous goal-kicking had not dominated the match, Ray’s 80-minute all-action display would surely have been in contention for the prestigious Lance Todd trophy.

Following Alex Murphy’s unfortunate departure he was the natural successor as Club Captain and another Championship final appearance beckoned in 1967 [a 21-9 loss to Wakefield Trinity after a 7-7 draw at Headingley] but it was time for change at Knowsley Road. Early in the 1967-68 season he was part of the deal which brought Widnes star Frank Myler to Knowsley Road. “I felt like a piece of meat on a supermarket shelf,” he recalled several years later but it led to a rejuvenation in his playing career, where his roll became more of a play-maker and selection for the Great Britain World Cup squad Down Under was due reward for his efforts. He later took over the captaincy of the Widnes team following Ged Lowe’s departure.

Ray’s influence was felt in both codes of rugby and he did much to break down the somewhat ridiculous barriers faced by former rugby union players who, at one time, were barred from playing, coaching and being involved with administrative duties in the rival code. This was highlighted in his ground-breaking publication, My Kind of Rugby [1978], a prelude to an impressive array of books, mostly about rugby league. As an English teacher writing came naturally and he had regular columns in the Today newspaper and Rugby Leaguer for many years.

He was a captivating public speaker and carved out an impressive niche in the media with long-running spells with Radio Merseyside and in television, where he took over from Eddie Waring as the BBCs principal commentator, in 1981, often in tandem with one of his former team-mate, Alex Murphy, as summariser. Two St Helens lads regularly on national television was quite something, although Ray’s colloquialisms at times bemused some of the listeners, particularly his use of the word ‘slutch’ when he thought that the ball should go out wide away from the muddy middle of the pitch! His final Challenge Cup final commentary was in 2008, when, rather fittingly, St Helens played Hull FC.

Ray played 207 matches for the Saints and a further 123 for Widnes in a ten-year professional playing career but his contributions after playing have been immense. He continued to coach both codes of rugby at Cowley School and went on to become Chairman and later President of Liverpool St Helens RUFC. Ray was also approached by the Saints and Salford about taking on coaching duties in the 1970s to which he gave serious consideration. A self-effacing character, he was a ‘hands-on’ guy, a classic ‘mover and shaker’ who got things done and was not afraid to ‘muck in.’ He did not hesitate, for example, to organise a Cowley rugby tour to Argentina in the early 1970s. Ray introduced rugby league to Cowley School and took early retirement in 1995, leaving an incredible sporting and academic legacy.

A former Chairman of the Rugby League Lions Association, another major area of success for Ray was as a Founder Member [and Chairman for many years] of the St Helens Players Association in 1978, together with Peter Harvey, Dave Markey and Geoff Pimblett. He chaired the Annual Dinners at Knowsley Road with great aplomb and saw many famous players – including himself – inducted into the coveted Hall of Fame over the years. One of his most memorable eulogies was during the funeral of Saints’ flying winger Frank Carlton, when Ray produced his own battered Cowley School cap. The cap had to be worn outside school in those days and Ray wore it at Wembley when Saints won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 1956 and related how he nearly lost it after throwing it up in the air when Carlton scored his crucial try, breaking the deadlock in a tense encounter.

A recipient of the Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League award in 2010, he was a man who has left a truly indelible mark on rugby and gained a legion of friends and admirers along the way – one of our Town’s finest sons, on and off the field. Ray and Helen had a daughter, Susan and son Gary, who like his father was an excellent rugby player.

Everyone at St Helens R.F.C. sends their condolences to his family at this sad time. A true rugby stalwart, he will be sorely missed by so many in the world of rugby.