Mike Gregory tribute

Boots 'n' All paid tribute to former Warrington and Great Britain captain Mike Gregory after his sad death.

Boots 'n' All paid tribute to former Warrington and Great Britain captain Mike Gregory following his death last November. The world of Rugby League was saddened by the news that the 43-year-old had passed away after a long battle against illness and tributes have been pouring in ever since. Last week, his wife Erica unveiled a tribute to him at Warrington Collegiate, where a street has been named after him and mural created to celebrate his life, his career and his commitment to sport and education. Boots 'n' All spoke to some of the people who knew him best to reflect on the career of a modern-day legend. Here's what they had to say... "Mike played outstandingly well in a well-beaten side in the 1990 Challenge Cup final and you could see he was a cut above the rest. Role models like Mike Gregory are still too few and far between and the fact that the tribute will be here at Warrington Collegiate is a very poignant signal that you've got to live your life to the full, maximise it and treat yourself and other people with respect. That's written all the way through Mike Gregory. "(Paul Cullen, former Warrington team-mate) "I was an established player when Mike arrived in around 1982 and he instantly made an impact. He'd had a quality schoolboy career and was always going to go to the top. It didn't take him long to make the first team and the rest is history. It was probably around the mid to late eighties that Mike established himself as a true leader in the team and became captain. He went on to captain the team in the 1990 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley and that was one of his heights." (Bob Eccles, former Warrington team-mate) "He was an ordinary young man who had a very healthy appetite for life. He was outrageous at times, especially when he was in the company of his peers. But when he put his rugby jersey on it was like a different character and that's why the scouts were down week after week. I don't think it was any surprise that Michael achieved what he did because he seemed to be a natural leader and people did like playing for him." (Jack Melling, former amateur RL coach). "My lasting memory will be a cover tackle he made in the left-hand corner on Shaun Edwards, having tracked back as a loose forward to be the last line of defence. Shaun Edwards off-loaded the ball and a try was scored, but that showed the effort Mike put in for his team to try and win that game. It shows the mark of the man that he put everything into that game." (Joe Lydon, former GB team-mate) "He first hit my radar when he scored that try at the Sydney Football Stadium. Great Britain were down 2-0 in the series and had effectively been written off for the third Test, but Mike ran something like 60 or 70 metres to score a try. Every time I asked him to tell me the story it got longer and longer and the try became 400 metres! But whenever he told that story he never really praised himself for the try, he gave credit to the team, to the magic pass that put him through the gap and to the support play. That sums Mike up." (Shaun McRae Salford City Reds coach) "I tell the boys that daddy has achieved so much and lived so much in such a short space of time. Some people don't live that in a full lifetime of 80 or 90 years, so though we are very, very sad, you can't lose sight that he had an absolutely incredible life and we've been privileged enough to share it with him." (Erica Gregory) Watch the video at the top of the page to see the Mike Gregory tribute for yourself and also to hear the thoughts of our own Phil Clarke.