They Played For Wigan: Bill Ashurst (Part Two)...his story continues...
All features on this website are best viewed on a PC, laptop or tablet.
1970 was a memorable year for 'King' Bill...'Player of the Year,' transitioning into the second row from centre, and a prestigious Wembley final. More individual accolades would soon follow for him. In 1971's Championship Play Off Final against St. Helens on May 22nd 1971, Bill was the Harry Sunderland Trophy winner in the narrow 16-12 defeat. This competition would later become the Premiership Final and latterly the Grand Final. Just to put that in perspective, it would be 28 years before a player on a losing team would win the Harry Sunderland Trophy again. That honour fell to Bradford's Henry Paul, in 1999 in the 8-6 defeat to St. Helens in the Grand Final.
Again Bill was denied some goal kicking/conversion duties in this final, just like Wembley 1970. This was despite scoring two tries and kicking two goals that afternoon at Station Road, Swinton. Bill was begging to kick them to help out an injured (but playing on), Colin Tyrer...and to secure victory for the Wigan team and fans. But no. He was thwarted once again by Doug Laughton. Why? We will never know and it still wrankles with Bill 48 years later. I don't blame him - he could have gained us a famous victory over the arch enemy, but never got his fair chance.
Victory was sweet for Bill, the team and the fans on August 28th 1971 when Wigan defeated Widnes 15-8 in the Lancashire Cup Final, played at Knowsley Road, St. Helens. "A convincing win, even though the score was close" Bill says of that game. He fondly remembers the celebrations that evening! "We went back to Wigan and the Club had put a spread on for us, with a quartet playing, no less". "At the end of the night the Bandleader announced that the following tune would be the last one". " Immediately Colin Clarke rose and demanded "play That's What You Are!" "The band leader asked...pardon?" "Clarky elaborated - you're not finished until you have played That's What You Are!". The Bandleader, slightly panicking but trying not to show it asked "We don't know that one - how does it go?" "With a twinkle in his eye (and not a black eye in sight this time!)...Colin broke into a song that was familiar to all..."Unforgettable, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!" Laughter filled the air, the quartet played it, and presumably the band got their fee?
Despite consistently putting in Man of the Match performances on an individual basis, Bill (and us), would have to wait until his second spell with Wigan before we saw him in a final that Wigan contested. I remember it well. Saturday October 29th 1977. I was 'Billy no mates' stood on the terracing at Wilderspool, Warrington, witnessing Wigan slip to a narrow 16-13 defeat to Workington Town. Another 'Billy' was there. He had to be as he was the referee - yes Billy Thompson! I can't remember why I was on my own. Maybe my matchday mate Dave Grimshaw was 'courting' and had chosen to take his girlfriend for a steak canadian and milkshake at the 'Baked Potato' cafe on Wigan bus station, near the market, and shunned me! Who knows? I can't really remember, but the Wigan team that day had my three favourite players in it, Bill Ashurst, Green Vigo and Jimmy Nulty. My 4th favourite player, George Fairbairn, was out injured. 17 year old me wasn't missing a final to meet up with a girlfriend! Besides, I didn't have one.
The full team that afternoon was: 1. Malcolm Swann, 2: Green Vigo, 3: David Willicome, 4: Steve Davies (no, not that one!), 5: Jimmy Hornby, 6: Alan Taylor, 7: Jimmy Nulty, 8: Brian Hogan, 9: Geoff Aspinall, 10: Bob Irving, 11: Bill Ashurst, 12: Billy Melling, 13: Bob Blackwood, 14: John Burke, 15: Dave Regan.
The Wigan tries came courtesy of David Willicombe, Bill Ashurst and Jimmy Nulty with the two pointers being kicked by Jimmy Nulty and John Burke (one apiece). But this came after Bill had moved back to Wigan from Penrith and that's where we are going next...
Again Bill was denied some goal kicking/conversion duties in this final, just like Wembley 1970. This was despite scoring two tries and kicking two goals that afternoon at Station Road, Swinton. Bill was begging to kick them to help out an injured (but playing on), Colin Tyrer...and to secure victory for the Wigan team and fans. But no. He was thwarted once again by Doug Laughton. Why? We will never know and it still wrankles with Bill 48 years later. I don't blame him - he could have gained us a famous victory over the arch enemy, but never got his fair chance.
