FRANK WILSON’S cross-code rugby career started and ended in his home city of Cardiff, but he will be best remembered as a star threequarter for St Helens who provided plenty of pace, a mesmerising swerve – and a stack of tries.
There were 175 of them in 310 outings for the club, with whom he contributed to three league title triumphs and won the Challenge Cup and Lancashire Cup once apiece and the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy twice.
Wilson, who has died aged 80, also played for Workington Town (briefly), Warrington, Salford and Cardiff City Blue Dragons as well as Wales, featuring in seven of their eight ties in the 1975 World Cup, including the 12-7 ‘Battle of Brisbane’ win over England.
In all he won 14 caps after his failure to make the Wales union team contributed to his decision to leave the famous Cardiff club and turn professional with Saints in August 1968.
Wilson was the first Cardiff-born player of colour to become a regular for the Blue and Blacks, where he spent four seasons after signing from Llandaff North at the age of 20, playing alongside such as Gareth Edwards, Barry John and future Salford ace Maurice Richards.
In December 1967, he represented East Wales against the touring All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in what was seen as one of a number of trial matches for the forthcoming Five Nations.
Despite impressing, and scoring his side’s try, in a 3-3 draw, Wilson missed out on a call-up for the full Wales side, and opted to go North, initially trialling with Wigan.
When the Cherry and Whites decided against signing him, Saints, seeking a replacement for the superb South African winger Tom van Vollenhoven, made their move.
And in the summer of 1968, they clinched his signature for £2,000, with a further £1,000 after completion of ten first-team matches.
They were soon coughing up the second payment, because Wilson adapted to the 13-a-side game as quickly as he moved up the pitch (as well as in attack, he also proved his value defensively).
He notched 25 tries in 37 matches in his debut campaign, two of them in the 30-2 Lancashire Cup final win over Oldham at Central Park (he also featured in the 7-4 Floodlit Trophy final defeat at Wigan).
The 1969-70 season went even better, with 36 tries in 48 appearances, although a controversial selection call by coach Cliff Evans meant Wilson missed out on the Championship Final clash with Leeds at Odsal, where Saints won 24-12.
In 1970-71 (27 tries in 45 games), he tasted defeat in the finals of the Lancashire Cup (7-4 to Leigh at Station Road) and Floodlit Trophy (9-5 at Leeds) before an ankle injury ruled him out of the 16-12 Championship Final win over Wigan back at Swinton.
Wilson figured as Saints, by now coached by Jim Challinor, beat Rochdale Hornets 8-2 at Knowsley Road in the Floodlit Trophy final, then Leeds 16-13 at Wembley to win the Challenge Cup, in 1971-72.
Having done a fine containing job on opposite number Alan Smith, he eventually made a Saints Championship final line-up a week later, but Leeds gained revenge with a 9-5 win at Station Road.
Wilson played mainly in the centres in 1972-73, crossing four times in the 47-6 win at Huyton to repeat his feat in the 40-5 home victory over Swinton in his maiden season of 1968-69.
The league set-up went to two sections from 1973-74, when he chalked up 25 tries in 43 matches overall, two of them coming in the final of the end-of-season Club Championship, which had replaced the play-offs. However Saints were beaten 13-12 by Warrington at Central Park.
Wilson played his part as Eric Ashton’s Saints were runaway title winners in 1974-75, finishing eleven points clear of Wigan.
The Club Championship had been replaced by the Premiership, with Wilson and Co taking part in the inaugural final, won 26-11 by Leeds back at Wigan.
And in 1975-76, he made a fourth Floodlit Trophy final appearance, going over in the 22-2 defeat of Dewsbury at Knowsley Road (having claimed a hat-trick against Hull in round two).
However injury meant he played in neither the 20-5 Challenge Cup final win over Widnes at Wembley nor the 15-2 Premiership final success against Salford at Swinton.
Wilson’s final Saints appearances came on the club’s post-season three-match tour to Australia and New Zealand which included the unofficial World Club Challenge, won 25-2 by Eastern Suburbs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He was a Player’s No6 (later Regal) Trophy winner with Warrington, coached by his former Saints teammate Billy Bennion, in 1977-78, the 9-4 final win over Widnes coming on very familiar territory at Knowsley Road.
With 20 appearances (seven tries) for Cardiff in their inaugural campaign of 1981-82, Wilson’s final club career figures were 435 and 210.
His Wales debut came in the 24-17 win over England at The Willows in November 1968, but the Lang Park success in the same match-up during the 1975 World Cup, featuring five teams and played as a ‘home and away’ series over nine months, was even more memorable.
A sole try at international level came in Wales’ first World Cup match, which they lost 14-7 to France in Toulouse.
Wilson had a stint as assistant coach to Mike Coulman at Salford (where he had been captain) in 1983-84 and also had spells at the helm of Pilkington Recs, New Broughton Rangers and the University of Manchester Rugby League team, as well as contributing to the Rugby Football League’s national coaching scheme.
He was inducted into St Helens’ club hall of fame in December 2022.
