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Former Great Britain winger Mick Sullivan dies aged 82

WIGAN - APRIL 14:  Generic view of a Rugby League ball during the Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Challenge Cup Semi-Final match between Leeds Rhinos and St Helens at

Record-breaking winger Mick Sullivan has died after a long illness at the age of 82, his family has announced.

One of only 25 members of the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Sullivan was last week admitted to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, where he died on Tuesday afternoon.

A World Cup winner in 1954 at the age of just 20, Sullivan set the record for most Great Britain caps with 46, which was later equalled by Garry Schofield.

He scored 41 tries for Great Britain and played in a record 36 consecutive Tests after making his debut at centre in the World Cup defeat of Australia at Lyon in 1954.

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He began his professional career at Huddersfield and moved to Wigan for a then record £9,500 fee in 1957 before joining St Helens for £11,000, another record, four years later.

He also had spells with York and as player-coach with his home-town club Dewsbury before going on to play in Australia, where he was captain and coach of Junee in the Group 9 competition in southern New South Wales for three years from 1966-68.

In total he scored 342 tries, which included a chart-topping 50 in the 1957-58 season and 120 in a representative career of 102 games for Yorkshire, England and Great Britain.

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