LES DYL (December 1, 1952 – May 21, 2022)
Les Dyl was a classy centre whose flair and flamboyance made him a big hit with supporters of Leeds, with whom he won a league title, two Challenge Cups and eight other trophies.
A three-times tourist, twice with Great Britain and once with England, he featured in 24 Tests, including the 1977 World Cup Final, in which the Lions lost out to Australia by a single point at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Dyl, who has died aged 69 after a period of ill health, also made eight appearances for Yorkshire, helping them win the County Championship in 1972/73, 1975/76 and 1982/83.
Having made his Leeds debut early in the 1970/71 season as a 17-year-old signed from Headingley Juniors, who had recruited him from the Castleford schools scene, he completed his career by captaining Bramley for the 1988/89 Second Division campaign, by the end of which he was 36.
Recruited by his old Leeds team-mate turned Bramley coach Tony Fisher, Dyl scored four tries in 23 games to go with 193 in 434 matches for Leeds, where he formed a fine left-sided partnership with John Atkinson.
He is ninth on Leeds’ all-time appearances list and their eighth-highest try-scorer and was inducted into their hall of fame in December 2020.
The club will pay tribute to Dyl at a forthcoming event, which will combine the latest Hall of Fame inductions with a 50th anniversary celebration of their 1971/72 title triumph.
Having topped the 30-team table, Derek Turner’s team beat Leigh, Widnes and Salford in the 16-strong play-offs before defeating St Helens 9-5 in the 1972 Championship Final at Station Road.
That brought revenge for the 16-13 Challenge Cup final defeat by Kev Coslett-inspired Saints seven days earlier, a second Wembley disappointment in two years for Leeds after their 24-7 loss to Leigh in 1970/71, when Dyl came on as a substitute.
Despite not playing the 9-5 final win over St Helens, he had earned a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners’ medal that season with an impressive two-try performance in the 15-6 first-round win at Barrow.
Leeds and Dyl had another busy and bright season in 1972/73, winning the Yorkshire Cup (he scored two tries in the 36-9 win over Dewsbury at Odsal) and Player’s No6 Trophy (Salford were seen off 12-7 at Fartown) before losing out on successive league titles title when Dewsbury claimed an unexpected 22-13 win in the last of the old-style Championship Finals at Odsal).
The Yorkshire Cup proved fruitful, for he featured in four further finals, all on familiar territory at Headingley, winning each – 7-2 against Wakefield in 1973/74, 15-11 against Hull KR in 1975/76, when he scored a try, 16-12 against Featherstone in 1976/77, when he scored two tries and won the man-of-the-match award, and 15-6 against Halifax in 1979/80.
And after those first two Challenge Cup final disappointments, Dyl twice tasted Wembley wins, 16-7 against Widnes in 1976/77, when he crossed for a try, and 14-12 against old foes St Helens in 1977/78.
He had helped see off Saints by a 26-11 margin in the Premiership final of 1974/75 at Central Park, while he also featured in the 24-2 win over Bradford in the 1978/79 version at Fartown.
But Dyl was denied a second John Player (by now Special Trophy) triumph in 1982/83, when Wigan won the final 15-4 at Elland Road.
At the end of that season, having worked as a public health inspector while playing rugby part-time, he headed to Spain as the proprietor of a Benidorm bar (he later ran a hotel-restaurant in Bridlington).
Dyl returned to Leeds for a three-match stint in 1984/85 before that final season at Bramley.
Given his power, pace and acceleration, his clever hands and strong fend-off and sheer bravery in getting across the try-line, it’s no surprise so many international calls came his way.
The first of Dyl’s eleven Great Britain appearances (four tries) came under coach Jim Challinor in the 16-11 win over Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the second Ashes Test of 1974 (the Kangaroos won the series 2-1). He then played in all three Tests against New Zealand, who were beaten 2-1.
His second Lions tour was for the 1977 World Cup under David Watkins, and he played in all three round-robin ties, the 23-4 win over France at Carlaw Park Auckland, 30-12 victory over New Zealand at Addington Showgrounds in Christchurch and 19-5 defeat by Australia at Lang Park, Brisbane, before featuring in the 13-12 loss to the Kangaroos in the final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Dyl made a try-scoring England debut in the 11-9 win over France at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan in the 1975 European Championships.
And later that year, he played in six of Alex Murphy’s side’s eight matches in the World Cup, which was spread out in a series hosted by each of the five participating nations over an eight-month period. Each played the other four on a home and away basis, with Australia the winners and England second.
In total, Dyl played in 13 Tests for England, scoring two tries.
His former Leeds team-mate and now club chief executive Gary Hetherington said: “I was brought up in the same street as Les in Castleford and when I came to Leeds I played in the same team.
“He was a terrific player and a great team man, and I reckon there was a spell when he was among the best centres in the world.
“He was rarely injured, he always played and he had electric speed and great strength.”
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