Victory was sweet for Bill, the team and the fans on August 28th 1971 when Wigan defeated Widnes 15-8 in the Lancashire Cup Final, played at Knowsley Road, St. Helens. "A convincing win, even though the score was close" Bill says of that game. He fondly remembers the celebrations that evening! "We went back to Wigan and the Club had put a spread on for us, with a quartet playing, no less". "At the end of the night the Bandleader announced that the following tune would be the last one". " Immediately Colin Clarke rose and demanded "play That's What You Are!" "The band leader asked...pardon?" "Clarky elaborated - you're not finished until you have played That's What You Are!". The Bandleader, slightly panicking but trying not to show it asked "We don't know that one - how does it go?" "With a twinkle in his eye (and not a black eye in sight this time!)...Colin broke into a song that was familiar to all..."Unforgettable, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!" Laughter filled the air, the quartet played it, and presumably the band got their fee?
Despite consistently putting in Man of the Match performances on an individual basis, Bill (and us), would have to wait until his second spell with Wigan before we saw him in a final that Wigan contested. I remember it well. Saturday October 29th 1977. I was 'Billy no mates' stood on the terracing at Wilderspool, Warrington, witnessing Wigan slip to a narrow 16-13 defeat to Workington Town. Another 'Billy' was there. He had to be as he was the referee - yes Billy Thompson! I can't remember why I was on my own. Maybe my matchday mate Dave Grimshaw was 'courting' and had chosen to take his girlfriend for a steak canadian and milkshake at the 'Baked Potato' cafe on Wigan bus station, near the market, and shunned me! Who knows? I can't really remember, but the Wigan team that day had my three favourite players in it, Bill Ashurst, Green Vigo and Jimmy Nulty. My 4th favourite player, George Fairbairn, was out injured. 17 year old me wasn't missing a final to meet up with a girlfriend! Besides, I didn't have one.
The full team that afternoon was: 1. Malcolm Swann, 2: Green Vigo, 3: David Willicome, 4: Steve Davies (no, not that one!), 5: Jimmy Hornby, 6: Alan Taylor, 7: Jimmy Nulty, 8: Brian Hogan, 9: Geoff Aspinall, 10: Bob Irving, 11: Bill Ashurst, 12: Billy Melling, 13: Bob Blackwood, 14: John Burke, 15: Dave Regan.
The Wigan tries came courtesy of David Willicombe, Bill Ashurst and Jimmy Nulty with the two pointers being kicked by Jimmy Nulty and John Burke (one apiece). But this came after Bill had moved back to Wigan from Penrith and that's where we are going next...
Bill is eager to put the record straight on his leaving of Wigan and moving to Penrith, Australia. "I wouldn't have left Wigan but for the intervention of Wigan's Chairman Mr. Bibbly". There is clearly no love lost between the two but I can't help noticing that Bill still calls him 'Mr.'
"I had broken my left elbow...someone had run onto it!" "Asho (Eric Ashton), said I was playing and I said I couldn't. Asho sent me to the Boardroom to face Mr Bibby, who enquired as to why I wasn't playing". "Mr Bibby wanted me to have a needle for a broken elbow and I refused". "Then I was told by Mr Bibby that if he had his way, I wouldn't play for Wigan ever again!". Bill's reply was: "That will do me, you've had your way and I won't play for Wigan again". And Bill didn't. He went home and never went back to Central Park, until 1977 that is.
His transfer to Australia should have been to Cronulla and not Penrith. Tommy Bishop and Cliff Watson came calling at Bill's house in Belle Green Lane, Higher Ince, on the recommendation of Harry Bath. They offered him £2,000 to move. In 1973, Bill was going through a bad patch will Sheila and the family, and when he asked Sheila it was clear that she was all for a move to pastures new. Bill pointed out that the offer of money as a transfer fee was back then capped at 2K, but there was an additional sweetener of a house and a job. This was on a Tuesday and they all shook hands on the deal.
