Former Great Britain captain Mike Gregory has died aged 43 after a four-year battle with a neurological disease.
Legend loses fight for life
Tributes to Mike Gregory
Former Great Britain captain and Wigan coach Mike Gregory has died aged 43 after a four-year battle with a neurological disease, his family has announced.
He leaves a widow, Erica, and two sons, five-year-old Ben and nine-year-old Sam.
The Gregory family traced his illness back to an insect bite while on tour of Australia with the Great Britain academy team in 2003. It is thought the bite caused Mike to develop progressive muscular atrophy, a form of motor neurone disease.
The Wigan-born former Warrington loose forward was confined to a wheelchair for the last 12 months.
Admirers
He spent the last three years battling the illness and won many new admirers for his courage in adversity.
Gregory played virtually his entire career with Warrington and won 20 caps for his country, the most memorable of them in the third Test in Sydney in 1988 when his long-range try clinched the first British victory over Australia in a decade.
He also captained Great Britain to two Test series victories over New Zealand.
He began the Super League era as assistant to coach Shaun McRae at St Helens, helping Saints to the inaugural Super League title and two Challenge Cups.
He then coached Swinton before joining the backroom staff at Wigan, initially as academy coach and then as assistant to Stuart Raper.
Courage
He succeeded Raper at his home-town club in July 2004 and, after guiding the Warriors to an 11-match unbeaten run culminating in a Grand Final appearance, he was given the job full-time on a two-year contract.
He took Wigan to the Challenge Cup final the following May but that was to prove his last match in charge.
Former Wigan and Great Britain centre Joe Lydon paid this tribute: "Anyone who played with him or against him or watched him play would have respected Mike for his courage.
"He brought that same courage to his fight against an appalling illness. We are all lucky to have known him."
