Statue of Wales' rugby pioneers unveiled

Cardiff council say the structure is the first statue in Wales ever to feature non-fictionalised black men

Three men who who left amateur rugby union in Wales to become legends for professional rugby league clubs in England have been honoured with a statue in their hometown.

The statue of Welsh rugby "codebreakers" Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman is the first in Wales to feature non-fictionalised, named black men.

Boston, along with the grandsons of Sullivan and Risman, attended the unveiling in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff, on Wednesday.

Boston said the statue was among the "highlights of my life".

Billy Boston scored 24 tries in 31 appearances for Great Britain and was in the 1960 World Cup winning team

"What a day this is," said Boston, who scored 478 tries in 487 matches for Wigan after making the rugby switch from union to league in 1953.

"Coming home to Cardiff has always been a pleasure and this is one of the highlights of my life.

"To be up there alongside such magnificent men as Gus Risman and Clive Sullivan is simply amazing. I feel honoured to be singled out for this remarkable tribute by the people of Cardiff."

The 'One Team. One Race: Honouring the Cardiff Bay Rugby Codebreakers' project behind the statue was established in 2020, being inspired by calls from the Butetown and wider Cardiff Bay community.

Clive Sullivan played 17 times for Great Britain and 15 times for Wales

At a time when black players faced prejudice, both Boston and Sullivan's talents were ignored by Wales' national side while playing rugby union, and it was not until 1986 that Mark Brown became the first black man to be selected to represent the country.

Sullivan did become captain of Great Britain after his switch to league, becoming the first black man to do so in any major sport, and led the team to the 1972 Rugby League World Cup title, scoring a try in each of his side's four games.

He joined Hull and played 352 games for the club, scoring 250 tries, before switching to Hull Kingston Rovers and added 118 tries in 213 games.

In 1974 he was honoured with an MBE and the main road into Hull was named "Clive Sullivan Way".

Sullivan's widow, Ros said: "It's overwhelming, very poignant. I was so pleased that my grandson did the unveiling and he will carry on the story of Clive.

"First and foremost he was a very very proud Welshman and then I think he became adopted in Hull.

"I think he would have wept if you told him there was a statue of him where he was from, where he went to school."

Gus Risman captained the 15-a-side team in War Time internationals

Risman - the son of Russian immigrants who settled in Tiger Bay - scored 4,052 points in 873 games for Salford and Workington and played in five Ashes-winning series for Great Britain.

Huw Thomas, Cardiff council leader said: "Their achievements have been overlooked for too long and I'm delighted that today, they are finally being honoured and celebrated in the city of their birth."