DAVID BAINES is the Member of Parliament for St Helens North and he is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group. Here he pays tribute to Rugby League’s first ever Knight of the Realm, Sir Billy Boston.
ARISE, Sir Billy!
After 130 years, our game finally has its first knight and I know the whole Rugby League community could not be prouder of Sir Billy Boston.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Billy and his wonderful family at Buckingham Palace, where I could thank him personally on behalf of all fans past and present.
The knighthood for Sir Billy Boston marked not just a personal triumph for a remarkable man, but the end of what I can only describe as a scandal — a sporting injustice that has persisted for far too long, that no Rugby League player had been knighted for services to the sport, its communities and our country.
As Chair of the Rugby League All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) since last summer, this was one of the first things we decided we would campaign on. And with the strong support and encouragement of the RFL we have worked both publicly and privately to understand how the process works and to get into the ears of the people who make the decisions.
I raised it in the Commons Chamber in February as the new season began, and I received vocal support from the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Since then, it has been raised by numerous MPs and I must give special credit to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy. She is a Wigan MP and a passionate supporter of our game, and this breakthrough wouldn’t have happened without her. Likewise, Sir Billy’s MP Josh Simons has played a big role in raising the profile of the campaign and making it happen, and the Rugby League writer Anthony Broxton has been among those tireless in his support. It has been a real team effort.
The fact that our game was overlooked for 130 years cannot be explained by lack of merit. Like other sports that come from working class roots and have also been largely ignored by the honours system, such as darts, snooker and boxing, I can’t avoid the conclusion that in the eyes of the decision makers Rugby League players simply don’t go to the right schools or mix in the right social circles.
Sir Billy’s knighthood finally smashes down that barrier, which stood for far too long, and the credit goes to one man and one man only – Sir Billy Boston. He’s led the way in his life and his career, and by becoming Rugby League’s first knight he is doing so again.
I can think of no better candidate to become our first knight.
As League Express readers will know, his journey to legendary status was far from straightforward. He was spurned by Welsh rugby union because of the colour of his skin, but when he came north to Wigan in 1953 he found a welcome that would transform both his life and the sport itself.
Even as a lifelong St Helens fan, I have been brought up on tales of his brilliance. In 488 appearances for Wigan, Sir Billy scored 478 tries — a record that speaks not just to his athletic prowess but to his consistency and longevity. He became a three-time Challenge Cup winner and helped establish Wigan as one of the most successful clubs of the age.
Sir Billy’s significance extends far beyond mere statistics. He was a Black leader at a time when the country had no Black politicians, which we can easily forget today.
In 1954, he made history as the first non-white player selected for a Great Britain tour. In an era when racial prejudice was endemic in British sport and society, this was a groundbreaking moment. His selection came after just a few matches for Wigan — a testament to his extraordinary talent and to the fact he was accepted in our game when he never would have been in union.
The Role of the APPG
While we celebrate this historic moment, we must also acknowledge that this cannot be where the story ends.
Sir Billy’s knighthood must be the first of many.
Rugby League has produced countless individuals worthy of such recognition — players, coaches, administrators, and volunteers who have given their lives to the sport and enriched their communities in doing so.
Our APPG will be continuing to champion worthy candidates and will be doing our best to make sure they get the recognition they deserve.
And we’ll be working to highlight not just honours, but the broader issue of discrimination against Rugby League. The APPG was formed in 1987 with Ian McCartney MP as the first Chairman and David Hinchliffe MP as secretary.
APPGs are informal cross-party groups of Members of Parliament and Peers in the UK Parliament who share a common interest in particular issues, causes, countries, or sectors. These groups operate outside the formal parliamentary structure and are not official parliamentary committees, but they provide a forum for parliamentarians to meet regularly with stakeholders and raise causes and issues they think need addressing.
Throughout its history, the Rugby League APPG has achieved some landmark victories that helped to transform the game’s position in British society. Perhaps most significantly, it was instrumental in lifting the ban on our sport in the British Armed Forces – a prohibition that had existed since the sport’s inception and represented one of the most glaring examples of institutional discrimination against our game.
Equally important was the APPG’s challenge to Rugby Union’s lifetime ban on any adult who had played Rugby League. This discriminatory rule still applied in the 1990s, long after Britain had created a raft of equality laws in the workplace. Let us not forget that anyone over 18 who had been associated with League was banned forever from Union. It was an injustice David Hinchliffe rightly described as “one of the longest (and daftest) grievances in history.”
The APPG’s persistent campaign, including Hinchliffe’s Sports (Discrimination) Bill introduced in 1994, helped pressure the RFU to eventually abandon this prejudiced policy.
More recently, my predecessor as Chair, Judith Cummins MP, and Lord Jonathan Caine fought to secure emergency funding for the game when Covid hit. I have heard firsthand from clubs and officials that without their support the game faced a cliff edge.
These victories helped to open doors that had been firmly shut for over a century and have helped to keep the sport alive. I am very proud to hold the role of Chair today.
As well as campaigning for our first knighthood, we have also been actively engaged with the government over a new National Facilities Strategy, recognising that investment in grassroots facilities is crucial for the sport’s future growth.
And last week we met with Wales Rugby League in parliament to hear about the scandalous disparity in funding between League and other sports from Sport Wales.
Performance Director Clive Griffiths – who will be very familiar to League Express readers – and Chair James Davies aren’t asking for the world, just a fair shot.
We need to ensure that the next Billy Boston growing up in Wales has every opportunity to play Rugby League and the APPG will be doing all we can to ensure that happens. We were joined by Lisa Nandy and the Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock at our meeting and we’ll be continuing the campaign in the coming weeks.
I also want to use my position to shape national strategies, and this is where Rugby League fans can help us too. Last week, I had the privilege of helping launch Movember’s exhibition at Parliament during Men’s Mental Health Week with Great Britain legend Keith Senior and Judith Cummins MP.
It was a brilliant exhibition showcasing the critical mental health challenges facing men in our communities. I believe that through initiatives like the ‘Ahead of the Game’ programme delivered with Rugby League Cares we can build genuine resilience among young men facing life’s challenges.
The government is now asking people to complete a short survey and I’m writing to all our clubs asking them to contribute their voices to the 12-week consultation on the new men’s health strategy, and I urge League Express readers to do so as well: https://consultations.dhsc.gov.uk/mens-health-strategy
But finally, for now, let’s reflect on Sir Billy Boston.
What makes Sir Billy’s story so compelling is how it reflects the values that Rugby League has always embodied.
The villages, towns and cities where Rugby League is in the blood have had to fight time and again for their fair share. So has Rugby League as a sport. So did Sir Billy.
His knighthood is a win for him first and foremost, but we should all take heart from it – and be under no illusion that the fight goes on.
See further tributes to Sir Billy Boston in Monday’s League Express.