By the Friday of the same week, Arthur Clues, Bruce Wardle and one other person rocked up at Bill's house! Bill was perturbed as he had already agreed to go to Cronulla. But Arthur's entourage knew that the cap was being lifted the following year. They offered considerably more than Cronulla with the additional lucrative enticement of a house, a car and a swimming pool! Bill tells the next part much better than I can! "I looked at Sheila and said, listen I can't drive, I can't swim...but I am going to Penrith Panthers!" And that's what they duly did. Ten and a half thousand miles. Wigan's loss was Penrith's gain. For a world record record £15,000 signing fee (28 thousand dollars)...equivalent to about £241,000 these days.
A 'Scanlens Trading Card' featuring Bill Ashurst, second row, Penrith Panthers. Number 56 in a series of 132.
Wigan memorabilia collector and Riversiders Member Neil Davies explains about these cards: "the Trading Card market has always been big in Australia". "Scanlens were the original big players, you would buy packs and swap them. Some had chewing gum in the packs too. This pack style and the other one further on this page actually did have chewing gum included!" It's fascinating to note what else Neil says of these cards: "Not every player was used, so Bill was seen as being one of the stars!" Scanlens Trading Cards were first printed in the 1930s, and some have become highly sought after collectors items. Some individual cards have been sold for up to 2,000 dollars. The company ceased trading in 1989, but the demand for their cards remains. |
Bill believes to this day that the whole experience in New South Wales was incredible. Even the green frogs they discovered climbing up the wall in their new home. It hadn't been lived in for a while, so the house had acquired a few lodgers. Even in the toilet! On his first Monday morning a driving instructor was dispatched to Bill's new Penrith residence. "I had lessons on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday." "I passed my test on the Friday and had an automatic car by the Saturday morning".
As ever, Bill would impress them at Penrith. So much so, that he was inducted into Penrith's 'Team of Legends' as their all time Number 12. We would call it a 'Hall of Fame'. This was in 2006 and it is a very highly regarded top honour. The legends were selected by a committee of local experts and rugby league experts. I suggested to Bill that if the fans had been able to have their they - they would have chosen him too! How did this come about, Bill? "Well, I was on the computer when an email pinged through from Max Cowan the Penrith Chairman. He was inviting me over. I said I'll think about it...YES! But what am I coming for?" Max continued "We are inaugurating a legends team and you are one of the 50 nominations". "We will fly you from London..." "No!" Bill says...."I can't travel down to London with my knees, I'm not coming."
Immediately, Max changed the arrangements and offered to fly Bill to Manchester to London, then from London to Penrith, all expenses paid! Before he knew it, Bill was back in Penrith, on stage, accepting his well deserved award. Being the fantastic orator that he is, his acceptance speech was in the bag, and there was one person above all that he wanted to thank. "I want to thank you all for this award, and I want to just tell you all that I want to thank Jesus for getting me here". All eyes in the packed room were on Bill. Maybe they didn't expect him to say that? He continued "I have been praying for 30 years to get back here to apologise to the Penrith people over the hasty way I left due to my circumstances at that time. Praying and praying. God has got me back here". Someone shouted "but we paid for you to get back here, not God". Bill took it on the chin and made his point again "Yes but Jesus told me to get back here!". The time was right in the Lord's eyes. And Bill's.
Another matter that Bill is keen to put the record straight on is his 'round the corner' kicking style. They loved this in Penrith and had possibly never seen it before. Previously, goal kickers 'toe bunged' the ball. Now it is the accepted way of kicking goals, but in the 1970s it was unusual. We, in Wigan, were very used to it. But incredibly, some fans credit this innovation as being started by the former Wigan player John Gray, who also played in Australia for North Sydney and Manly. Even online articles credit John Gray for bringing in this round the corner style. But, as Bill rightly points out, it was him rather than John who started this phenomenon. As ever, Bill can back it up with facts: "I started kicking for Penrith in January 1974. The first time John Grey was seen to kick 'round the corner' at the end of that year, when he toured with Great Britain". Bill says it was a soccer thing - remember he did have trials with Blackburn Rovers, so he should know. This style would produce more power and accuracy.
