Friday 16 September 2016 15:10, UK
Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Centurions will bring their season to an exciting climax at Headingley Carnegie on Thursday, September 22 and to mark the occasion they will compete for the newly-inaugurated Bev Risman Trophy as well as looking to gain top spot in the Super 8s Qualifiers.
Going into the penultimate round of the Qualifiers both teams are unbeaten with Leigh Centurions having booked their return to the First Utility Super League for the first time since 2005.
The highly-anticipated top-of-the-table clash will be televised live on Sky Sports. In honour of a former great of both clubs, Bev Risman, the decision has been taken to strike a trophy for the occasion. The trophy is kindly being donated by Sky Sports and Bev and his wife Ann will be special guests at the match.
Bev will present the trophy to the winning captain on the pitch after the game. It is the intention for the clubs to compete annually for the trophy, the winner being determined by the aggregate scores of the respective league games in seasons when the two clubs are in the same league.
Bev Risman, 78, was a distinguished dual code international who won nine England rugby union caps and toured Australia and New Zealand in 1959 with the British and Irish Lions.
The son of Salford and Workington Town great Gus Risman and an inaugural member of the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Bev was educated at Cockermouth GS, Manchester University and Loughborough Colleges and had a wealth of natural ability as a sportsman. As a rugby player he could play with distinction in any back position.
He signed professional forms with Leigh in March 1961 and went on to make 140 appearances for the club, scoring 31 tries and kicking 241 goals and captaining the side. He was also a schoolmaster at Leigh GS.
Early in 1966 he was transferred to Leeds and went on to enjoy a golden end to his playing career, making 164 appearances, scoring 20 tries and kicking 611 goals for the club before retiring at the end of the 1969-70 season. He became a schoolmaster at Leeds GS.
While at Leeds he followed in the footsteps of his father and won five Great Britain caps, representing his country in the 1968 World Cup. He also played a pivotal role in Leeds' dramatic victory in the famous 1968 'Watersplash' Challenge Cup final against Wakefield Trinity.
Bev's younger brother John also had a long professional career and his son John won three Oxford Blues in Varsity Rugby in the 1980s.
Later a lecturer at Reading University, a sports and fitness consultant to the Lawn Tennis Association and a highly-regarded regional Rugby League coach, Bev played a key role in the establishment of Rugby League in London following the formation of Fulham in 1980. He also coached Fulham between July 1987 and October 1988.
Now living in retirement in Penrith, Bev and his wife were special guests of Leigh Centurions at the Championship game against London Broncos earlier this year when he met up with many old friends from the town. In the Premier Club he spoke with great affection of his time with both Leigh and Leeds.
