In Memoriam: Bill Francis

Wigan Warriors are saddened to learn of the passing of former player, BILL FRANCIS.

It is with great sadness that Wigan Warriors have learned of the passing of former player William Lloyd “Bill” Francis.

Bill was born in Featherstone West Yorkshire, on 1 October 1947 and attended Normanton Grammar School.

Bill was first introduced to the rugby league community when Sunday afternoon inter-town youth matches were televised in the early 1960s.

He was a member of the Featherstone under-17s team, and played in the Castleford and District side that also brought Roger Millward to the attention of rugby league scouts.

Consequently, due to his performance on that Sunday afternoon, Bill was snapped up by Wigan on the 23 March 1963 for a then club record fee for a junior of £1,500.

Five days later made his Wigan debut, against Liverpool City, in a Western Division Championship game at Central Park. Bill played on the wing with a certain Billy Boston as his centre partner, earning him his Wigan unique Heritage Number 629.

At the age of 16 Bill became one of the youngest players to wear the cherry and white shirt, where he played a total of 400 games (including 8 as substitute), scoring 159 tries and 43 goals for a total of 563 points.

In the 1967-68 season, Bill established himself as a Wigan first-team regular and became the Club’s top try scorer with 29 – this was eclipsed the following season when he headed the rugby league try-scoring list with 40.

Bill won five major honours with Wigan: the 1968 BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy against arch-rivals St Helens, two Lancashire Cups in 1971 and 1973 defeating Widnes and Salford respectively, a Lancashire League Title (1969-70) and a League Leaders Trophy (1970-71).

Bill tasted defeat in the 1969 BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy against Leigh and was part of the Wigan teams that were beaten in the 1970 Challenge Cup Final vs Castleford and the 1971 Play-Off Final vs St Helens.

Bill made his Great Britain debut on 3 November 1967 when he was selected to play against the Australians at the White City Stadium, London, and it would be a further 10 years before his next opportunity when he was included in Britain’s squad for the 1977 World Cup.

In total Bill played for Great Britain on four occasions and also represented Wales 19 times between 1974-75 and 1979-80 – qualifying through his Welsh grandfather – as well as eight appearances for his native Yorkshire.

Just for the record, Bill jointly coached Wales for one game with John Mantle in the 60-13 defeat by England at Knowsley Road on 28 May 1978 – Bill and John played that day.

Bill played his last game for Wigan on 9 October 1977 against Bradford Northern at the Odsal Stadium. Bradford with perhaps only one blot in his 400 games when he was sent off for fighting with Gary Hetherington in the 78th Minute in Wigan’s 7-8 defeat by York in the 1976–77 Players No.6 Trophy Second Round.

On leaving Wigan Bill signed for local rivals St Helens for £8,000 in October 1977 where he would again play in a BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy and would visit Wembley once again in 1978 when he scored a memorable try as Saints lost to Leeds

On the 30 April 1979, Bill played his last match for St Helens leaving Knowsley Road for Salford, and finished his career with Oldham where he would go on to coach for a brief spell after finishing playing.

Having retired from the game Bill was still an active member of both the Wigan and St Helens former players association and could be seen on match days at his beloved Wigan.

Bill was a utility back who was renowned for his deceptive pace, deft passing skills, magical sidestep, and the ability to welcome and nurture young up-and-coming talent into the sport of rugby league. Bill was a rare talent that could play fullback, wing, centre, or stand-off and will be sadly missed by the rugby league community.

Wigan Warriors send their condolences to Bill’s family and friends at this sad time.