The RFL today pays tribute to Doug Laughton, a member of the last Great Britain team to win the Ashes, who has died at the age of 80.
Laughton’s distinguished playing career also included lifting the Challenge Cup at Wembley for his hometown club Widnes 50 years ago, and he will also be remembered for an outstanding coaching record in the late 1980s with the Chemics, as they were then known – steering them to consecutive league titles and a World Club Challenge victory over Canberra Raiders, and building a team around signings from rugby union such as Jonathan Davies, Alan Tait and Martin Offiah.
Offiah said: “I owe him so much for the opportunity he gave me to switch from rugby union with Widnes, and to create a legacy in Rugby League. Thank you Dougie.”
Davies said: “Doug was the one who convinced me to go to Rugby League, and had the faith that I could succeed, and I’ll always be grateful. He could spot a player – from Martin Offiah to Emosi Koloto – and we had some great times.”
Laughton’s playing career began with St Helens from 1963-66 and he then spent six seasons at Wigan from 1967-73 before joining Widnes.
He captained them to a 14-7 victory over local rivals Warrington in the 1975 Challenge Cup Final, and after defeats in the 1976 and 1977 Finals, he enjoyed a second Wembley win against Wakefield Trinity in 1979, by which time he was player-coach.
He won 15 Great Britain caps, three of them in the 1970 Ashes series when Great Britain came from behind for their last series win.
As a coach, he had three stints with Widnes, with the second of them from 1986-91 including a hat-trick of Premiership Final wins at Old Trafford in addition to the two league titles and the World Club Challenge.
He also spent four seasons as coach of Leeds in the early 90s, taking them to consecutive Challenge Cup Finals at Wembley in 1994 and 1995 – although they lost to Wigan on each occasion.
He was the third winner of the Man of Steel Award in 1979.
Tony Sutton, the Chief Executive of the RFL, said:
“On behalf of the RFL and the wider sport, we send condolences to Doug’s family and friends, and pay tribute to the impact he made on Rugby League, both as a player and a coach. He led Widnes, his hometown club, to some of the greatest moments in their history, and without Doug Laughton, we might never have seen Martin Offiah, Jonathan Davies or so many others playing Rugby League, for club and country. That is quite a legacy.”
