Wigan legend Boston to become rugby league's first ever knight

Rugby convention fable Billy Boston is group to person a knighthood astatine Buckingham Palace connected Tuesday, ending nan sport's 130-year hold for specified an honour.

The sport's first knighthood is being awarded earlier nan King's day honours are officially announced later this week, because of concerns complete Boston's health.

The Cardiff-born player, 90, was 1 of nan top stars of rugby convention and a trailblazer for achromatic sports stars erstwhile he played for Wigan and Great Britain successful nan 1950s and 1960s.

The move follows increasing vexation complete nan deficiency of rugby convention knighthoods aliases damehoods, pinch a group of cross-party MPs suggesting nan deficiency of apical honours was linked to snobbery.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said nan knighthood represented an "historic milestone".

"The first knighthood for a rugby convention subordinate is long-overdue nickname for a crippled that has contributed truthful overmuch to our nationalist life.

"This is nan infinitesimal we correct a historical wrong," she said.

Billy Boston, nan erstwhile Wigan player, who has been surviving pinch dementia, is expected to beryllium accompanied astatine nan Palace by his family and representatives of his erstwhile club.

Investiture ceremonies often return spot months aft nan honours person been announced.

But very unusually, and reflecting concerns astir his health, Boston's knighthood is being awarded earlier nan latest information of honours has been publically announced.

Wigan Warriors' president Chris Brookes said: "I americium perfectly delighted and truthful happy that Billy - and rugby convention - has yet received nan eventual nickname his stellar profession deserves."

Boston is 1 of nan sport's legends, aft winning 3 Challenge Cups and scoring 24 tries successful 31 appearances for Great Britain. He has besides been praised for helping to unfastened doors for achromatic players successful nan sport.

Brookes said Boston had scored 478 tries successful 487 matches for nan squad - but had remained nan "most humble of men" moreover though he was nan "most revered subordinate of our awesome sport".

The sport's governing body, nan Rugby Football League, told nan BBC past period that its players had been "poorly treated" by nan honours system.

The Speaker of nan House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle, joined protests complete nan deficiency of knighthoods for rugby players, saying it "cannot beryllium right" erstwhile different sports, including rugby union, person had specified honours "quite regularly".

A cross-party group of MPs had claimed nan deficiency of knighthoods a "scandal" linked to snobbery and people prejudice.

David Baines, chair of nan all-party Parliamentary rugby convention group, had said he suspected it was because "they travel from moving people backgrounds, didn't spell to nan correct schools, and didn't operation successful nan correct societal circles".

A BBC study earlier this twelvemonth revealed that a disproportionately debased number of apical honours, specified arsenic knighthoods and damehoods, were going to group from the northbound of England and moving people backgrounds - which overlaps pinch nan rugby convention heartlands.

It emerged past week that ex-footballer David Beckham is besides group to person a knighthood.