Hull KR star named in inaugural Hall of Legends

Hull KR star named in inaugural Hall of Legends

9 minutes ago

Holly Phillips

,

East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

and

Matt Dean

,

BBC Radio Humberside

The wife of Hull KR great Roger Millward MBE said she was "over the moon" after he was inducted into the inaugural International Rugby League Hall of Legends.

Millward played more than 400 times for the Robins and coached them for 11 seasons after his retirement. He died in 2016 at the age of 68.

Carol Millward said she was "so proud" of her late husband and his most recent honour.

"I can't get over it, to be quite honest," she said. "He's obviously not being forgotten and he's left a mark somewhere."

His last appearance as captain, before he moved on to coaching the team, was in the 1980 Challenge Cup final win over rivals Hull FC at Wembley Stadium.

Millward was awarded the MBE for services to the sport in 1983 and inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2000.

He is among 42 icons to be inducted into the International Rugby League's inaugural Hall of Legends.

Carol, 79, said: "To have that achievement bestowed upon him after all these years, it's absolutely brilliant.

"He'd be really proud, but he was such a modest man.

"He'd have been quite humbled by it actually, there's a lot of people to choose from when you're looking at the international scene."

'Means the world'

Garrison Road in Hull city centrechanged its name to Roger Millward Wayin 2018, in Millward's honour.

Carol, who now lives in Kippax, West Yorkshire, said her late husband's most recent accolade would rank as one of his greatest achievements, alongside his Wembley win.

She said it "means the world" that people are still talking about him today.

"I don't really feel like he's ever gone," she said.

"I do, obviously, in a lot of ways, but the fact that people still remember him and still talk about him is very comforting."

Millward has been included alongside fellow rugby league greats Neil Fox and Arthur Beetson, who also played for Hull KR.

Billy Batten, who played for Hull FC between 1913 and 1924, and was considered one of the games early stars, has also been inducted.

They are among 11 British players included alongside the likes of Sir Billy Boston, Ellery Hanley and Alex Murphy.

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