Frank Myler (4 December 1938 – 27 March 2020) was an English former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
ed in the 1970s and 1980s. A
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
national representative or , he played at club level for
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
and
St. Helens, and also captained and coached
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
.
Playing career
Myler played left- and scored a
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
* ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs
* "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987)
* "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014)
* "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004)
* " Try (Ju ...
in
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
' 13–5 victory over
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...
in the
1963–64 Challenge Cup Final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on Saturday 9 May 1964, in front of a crowd of 84,488. Myler played left- in St. Helens' 30–2 victory over
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
in the
1968–69 Lancashire Cup Final at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
on Friday 25 October 1968. Myler played at left- in St. Helens' 4–7 defeat by
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
in the
1968 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...
Final at Central Park,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
on Tuesday 17 December 1968.
In the
1969–70 Northern Rugby Football League season's Championship Final Myler was voted
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
winning the
Harry Sunderland Trophy
The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final. Named after Harry Sunderland, who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom, the Troph ...
in St. Helens 24–12 victory over
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. In 1970, he captained the Lions squad. Following a heavy defeat in the first Test the Lions under Myler did not lose another game on the whole tour. Myler remains the last British captain to lift the Ashes trophy in Australia. He played in the 4–7 defeat by
Leigh
Leigh may refer to:
Places In England
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan
** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
* Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Dorset
* Leigh, Gloucestershire
* Leigh, Kent
* Leigh, Staf ...
in the
1970–71 Lancashire Cup
The 1970–71 Lancashire Cup was the fifty-eighth staging of the tournament. Leigh won the trophy by beating St. Helens by the score of 7–4 in the final. The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, ( historically in the county of Lanc ...
Final at
Station Road, Swinton
Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League.
Swinton moved to Station Road w ...
on Saturday 28 November 1970. Myler left St. Helens in 1971 to take up the position of
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
with the
Rochdale Hornets
The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...
from May 1971 until October 1974.
[
]
Coaching career
After three seasons at Rochdale where he took the team to the Players No 6 trophy final, although they lost 27–16 to Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, Myler succeeded Vince Karalius
Vincent "Vince" Peter Patrick Karalius (15 October 1932 – 13 December 2008), also known as "the Wild Bull of the Pampas", was an English rugby league footballer, and coach. He played as a loose forward, and was part of the Great Britain sq ...
as Widnes coach in May 1975. In May 1978 he was succeeded as Widnes coach by Doug Laughton
Charles Douglas Laughton (born 13 May 1944) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain ( ca ...
. After periods coaching at Oldham and Swinton Myler was appointed Great Britain coach in 1983 but after some early successes the team lost all six test matches to Australia and New Zealand during the 1984 Great Brian Lions tour and despite a win over Papua New Guinea in the last test of the tour Myler was not reappointed as coach. Thereafter, he returned to club coaching with Oldham and a second spell at Widnes.
Myler coached England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
for one fixture beating Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
60-13 on 28 May 1978.
Myler was one of the original thirteen former Widnes players inducted into the Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
Hall of Fame in 1992.
Myler died on 27 March 2020 after a long illness, aged 81.
References
External links
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rugby.widnes.tv
*(archived by web.archive.org
Hall of Fame at rugby.widnes.tv
Hall of Fame at rugby.widnes.tv
*(archived by web.archive.org
*(archived by web.archive.org
Kiwis open British tours…
Search for "Frank Myler" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myler, Frank
1938 births
2020 deaths
England national rugby league team coaches
England national rugby league team players
English rugby league coaches
English rugby league players
Great Britain national rugby league team captains
Great Britain national rugby league team coaches
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Oldham R.L.F.C. coaches
Rugby league players from Widnes
Rochdale Hornets coaches
Rugby league centres
Rugby league five-eighths
St Helens R.F.C. players
Swinton Lions coaches
Widnes Vikings coaches
Widnes Vikings players