It’s been a sad week in rugby league.
Today is the funeral of former Wigan man Bill Ashurst and over the weekend the city of Hull said goodbye to two rugby league legends in Mick Crane and Zook Ema.
Today, St Helens and Wigan have also said farewell to a former player in Malcom Smith who passed away at the age of 63.
Smith made his debut against Huddersfield in 1978 in an 18-11 win over the West Yorkshire side. The exact same result occurred as he took part in his first Wigan-Saints derby later that year as St Helens defeated Wigan on Boxing Day.
He also enjoyed the remarkable experience of playing against the touring Australian side. Yes, Saints lost but his brother remarked on the Saints website: “Despite the result, it meant so much to him. He just loved playing rugby league.”
His last Saints appearance came in 1979 against Leeds as they lost to the Loiners in the first round of the Premiership with Smith starting at nine.
He would then join Wigan for a three year spell with heritage number 757. He helped Wigan along with their rebuild which would culminate in the sport’s most successful team but by the time the Cherry and Whites were rolling onto success he had moved on having already played an integral part.
A lover of the game, he often attended the Magic Weekend and St Helens confirmed he passed away on June 26th this year.
