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Why don't rugby league people in England receive knighthoods?

RL Sonja
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RL Sonja

RL Sonja

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Posted

Didn't want to sidetrack the Burrow thread...

https://thecritic.co.uk/class-matters-why-rugby-league-players-dont-receive-knighthoods/

Frankly it is pathetic and needs to change. And I'm not just talking about Sinfield.

Neil Fox won a World Cup as captain 1960 - nothing.

Clive Sullivan won a World Cup as captain 1972 - nothing. 

You can't tell me J. WIlkinson earned his more waddling behind a huge pack of forwards and kicking the odd drop goal. 

 

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"There has never been a Challenge Cup semifinal of 65,000 either individually or combined" - Damien

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Tides Of History
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I wrote this piece - thanks for sharing! Just a bit of extra context. My motivation was to look at the debate around knighthoods in RL and raise awareness of the issue because - for many outsider

RL Sonja
RL Sonja

Didn't want to sidetrack the Burrow thread... https://thecritic.co.uk/class-matters-why-rugby-league-players-dont-receive-knighthoods/ Frankly it is pathetic and needs to change. And I'm not

RigbyLuger
RigbyLuger

Yeah, daft how it took decades for members of the 1966 World Cup winners to get honours whereas a medal at the Olympics gets you on straight away now.

Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

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Posted
1 minute ago, LeeF said:

How many have been nominated?
 

Anyone, in theory, can nominate as per the underneath link

https://www.gov.uk/honours

 

But as I recall, Lee, you cannot propose a specific category of honour (unless the process has changed recently)

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LeeF

LeeF

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Just now, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

But as I recall, Lee, you cannot propose a specific category of honour (unless the process has changed recently)

Correct but you can nominate people and if they meet the requisite standard then they should get the appropriate award. I would hazard a guess that some very worthy people have not been nominated for a multitude of reasons 

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Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

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10 minutes ago, LeeF said:

Correct but you can nominate people and if they meet the requisite standard then they should get the appropriate award. I would hazard a guess that some very worthy people have not been nominated for a multitude of reasons 

Agreed.

I also think that awards have been more readily given to sportsmen and women - rightly or wrongly - in more recent years.

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RigbyLuger

RigbyLuger

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26 minutes ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

Agreed.

I also think that awards have been more readily given to sportsmen and women - rightly or wrongly - in more recent years.

Yeah, daft how it took decades for members of the 1966 World Cup winners to get honours whereas a medal at the Olympics gets you on straight away now.

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stevecl

stevecl

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10 hours ago, RL Sonja said:

Didn't want to sidetrack the Burrow thread...

https://thecritic.co.uk/class-matters-why-rugby-league-players-dont-receive-knighthoods/

Frankly it is pathetic and needs to change. And I'm not just talking about Sinfield.

Neil Fox won a World Cup as captain 1960 - nothing.

Clive Sullivan won a World Cup as captain 1972 - nothing. 

You can't tell me J. WIlkinson earned his more waddling behind a huge pack of forwards and kicking the odd drop goal. 

 

Unless I blinked and missed it, I’m not sure JW is a “sir” is he?

 

 

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Just Browny

Just Browny

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1 hour ago, stevecl said:

Unless I blinked and missed it, I’m not sure JW is a “sir” is he?

 

 

Officially a saint I think.

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I can confirm 30+ less sales for Scotland vs Italy at Workington, after this afternoons test purchase for the Tonga match, £7.50 is extremely reasonable, however a £2.50 'delivery' fee for a walk in purchase is beyond taking the mickey, good luck with that, it's cheaper on the telly.

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gingerjon

gingerjon

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17 hours ago, stevecl said:

Unless I blinked and missed it, I’m not sure JW is a “sir” is he?

 

 

CBE

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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Tides Of History

Tides Of History

Posted
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On 07/04/2022 at 03:18, RL Sonja said:

Didn't want to sidetrack the Burrow thread...

https://thecritic.co.uk/class-matters-why-rugby-league-players-dont-receive-knighthoods/

Frankly it is pathetic and needs to change. And I'm not just talking about Sinfield.

Neil Fox won a World Cup as captain 1960 - nothing.

Clive Sullivan won a World Cup as captain 1972 - nothing. 

You can't tell me J. WIlkinson earned his more waddling behind a huge pack of forwards and kicking the odd drop goal. 

 

I wrote this piece - thanks for sharing!

Just a bit of extra context. My motivation was to look at the debate around knighthoods in RL and raise awareness of the issue because - for many outsiders that i speak to - its a surprise to them that no one in our game has been knighted. 

On a secondary point, i wanted to address the bog standard reply of "why does it matter", "the honours system is a joke" and "how do we know if people want them anyway". I think it does matter. Not because i believe in the honours system, but because our athletes - such as Hanley, Boston, Robinson, Sinfield - have done as much for British sport as any else who has been put forward for this honour. In many ways, their humble origins mean they are more worthy of honours. 

I don't really understand why their achievements shouldn't be on a par with all the cricket players, F1 drivers and olympians who have been knighted. And unless we talk about it more, i doubt that will change. 

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RL Sonja

RL Sonja

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Great article - thanks for writing it. 

The nomination thing is a red herring. We all know why this happens and you summed it up in one word - "class".

Very sad for a supposedly enlightened country that it can't/couldn't see the obvious worth of awarding such a title on rugby league people such as Neil Fox, Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan and Ellery Hanley for starters. 

Edited by RL Sonja

"There has never been a Challenge Cup semifinal of 65,000 either individually or combined" - Damien

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Anita Bath

Anita Bath

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I think its mainly an individual sports thing.  If you look at football and yawnion there are few (and yes I know few is more than none!) who have been awarded a knighthood for their football playing career.  For players whose careers were in the  50 years I can only find 4 yawnion players and 5 football players (doesnt include folks who were managers Fergie did not get knighted for what he did on the field). Even fewer tennis players and golfers.

However cricketers do seem to be the exception 15 over roughly the same period.

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RL Sonja

RL Sonja

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Well, of the four I named above... 

* 2 World Cup winning captains before the equivalent union and cricket tournaments even commenced - only one sadly still with us. 

* A Welsh genius who had to leave that country to get a fair go as a black rugby player. 

* The first ever black coach of a Great Britain national team in any sport - and a fair genius on the pitch as well. 

Those three would be a start... four if the rules are changed and it permits an award posthumously. 

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"There has never been a Challenge Cup semifinal of 65,000 either individually or combined" - Damien

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JohnM

JohnM

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6 hours ago, RL Sonja said:

Great article - thanks for writing it. 

The nomination thing is a red herring. We all know why this happens and you summed it up in one word - "class".

Very sad for a supposedly enlightened country that it can't/couldn't see the obvious worth of awarding such a title on rugby league people such as Neil Fox, Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan and Ellery Hanley for starters. 

The nomination thing is a red herring. We all know why this happens and you summed it up in one word - "class".

No. We do not all know why this happens.in fact, I believe none of us really  know why it happens,whatever "it" is. You hold a particular view involving  "class" Then, funnily enough, you find yourself agreeing with someone who supports that view.  

If you really believe there is a case to answer (and yes it is disappointing that Fox etc were not recognised in the way you want  (are you are supporting the honours system or do you want it abolished?) then rather than sitting in rugby corner of "The Class Warriors Arms", take your case to the Rugby League All Party Parliamentary Group. Mind you, I don't believe you'll even click on this link, never mind read the contents or perish the thought, actually contact them about your issue.

 https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/APPG/rugby-league

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