Ray French
French with his MBE in 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Raymond James French | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 December 1939 St Helens, Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 July 2025 (aged 85) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Raymond James French (23 December 1939 – 26 July 2025) was an English rugby league and rugby union 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 in rugby union in 1961 as a second row forward, then moved to rugby league as a second-row and played for his home town club, St. Helens, and for Widnes.
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. He was regularly heard on the rugby league show Try Time each Thursday on BBC Radio Merseyside. 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 (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to rugby league.