Bill is remembered for many of the things in Penrith, not just for his unique way of kicking goals. An example of this happened another trip back to Penrith. Bill goes back at least once a year, courtesy of the club, and he can take someone with him. One year he took his daughter Cath and they set out early for a trip to Warragamba Dam. They ended up at a crossroads in a remote area, and being unsure as to which way to go, they chanced upon two people, presumably man and wife, sat on a bench. Bill and Cath, and the folk on the bench appeared to be the only people for miles around. Bill stayed in his vehicle and despatched Cath to ask the benched couple, who were by now enjoying a coffee from their flask, which route they should take. Bill lit up his fag. He had hardly taken a puff when the bloke from the bench came running over. Bill pipes up "Excuse me mate, which road is it?" "F**K that!" the man shouts. "You're Bill Ashurst...my hero!" Strangers in the middle of nowhere, united by rugby league and the memories of Bill playing for Penrith.
What were Bill's highlights of his Penrith career, in his opinion? Apart from getting sent off three times! He was their top scorer in 1975 with 91 points. Bill just loved it there. All through my chat with him (it didn't feel like an interview), Bill's enthusiasm for our great game is still apparent. Penrith loved him too! It's no accident that you get inducted into their 'Team of Legends'. The word legend is over used in our language isn't it. There's even a McDonalds burger called the 'Chicken Legend'. Legend? Burger? Surely not. Bill is too modest of a man to even think of himself as a legend. But I am well aware that I am in the company of someone very special. I don't think we will ever see someone as skilled and tough as him ever again on a rugby league field? My only regret is that we don't have the video footage to prove it. Bill doesn't need that. He has his super sharp memory.
One of the best games he thinks he ever played in was for Penrith v St. George. Bill's loose forward that day was Peter Langmack who scored five tries. For every one, Bill gave him the final pass. Another Penrith player that Bill remembers fondly is Johnny King. He remembers Bill too...and they are still in touch. It was unknown for a forward to score 19 tries in a season. John did (with Bill's help of course!). When Penrith moved John on to another club, he never scored another career try. He blames Bill. He is well aware that the game was so, so different in the 1970s. "Nowadays you get five people in a tackle and the opposing player gets up. Back then there was one player making the tackle, and the opposing player never chuffing got up!" Brutal sometimes, less cameras about and less analysis in a studio from pundits.
Bill knows all about how tough you have to be to survive in rugby league. He mentions in passing that he had to have plastic surgery all around his eye and face, and had endured 13 knee operations. No wonder the road journey from Wigan to London was a non starter when Penrith invited him over for that first time. He is in pain every day and relies on co-codamol to help ease it. I've noticed that former players seldom mention their daily struggle, unless you ask them about it. Despite this, he has time for everyone and is a very caring man. He just gets on with it.
Whilst at Penrith, Bill was on the same team as TV pundit Mike 'Stevo' Stevenson. I'd hear talk that they didn't hit it off. Was this true?
Bill explains: "Now he was a good player, a good hooker, with great ability, but for some reason, when we were on the park, he wouldn't pass where I was! If I stood right - he would go left. If I went left, he would go right. We were losing game after game". In one game Bill had had enough! "I had a word with 'Dollar' my prop forward and said that he had to sort it, or I would sort it myself!" Bill doesn't disclose what exactly happened next, but 'Stevo' ended up leaving the field! So, 'King' Bill had a free reign to work his rugby league magic. Bill continues: "When 'Stevo' went off, we were losing that game against St. George by 19 points, with only 15 minutes left. We scored 25 points in the last 15 minutes to win the game. Mike Stephenson passed to Bill from then on! Incidentally, Tim Sheens was the other prop in that game. Bill didn't hate 'Stevo' at all, and they hammed it up a lot on public appearances. So now we know! |
So after his New South Wales adventures, Bill ended up back at Wigan in 1977. How did that happen? "All I wanted was two weeks compassionate leave from Penrith". "There was a massive polio scare in Britain at the time". "All I wanted was to come back to Wigan to make sure that Sheila and the children were fine." I remember this at the time living in Platt Bridge, and it's hard to describe how scary it was as a 16 year old. We had to queue up for ages for the inoculation at the Old Miner's Welfare Institute, near the bowling green in Platt Bridge. It had been converted into an NHS clinic, some years earlier.
