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Not now Yes please
Sport Mike Stephenson recalls low-key fanfare when Britain won Rugby League World Cup The heroes of 1972 made an unheralded return from France, where they had lifted the trophy
Clive Sullivan, seen lifting the Challenge Cup with Hull, led Great Britain to World Cup glory 50 years ago (PA Archive) (PA Archive) Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Read more There was no fanfare, no open-top bus parade and certainly no visit to Number 10 when Britain last won the Rugby League World Cup .
The heroes of 1972 made an unheralded return from France, where they lifted the trophy after a 10-10 draw in the final against Australia in Lyon, as Mike Stephenson recalls.
āInstead of going back into Leeds, we got diverted to Birmingham,ā says the former Dewsbury hooker and one-time television pundit who will return from his Sydney home to attend this yearās tournament.
āAnd when we arrived there was no media or radio, just one photographer who came over and said, āare you the mob thatās won something in the World Cup?ā
āHe said he only wanted the players who scored in the final so the only photo to my knowledge was of Terry Clawson, Clive Sullivan and myself with the trophy.ā
The first fans to see the trophy on British soil were the British Aerospace factory work-mates of skipper Sullivan, whose 60-metre opportunist try provided the highlight of the all-important draw with the Kangaroos.
Sullivan, who was the first black sportsman to captain a British national team, died of cancer in 1985 but his widow Ros has vivid memories of the historic occasion.
āThere wasnāt much ceremony,ā she says. āWe put banners in the street but, by the time he came home, it was dark so you couldnāt see them.
āIt must have been a bit of a letdown after such a great win but he brought the World Cup home and took it to work the next day.
āI donāt think Clive was disappointed, he was so pleased they had won. They were very down to earth in those days. They all had second jobs, they werenāt as well looked after as they are now.ā
Stephenson, who also scored two tries for his home-town club Dewsbury in their Championship victory over Leeds the following year, says Sullivan was the inspiration behind the World Cup triumph.
āThe British press didnāt give us much chance but that made us more determined, it was a chance to prove them wrong,ā he said.
If training was at nine, Clive would say, 'let's start at half seven'. He was an inspiration
Mike Stephenson
āIt proved to me the importance of team spirit. Clive was the captain as much off the field as on. If training was at nine, heād say, āletās start at half sevenā. He was an inspiration.ā
Stephenson says Britainās triumph was such a low-key occasion, the victorious players were not presented with any medals and it was only through his initiative 41 years later that the wrong was put right.
āBecause the French didnāt win it, they didnāt release any medals and they had to make a new trophy because the original one had been stolen,ā he says.
āBefore the 2013 World Cup, I went to the promoters and got them to cast some medals and it was agreed they would be presented before the final.
āBut the RFL changed their mind and decided to present them at the British Lions lunch instead. I was back in Australia by then but at least my father was there to collect it on my behalf.ā
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