LEGENDARY Leigh RL hooker Walt Tabern has died after a long illness.

Walt, who was 72 when he died on Saturday, signed from the Vine Tavern amateur club in St Helens. He made 370 appearances for Leigh between 1949 and 1962.

A key packman in the days when RL hookers were a specialist bunch, he was the middle man in a famous Leigh front row with team-mates Stan Owen and Bill Robinson.

Later he transferred to Workington where he played a further 87 games before retiring.

His son, Ray, followed him as a key member of Leigh's championship-winning side of 1981-82 before he too finished his career at Workington.

Leigh team-mate Mick Martyn, who played alongside him in the Lancashire County side which in the 1959-60 season beat Australia 30-22 at St Helens, paid tribute to Walt:

"Walt was one of the best hookers in the game," he said. "He was a vital cog in the team. He was a belting bloke, popular and well thought of, a gentleman."

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