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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Bal Marsius

Remembering Billy Boston: First Ever Rugby League Knight, Non-White UK Player on Lions Tour Passes at 92

Rugby league pioneer Sir Billy Boston, the sport's first knight and Lions trailblazer, has died aged 92, just days after his wife of 70 years (Credit: Sionk/Wikimedia Commons)

Sir Billy Boston, the trailblazing rugby league winger who became the sport's first knight and the first non‑white player to represent Great Britain on a Lions tour, has died aged 92.

Boston died peacefully in hospital on 24 August 2026, seven decades after his historic selection for the 1954 tour and a lifetime in which he scored more than 500 tries and helped change the face of the game.

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