Bev Risman

Augustus Beverley Walter Risman OBE (23 November 1937 – 22 June 2023) was an English rugby union and rugby league player and rugby league coach. A dual-code international, he played rugby union for England and the British Lions, and rugby league for Great Britain.

Bev Risman
OBE

Personal information
Full name	Augustus Beverley Walter Risman
Born	(1937-11-23)23 November 1937 Salford, Lancashire, England
Died	22 June 2023(2023-06-22) (aged 85)
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	Fly Half
Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1959–61 England 8 0 3 0 8 1959 British Lions 4 2 2 0 10
Rugby league
Position	Stand-off, Fullback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1960–66 Leigh 140 31 241 0 575 1966–70 Leeds 164 20 611 1282 Total 304 51 852 0 1857 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1968 Great Britain 5 2 17 0 40
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1987–88 Fulham RLFC 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3][4]

Background

Bev Risman was born in Salford, Lancashire, England.

Risman was the son of the rugby league player Gus Risman, the older brother of the rugby league player John Risman, and the father of John M. Risman, who was the first open double Blue. He achieved his double Blue at the University of Oxford, in both the rugby union Varsity Match, and the 1984 rugby league Varsity Match.^[5]

Playing career

Bev Risman played rugby union at fly-half for England (8 Test appearances) and for the British Lions (4 Test appearances). His international début was in 1959 for England against Wales. His last international rugby union appearance was in 1961.

Switching codes, he played for Leigh (Heritage No. 694), Leeds and Lancashire. He won both the Challenge Cup and Championship with Leeds and represented Great Britain in five Test appearances. He captained the Great Britain squad in the 1968 Rugby League World Cup where he earned three of his caps.

Coaching career

After retiring he became involved in coach education, the development of the game in the South of England and the organisation of student rugby league. He was inducted to the rugby league Roll of Honour in 2005, and was elected President of the Rugby Football League in 2010.^[6] He was replaced by Jim Hartley in 2011.^[7]

Personal life and death

Risman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to rugby league.^[8]

Risman died on 22 June 2023, at the age of 85.^[9][10]

References

1. "Statistics at en.espn.co.uk". en.espn.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Player Summary: Bev Risman". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
4. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
5. "Club History - OURLFC". Oxford University RLFC. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
6. Morgan, Martin (13 July 2010). "Bev Risman elected president of Rugby Football League". Workington Times and Star.^{[dead link]}
7. "Past RFL Presidents". therfl.co.uk. Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
8. "No. 60009". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 12.
9. "Bev Risman OBE: Dual-code England & Great Britain rugby international dies, aged 85". BBC Sport. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
10. "A true rugby all-rounder". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3386. 3 July 2023. p. 33.

External links

• (archived by web.archive.org) Profile at leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk
• Rugby league's generation game – article at telegraph.co.uk
• Rugby Cup Final 1968