Having experienced it myself here in Wigan, I can well understand the urgent need for Bill to get back home for a bit. Penrith refused. So that was it - Bill came back to Wigan and never went back to play. Family was more important. Always has been, always will be. Bill trained on his own for a while up and down the canal at Ince, until Wigan brokered a deal with Penrith Panthers to get him back in the cherry and white. The deal cost around 6K.
Vince Karalius was the coach and the first few months of 1977 and into 1978 , Bill was fine. He even helped Wigan get into that 1977 Lancashire Cup Final that I mentioned earlier in this piece. Bill loved the guys to bits that he was playing with but he admits "they weren't a good team". He wondered what he had done coming back to his beloved Wigan. It seems there was no need for his poise, flair and inventiveness. In a cup game against Bradford Northern, he got told off for using it! "Don't throw those passes in my team" Bill was chastised by Vinty, after working a set move to Wigan's number ten Steve O'Neill, who in turn passed to Bernard Coyle who walked in underneath the posts and try time! Told off for making a skillful try eh. "That's it," Bill told his coach at half time as he removed his number eleven shirt and thrust it in the hands of Vince Karalius. It was Saturday 11th of March 1978, and Bill Ashurst had played his last game for Wigan. He didn't even get on TV, as only the second half was televised then.
By the following Tuesday he was a Wakefield Trinity player (Heritage Number 850), for a winter club record fee of £18,000. He had been headhunted by the great David Topliss (who was a team mate of Bill's at Penrith Panthers). Bill's first mission, with 8 games to go, was to save them from relegation. Mission accomplished!
Bill soon settled in there, and by his own admission he absolutely loved his time in Yorkshire. Also, by his own admission, he felt he wasn't at his best there, due to his troublesome knees. Wakefield Trinity reached Wembley in 1979. They lost 12-3 to Widnes and Bill regrets playing, because he shouldn't have. He hadn't played in any of the rounds, and was trying desperately to recover from two knee operations. I'd still have a less than 100% Bill in my team! Wakefield agreed and picked him. He had a couple of injections, but by half time the one in his right knee had worn off. He asked his coach Bill Kirkbride to withdraw him as he couldn't contribute due to his injuries.
As an aside, Bill reckons that Bill Kirkbride 'took' Bill Ashurst's Lance Todd Trophy in the 1970 Wembley Final. Bill says there was a mix up in the press box with regard to the voting, and some of the journalist at the time said they voted for Bill Ashurst and not Bill Kirkbride. Somehow, because they both played at number 11, and both were called Bill, there was a horrible mix up in the rush to get the votes in to the authorities before full time. So the Castleford second rower got the Lance Todd Trophy instead of 'our' Bill. Again Bill just laughs it off as he rated Bill Kirkbride as a player...and a good bloke. Before Bill Ashurst ended up at Wakey, Bill Kirkbride joked with him saying that if he came to Wakefield, he would give him his trophy back! Bill did try and attempt to play again for Wakefield when he was coach there during the 1981-1982 season. But the knees gave in and he couldn't carry on anymore. Or could he?
Having experienced it myself here in Wigan, I can well understand the urgent need for Bill to get back home for a bit. Penrith refused. So that was it - Bill came back to Wigan and never went back to play. Family was more important. Always has been, always will be. Bill trained on his own for a while up and down the canal at Ince, until Wigan brokered a deal with Penrith Panthers to get him back in the cherry and white. The deal cost around 6K.
