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Phil Lowe: Hull KR and Great Britain legend dies, aged 74

League at Penrith-Manly Vs Penrith - Phil Lowe. July 31, 1976.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Phil Lowe spent two seasons at Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, scoring 25 tries in 72 games

Hull KR legend Phil Lowe, who scored 179 tries in 418 games, has died at the age of 74.

The Great Britain international was a key member of the Robins side that won the title in 1978-79 and the Challenge Cup the following year.

He was also the youngest member of the victorious Great Britain Ashes tour party to Australasia in 1970.

Hull KR owner Neil Hudgell told the club website, external: '"Phil was an extraordinary man. A one-off.

"He achieved everything in the sport, being a Grand Final winner on both sides of the world. He was decorated for his country many times over. Phil did it with modesty and humility. He was my hero when growing up around the sport in the 1970s.

"The sight of Phil Lowe in full flight was something no one who witnessed it will ever forget."

He added: "Phil will be greatly missed by his very many friends. A true red and white, Hull KR has lost a legend, and part of its fabric.".

Hull-born Lowe was a second-row forward who played for the club from 1967 to 1983, apart from a two-year stint in Australia at Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1974 to 1976, when he won the New South Wales premiership with the Sydney club.

In total, he made 418 appearances for the Robins, sixth on the club's all-time list, and scored 179 tries, a tally only bettered by Roger Millward and Steve Hartley. He set a new club record for a forward by scoring 26 tries in the 1972-73 season. He also played 12 games for Great Britain - helping the squad to victory in the 1972 World Cup final against host France - and five for England.

After his retirement, Lowe had a short spell coaching at York before two spells with the Robins as a director, serving as club chairman between 1992 and 1994 and more recently as football director.