Raymond James French, MBE (born 23 December 1939)Ray French takes his cup final leave
/ref> is an English former

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 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. French played at international level in both codes. He won four caps for

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 ...

in rugby union in 1961 as a lock forward, then moved to rugby league as a and played for his home town club, St. Helens, before going on to play at

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

. After training as a school teacher,Ashton's long road to Paris, via Leigh and Tyldesley
The Guardian – 19 October 2007 he taught at Cowley School in St. Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, where his local counterparts included Brian Ashton who taught at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. The school has been fully co-educational sinc ...

. French was a commentator on rugby league on both television and radio. He is well known for his range of

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...

s. French is regularly heard on the Rugby League show ''Try Time'' each Thursday on

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 203,000 ...

giving his views on the state of the game in his forthright way. He retired in 2019. In 2010, French received the Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League Award to mark his contribution to the game. Also President of the St Helens Past Players' Association, French was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to rugby league.

Playing career

Championship Final appearances

Ray French played left- in St. Helens' 35–12 victory over Halifax in the Championship Final during the 1965–66 season 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 Roa ...

on Saturday 28 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 30,165.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Ray French played left- in St. Helens' 21–2 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington ...

in the 1966 Challenge Cup Final during the 1965–66 season 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 List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on Saturday 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536.

County Cup Final appearances

Ray French played right- in St. Helens' 25–9 victory over Swinton in the

1961 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ( ...

Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on Saturday 11 November 1961; played left- in the 15–4 victory over

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, Staff ...

in the 1963 Lancashire Cup Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1963, and played left- in the 12–4 victory over Swinton in the

1964 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patri ...

Final atCentral Park, Wigan on Saturday 24 October 1964.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Ray French played left- in St. Helens' 0–4 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

in the

1965 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term as ...

Final at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hoste ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 14 December 1965.

Ray French Award

In August 2019 the Rugby Football League ran a poll among fans on the Our League app to name a trophy for the man of the match award in the 1895 Cup Final. French was one of three names in the poll along with Willie Horne and

Johnny Whiteley John William Whiteley MBE (20 November 1930 – 13 February 2022) was an English professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played his entire club career with Hull FC making over 400 appearances between 1950 and 1965. He also represente ...

. French won the poll with over 60% of the votes cast and presented the award at the inaugural

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

on 24 August 2019 to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

's Anthony Thackeray.

Award winners

*2019 Anthony Thackeray -

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their former ground. The original club w ...

*2020 Not awarded - no competition played due to the COVID-19 pandemic *2021 Craig Hall -

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

References

External links

Statistics at en.espn.co.ukSaints Heritage Society profileWidnes RLFC Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Ray 1939 births Living people BBC sports presenters and reporters British sports broadcasters Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players English rugby league commentators English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks Rugby union players from St Helens, Merseyside Schoolteachers from Lancashire St Helens R.F.C. players Widnes Vikings players