Castleford Tigers, Hull Kingston Rovers and English rugby league icon Brian Lockwood has died at the age of 78 in the early hours of Wednesday, October 10.
Capable of playing as both a prop and a loose forward, Lockwood led a nomadic career in rugby league, but spent the bulk of his career at Castleford Tigers over a ten year period. He made 231 league appearances for Cas, scoring 38 tries along the way.
Outside of Castleford and Hull KR, Lockwood also played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the Balmain Tigers, Wakefield Trinity, Oldham and the Widnes Vikings. On the international stage, he made 16 appearances for Great Britain and three appearances for England.
Following the end of his playing career in 1983, Lockwood made the jump into coaching, where he worked with Huddersfield in 1984 and Batley from 1985 to 1987. Additionally, he also coached Wakefield Trinity from 1976 to 1978, while he was still actively playing.
RFL Chief Executive Tony Sutton issued a statement in the wake of Lockwood’s death, which reads: “Brian Lockwood had a remarkable career, with his lasting excellence underlined by the years between his first two Challenge Cup wins at Wembley with Castleford in 1969 and 1970, and his last two with Widnes in 1981 and Hull KR in 1980 – the latter in the famous all-Hull Final, when he won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match.
“He is the second member of Great Britain’s 1972 World Cup winning team we have lost this year, following his second-row partner Phil Lowe, another player who has a special place in the history of Hull KR.
“On behalf of the RFL, I send condolences to Brian’s family and many friends, from his years with Castleford, Hull KR, Widnes and a number of other clubs, and indeed throughout the sport.”