Syd Hynes, who has died aged 80 after a short illness, gained notoriety by becoming the first player to be sent off in rugby league’s Challenge Cup final. Hynes was captaining Leeds against Leigh at Wembley in 1971 when he was dismissed for allegedly headbutting Leigh’s player-coach Alex Murphy.
The incident has passed into rugby league folklore, not least through the (possibly apocryphal) interpretation that Murphy, one of the sport’s great schemers, took a dive, was stretchered off, and after waiting until Hynes had left the pitch, hopped off the stretcher, combed his hair, winked at the BBC television cameras and ran back on to the field, inspiring Leigh to an unexpected victory.
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