Sir Billy Boston obituary

First rugby league player to be knighted who was an explosive winger for Wigan and Great Britain

Sir Billy Boston, who has died aged 92, was one of the greatest, and most popular, rugby league players of all time. A rambunctious, explosive powerhouse of a winger for Great Britain and Wigan during the 1950s and 60s, he would leave trails of bedraggled tacklers in his wake with his blockbusting runs, while his robust defensive work often left opponents dazed.

With Boston’s strength, though, came great pace and handling skills, allied to a swerve and sidestep that few were able to counter. As a result he was a prodigious scorer of tries – 571 in 562 matches across a 17-year career in which he won a World Cup with Great Britain as well as three Challenge Cups and a league championship with Wigan.