The RFL sends the deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ian Laybourn, the former Press Association Rugby League correspondent who has died at the age of 67.
Ian covered the sport for the vast majority of his working life, initially for the Batley News, then the Huddersfield Examiner, before joining PA in 1994 and becoming their correspondent two years later – a position he held for more than a quarter of a century until retiring following the Rugby League World Cup last November.
He was added to the RFL Roll of Honour last year when Ralph Rimmer, then the RFL Chief Executive, thanked him for covering the sport “with diligence, wisdom and care for almost five decades”.
Jon Dutton, the Chief Executive of RLWC2021, said: “This is so sad. Ian was a thoroughly good human being who cared deeply about the sport.”