Vince Karalius was the coach and the first few months of 1977 and into 1978 , Bill was fine. He even helped Wigan get into that 1977 Lancashire Cup Final that I mentioned earlier in this piece. Bill loved the guys to bits that he was playing with but he admits "they weren't a good team". He wondered what he had done coming back to his beloved Wigan. It seems there was no need for his poise, flair and inventiveness. In a cup game against Bradford Northern, he got told off for using it! "Don't throw those passes in my team" Bill was chastised by Vinty, after working a set move to Wigan's number ten Steve O'Neill, who in turn passed to Bernard Coyle who walked in underneath the posts and try time! Told off for making a skillful try eh. "That's it," Bill told his coach at half time as he removed his number eleven shirt and thrust it in the hands of Vince Karalius. It was Saturday 11th of March 1978, and Bill Ashurst had played his last game for Wigan. He didn't even get on TV, as only the second half was televised then.
By the following Tuesday he was a Wakefield Trinity player (Heritage Number 850), for a winter club record fee of £18,000. He had been headhunted by the great David Topliss (who was a team mate of Bill's at Penrith Panthers). Bill's first mission, with 8 games to go, was to save them from relegation. Mission accomplished!
Bill soon settled in there, and by his own admission he absolutely loved his time in Yorkshire. Also, by his own admission, he felt he wasn't at his best there, due to his troublesome knees. Wakefield Trinity reached Wembley in 1979. They lost 12-3 to Widnes and Bill regrets playing, because he shouldn't have. He hadn't played in any of the rounds, and was trying desperately to recover from two knee operations. I'd still have a less than 100% Bill in my team! Wakefield agreed and picked him. He had a couple of injections, but by half time the one in his right knee had worn off. He asked his coach Bill Kirkbride to withdraw him as he couldn't contribute due to his injuries.
As an aside, Bill reckons that Bill Kirkbride 'took' Bill Ashurst's Lance Todd Trophy in the 1970 Wembley Final. Bill says there was a mix up in the press box with regard to the voting, and some of the journalist at the time said they voted for Bill Ashurst and not Bill Kirkbride. Somehow, because they both played at number 11, and both were called Bill, there was a horrible mix up in the rush to get the votes in to the authorities before full time. So the Castleford second rower got the Lance Todd Trophy instead of 'our' Bill. Again Bill just laughs it off as he rated Bill Kirkbride as a player...and a good bloke. Before Bill Ashurst ended up at Wakey, Bill Kirkbride joked with him saying that if he came to Wakefield, he would give him his trophy back! Bill did try and attempt to play again for Wakefield when he was coach there during the 1981-1982 season. But the knees gave in and he couldn't carry on anymore. Or could he?
Bill is a superb supporter of the Riversiders Supporters Club and attends events on a regular basis in his role as Vice President. He can also be seen in the South Stand Bar on match days. Here he is interviewing Wigan's Under 16s player Matty Nicholson, prior to presenting him with his Player of the Year award. Many thanks to Riversiders Committee Member Victoria Carmichael Photography for this photograph
In an unbelievable quirk of fate, Bill would play again on Central Park. Not for Wigan, but for Runcorn Highfield. Bill laughs as he takes up the story. I laugh too. I was there that day, and I couldn't wait to hear what happened from Bill Ashurst's own mouth! The official story goes that Bill made his rugby league comeback on 13th November 1988 at Central Park Wigan, aged 41. He wasn't on that famous turf very long! Wigan won 92-2 in the John Player Trophy (Round 1), but that wasn't really the story. What happened Bill? By the way, Bill never gets fed up of talking about this. Good...because I wasn't sure if I should ask him about it at all. But I had learned by now that you can ask him anything. "Life was a lot different at Runcorn. At Central Park we used to wave to the crowd. At Runcorn the crowd would go on the pitch and wave to us!" "The Runcorn Club wouldn't tell us how much we were going to be paid (they had conceded ground advantage to get more gate income). So the players went on strike. The Club, via Geoff Fletcher, brought amateur players in and we found out that they were on £150 to play (win, lose or draw)! So me and my pal Arthur put ourselves forward to play - coming off the bench". "Losing with around 50 points after 25 minutes, I said to Arthur, "go on I will do 10 minutes". Bill opened Wigan up three times with his deft skills and got a great ovation from the crowd, but soon took an elbow to his cheekbone. "The nearest player to me was Wigan's Andy Goodway. I'd become a Christian two weeks before but the rugby instinct took over and the ref had no alternative but to send me off. If I was going off injured I was taking him with me!" I got sent off 17 times in my career but I'd never cried before". Bill had lasted 11 minutes on the field.
