Jenna Foubister and Jack Farrimond were the stars of the show at the 2026 Lance Todd Trophy presentation dinner – two Wigan half-backs maintaining one of Rugby League’s great traditions 80 years after the sport’s unique individual award was introduced in 1946.
It was Wigan who signed Lancelot Beaumont Todd after the trailblazing New Zealand tour of 1907-08 - although it was the success he went on to enjoy in the 1930s as team manager of Salford that led to the introduction of the Lance Todd Trophy for the man of the match in the Challenge Cup Final following his death in a road accident during the War.
Todd married and settled in Wigan, and his grave is in the town’s cemetery, just off the Warrington Road in Lower Ince.
So it seemed fitting that Farrimond, the 20-year-old from Leigh who became the 72nd winner of the Lance Todd Trophy after his superb two-try performance in Wigan’s victory over Hull KR at Wembley on May 30, travelled to Salford for the official presentation of his award – with the Worsley Park Country Club again hosting the 80th Anniversary Presentation Dinner.
He was joined by Foubister, still only 19, who was named Player of the Match in Wembley’s fourth Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final, as Wigan crushed St Helens for the second consecutive year.
And the Wigan theme continued as Ince Rose Bridge were one of two community clubs recognised for their performances in the early rounds of the competition – in their case a 44-26 defeat by Swinton Lions.
Lock Lane, the renowned Castleford Rugby League nursery, gatecrashed the Lancastrian celebration as they also received an award for reaching the Third Round – albeit through a bye following the demise of Featherstone Rovers – and for embracing the resulting trip to the 2025 Wembley winners Hull KR as a unique opportunity, rather than a daunting challenge.
The Presentation Dinner, which is now organised by the Salford Rugby League Foundation after the Lance Todd Trophy was originally presented to the sport by the Red Devils Association of former Salford players, was hosted by Betfred’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications Mark Pearson – a trustee of the Foundation – and also the Sky Sports commentator Dave Woods.
Woods paid tribute to his former BBC commentary colleague and friend John Kear, with a minute’s silence held in memory of Kear and also Jamie Ball, a member of Salford’s Wheelchair Rugby League team.
Five members of England’s 2022 World Cup winning Wheelchair squad were also in attendance as guests of Rugby League Cares, who again supported the event – Wayne Boardman, Jack Brown, Nathan Collins, Rob Hawkins and Tom Halliwell OBE – to maintain a Wheelchair Challenge Cup presence with the 2026 Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup winners not being decided until the final between Halifax Panthers and Leeds Rhinos on July 25.
Other notable guests included Russell Beardsmore, the former Manchester United footballer; Aaron and Liam Moore, the brothers who refereed the women's and men's finals respectively; Ryan Brierley and other key figures in the revival of the Salford club after last year’s financial nightmare; and four former winners of the Lance Todd Trophy – Ray Ashby (1965), Andy Gregory (1988 and 1990), Sean Long (2001, 2004 and 2006) and Tommy Martyn (1997).
Photo Credit: Steve McCormick
