Raymond James French (23 December 1939 – 26 July 2025) was an English

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and a rugby league commentator. French played at international level in both codes. He won four caps for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in rugby union in 1961 as a second row forward, then moved to rugby league as a and played for his home town club, St. Helens, and for

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

. French was a commentator for the BBC on rugby league on television and radio, beginning his television career in 1981 following the retirement of

Eddie Waring Edward Marsden Waring, MBE (21 February 1910 – 28 October 1986) was a British rugby league football coach, commentator and television presenter. Early life Waring was born on 21 February 1910 in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire to Arthur Wa ...

. He was regularly heard on the rugby league show ''Try Time'' each Thursday on

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside, North and West Cheshire and West Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, t ...

. He retired in 2019. In 2010, French received the Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League Award to mark his contribution to the game. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

for services to rugby league.

Background

French was born in St Helens, Lancashire, England on 23 December 1939. After studying at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

and training as a school teacher, he taught at Cowley School in St. Helens.

Playing career

Championship final appearances

French played left- in St. Helens' 35–12 victory over Halifax in the

Championship Final In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this syst ...

during the 1965–66 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 28 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 30,165.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

French played left- in St. Helens' 21–2 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1966 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Final during the 1965–66 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, London on Saturday 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536.

County Cup Final appearances

French played right- in St. Helens' 25–9 victory over Swinton in the

1961 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Saturday 11 November 1961; played left- in the 15–4 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the

1963 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

Final at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1963, and played left- in the 12–4 victory over Swinton in the

1964 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Final at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 24 October 1964.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

French played left- in St. Helens' 0–4 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in the

1965 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Final at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 14 December 1965.

Ray French Award

In August 2019 the Rugby Football League ran a poll among fans on the Our League app to name a trophy for the man of the match award in the 1895 Cup Final. French was one of three names in the poll along with

Willie Horne Willie Horne (23 January 1922 – 23 March 2001) was an English rugby league footballer of the 1940s and '50s. He played for Great Britain, England, Lancashire and Barrow between 1943 and 1959 and captained all four sides as a round the corne ...

and

Johnny Whiteley John William Whiteley MBE (20 November 1930 – 13 February 2022) was an English professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played his entire club career with Hull FC making over 400 appearances between 1950 and 1965. He also represen ...

. French won the poll with over 60% of the votes cast and presented the award at the inaugural

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

on 24 August 2019 to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

's Anthony Thackeray.

Award winners

* 2019 Anthony Thackeray –

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They play home games at the Olympic Legacy Park and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Sheffield's on ...

* 2020 Not awarded – no competition played due to the COVID-19 pandemic * 2021 Craig Hall –

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

Illness and death

French died from complications of dementia on 26 July 2025, aged 85.

References

External links

Statistics at en.espn.co.uk

Saints Heritage Society profile

Widnes RLFC Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Ray 1939 births 2025 deaths BBC sports presenters and reporters English sports broadcasters Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players English rugby league commentators English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Liverpool St Helens F.C. players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks Rugby union players from St Helens, Merseyside Schoolteachers from Lancashire St Helens R.F.C. players Widnes Vikings players 20th-century English sportsmen Deaths from dementia in England