Bill broke his heart in the dressing room, as he had betrayed his new Christian beliefs. But from that dark, dark moment Bill said sorry to God, and Bill's life completely changed around from that moment. He now takes everything to the cross and lives in God's glory. Granada T.V. turned up to interview him about his life changing experience and many radio interviews ensued. "From that moment I stood up, became a Christian and gave my life to Christ". And he paid for his sins in more ways than one - Runcorn fined him £150! Bill laughs again. Nothing phases him and his positive attitude is an inspiration. But his friend Arthur gave him £70, to soften the blow. Having seen Bill's Christian testimony, I can vouch that it is powerful stuff. Here's some footage of Bill in action. Not as a player...but as a Christian...
All too soon, our unforgettable morning of chatting starts to draw to a close. Bill has another audience to entertain that night. But I can assure you readers, that this audience of one has been thoroughly entertained and enthralled in equal measure. We do chat about the current game and the players that Bill has brought through. Too many to mention them all, but George Williams (his favourite), Oliver Gildart and Liam Marshall are recent ones. But going back a lot longer the best advice Bill was ever given as a young player himself, was from former Wigan and Great Britain player and coach, Ernie Ashcroft. He had observed Bill being tackled short of the line on a few occasions, thus failing to score a try. Ernie's advice was to tell Bill to dive for the line "10 yards out - they will never stop you". And so it proved!
We conclude on Bill's Great Britain career and a final funny story. Bill played three times for his country and was very very proud to do so. The second match playing for Great Britain, the team flew to Toulouse on a propellor plane. To settle the nerves, they were served a free whisky apiece. Bill was sat next to Tony Karalius, and they were told by the Stewardess: "Gentlemen, if you would like another drink - just press the button above your head". When he'd finished that first free drink, Tony Karalius fancied a refill. So what did he do? He raised his empty glass up to the button above his head, and pressed it thinking that it would dispense another free whisky! Of course, the button was just to summon the Stewardess, not some magic whisky optic!
Bill's first match for Great Britain was on September 25th 1971 at Salford Willows. He scored a try in a 13-18 loss, got man of the match and was dropped for Great Britain's next game. Work that one out! Other try scorers were Billy Benyon and Chris Hesketh. GB were winning at half time. Bill's second game was that one in France. This time around it was a narrow victory 10-9 at the Stade Municipal, Toulouse on Sunday February 6th 1972. In his final Great Britain game, Bill scored two tries in the 45-10 defeat of France at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, On Sunday March 12th 1972. Other try scorers were John Atkinson, Billy Benyon, Paul Charlton, John Holmes, David Jeanes, Phil Lowe, Mike Stephenson, Clive Sullivan and John Walsh. John Holmes kicked six goals.
The morning just flew by. Thank you Bill Ashurst for your time, expertise and detail on that November morning. A morning to remember for sure. Forever. As I rose to go make my way to the bus stop, Bill offered to run me home. I wasn't expecting that! I accepted his kind offer, thus feeling like 'royalty' sat alongside 'King' Bill, as we made our way to Bamfurlong. Thanks a million, Bill Ashurst and God Bless you and Sheila and you family. You are a legend in more ways than one.
Thank you for reading Part Two!
On behalf of the Riversiders, many thanks to The Riversiders Vice President Bill Ashurst for agreeing to do this article and for making me so welcome in his home. And my thanks also go out to Bill's wife Sheila. Also, thanks to Riversiders Member Neil Davies of NRD Collectables, for supplying some superb photographs and memorabilia to illustrate this article. My thanks to Riversiders Committee Member Victoria of Victoria Carmichael Photography for the photo of Bill at The Riversiders 2019 Awards Dinner. Finally, thanks to Wigan photographer Frank Orrell for permission to use his picture of the Warrington Bus outside 'The Baked Potato!'
Andrew Hunt (Riversiders Member).
Andrew Hunt (Riversiders Member).