St Helens stalwart Roy Haggerty dies, aged 58

St Helens legend Roy Haggerty has passed away at the age of 58.

Haggerty scored 115 tries in 363 appearances for St Helens between 1978 and 1991. He quickly became a fan favourite on the terraces and he went on to play 12 seasons at the club.

He was a runner-up in two Challenge Cup finals with Saints in the 1986-87 and 1988-89 seasons, losing to Halifax and Wigan.

But he picked up silverware with his hometown club in the 1987-88 campaign. He helped St Helens beat Leeds 15-14 in the John Player Special Trophy final at Wigan’s Central Park.

Thatto Heath born and bred Haggerty was part of the 1988 Great Britain ‘Tourists’ squad, which featured Ellery Hanley, Lee Crooks, Shaun Edwards, Andy Gregory and Joe Lydon. He also represented Lancashire against Yorkshire.

Alex Service has paid tribute to the Saints legend on saintsrlfc.com. In a short snippet, Service said: “From relatively humble beginnings in Thatto Heath, Roy played rugby league at the top level.

“He remained close to his roots and had no airs and graces, a veritable ‘working class hero’, in fact.

“He enjoyed a smoke and a pint and his team-mates loved having a laugh with him, especially when he worked on the groundstaff with the likes of Shane Cooper, Paul Loughlin and Neil Holding and he took it all in good faith.

“Stories about him are plentiful, although several have that apocryphal touch. Suffice to say, who can dislike a guy who told a subsequently bemused Australian journalist on landing in Sydney that he came ‘from the top of Elephant Lane’ and who took a ready supply of pot noodles with him to France on Great Britain duty because he would miss ‘British food’. Legendary stuff.

“Roy was a genuine ‘one-off’ and there has been nobody like him since.”