I've just watched the interview with him. Quite an emotional watch and I'm glad Rads thanked him at the end of the interview for everything he'd done. I'd like to think that thanks was on behalf of all of us. The memories of that era and the life experiences were so strong that they don't feel long ago at all.

On a side note I was living down south when he moved to the role at the RFL. The profile of the whole sport was so much higher then and ripple effects were the southern conference leagues and the strength to take internationals to Wembley knowing that the crowds would follow. It was rare to speak to someone who wasn't aware of the household names in the sport or about Wigans success. When you look at Nigel Wood and Ralph Rimmer leading the sport through the last decade compared to a visionary like Maurice you realise just how far away we have fallen.

Met Jim Mills once and once was enough. Horrible man.

I was thinking of the Ashurst last night.
I remember it really well as the attack took place right in front of my mates and myself.
For an "hard knock" Mills took Ashurst from behind and literally beat the shoite out of him for no reason other than he saw an opportunity to make a cheap attack.
I'm very much old school so a bit of rough stuff I saw it as part of the game but the attack by Mills was total out and out a criminal offence if it had occurred off the pitch.
I didn't rate Mills as a player and I always thought of him as just a thug who should have been banned for life after the Greengrass incident which was as cowardly act as you will ever see.

I'd actually rate that incident worse than Ben Flower. With Flower at least there had been a coming together between each player leading up to punch #2.

With Mills the NZ player had done nothing to offend other than score a try, for which he suffered 12 stitches.

Should have been jailed.

My dad and I were firmly of the opinion it was a targetted attack, designed purely to put Wigan's main playmaker out of action very early in the match. Bill was in a rich vein of form at the time, and Widnes clearly decided it was worth seeing Mills get his marching orders so long as Wigan's main danger man was put in hospital. Disgusting and pathetic.