Hull KRpresident Mike Smith hailed Sir Billy Boston’s historic knighthood and urged: It has to be the first of many. Rugby league has somehow had to wait 130 years to see a player knighted.

But legendary winger Boston, 90, finally had the honour bestowed on him by King Charles at Buckingham Palace yesterday. The Welshman scored 478 tries in 487 games for Wigan and was a trailblazer for black sports stars after moving north from Cardiff in 1953. He also amassed 24 tries in 31 appearances for Great Britain.

Boston, who suffers from dementia, was awarded his knighthood early, before the King’s birthday honours list, because of health concerns.

A group of cross-party MPs had suggested rugby league’s snub for more than a century had been down to snobbery while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer admitted: “It is a historic wrong that a sport which is the backbone of so many communities has waited so long to receive this honour.

“Boston is a legend of the game who overcame prejudice to represent Great Britain and opened the door to a more diverse game.”

KR hero Smith, 67, who won 11 Great Britain caps, admitted: “It’s fantastic news. We have a WhatsApp group for the ex-Lions players association and it’s all over that page today.

“Everyone congratulated Billy and it’s not before time, if I’m honest. It’s about time we got some recognition. Billy was just a little bit before my time when I was growing up but I watched footage and he was awesome, just unstoppable.

“He’s a great ambassador for our sport and a lovely man off the field as well. And now the next one in line is probably Kevin Sinfield. Hopefully he gets the same for what he’s done for MND.”

Ex-Leeds and England captain Sinfield is widely expected to receive a knighthood for his remarkable fundraising challenges. Smith played in the same brilliant Rovers side as Clive Sullivan and Roger Millward in the 1970s and 1980s, a formidable duo who many thought should also have been knighted but have since sadly passed.

He said: “They were both MBEs. Sully and Roger were next in line back then because they were recognized throughout the world.

“Sully was obviously captain of our last team to win the World Cup [in 1972] and Roger won Test matches on his own. Both are rugby league Hall of Famers and it’s about time they recognised the sport in this way now with what Billy’s received.

“We needed that. We needed some verification of our sport.”

Hull-born Smith, who saw Rovers lift the Challenge Cup on Saturday for the first time since he, Millward and Sullivan did in 1980, said: “There’s been a lot of brilliant players and a lot of people who have done a lot of good work in their communities.

“Let’s hope they’re recognised and there’s more to come as it’s needed. It’s an ongoing journey for rugby league to get the same recognition as other sports.”

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