Former dual-code international Bev Risman has died at the age of 85, the Rugby Football League has announced. Risman represented England and toured with the British and Irish Lions in rugby union before switching to league with Leigh in 1961 and later moving to Leeds.
The son of another rugby league great in Gus Risman, he captained Great Britain in the 1968 World Cup and won both the Championship and Challenge Cup with Leeds. He was forced to retire by injury in 1970 but remained an influential figure in the game. He helped establish student rugby league, managed Fulham and became a director at London Broncos.
Risman was born in Salford but raised in Cumbria, and later returned north to serve as chairman at Carlisle. He was added to the sport’s roll of honour in 2005, served as RFL president in 2010 and was awarded an OBE for services to rugby league in 2012.
