My father was told he would never play sport and then led Great Britain to victory in 1972.

My father was born in 1943 in Splott, a suburb of Cardiff, and was unlikely to have become a rugby player from the start.

My mother informs me that, when he was a child, he had some type of muscle disease that was never fully diagnosed. He had to spend time with his legs in casts and was told he would never play any sport.

It wasn’t clear if he would be able to walk too well, much less run.

But he joined the army in 1961, after leaving school.

While in the army in Yorkshire he was told to play in an army rugby match; As I understand it, they said something like: Since he was Welsh, he “must” play rugby.

And that’s how it all started. He played brilliantly and realized that, against all odds, could play rugby; Hopefully professionally.

He went to trial in Bradford Northern. They said no; but then he had a trial in Hull, who signed him.

After leaving the army in 1964, his career went from strength to strength, becoming Hull FC’s leading try scorer and becoming famous for his incredible speed.

He began playing internationally in 1967 and played three World Cup matches in 1968.

Then in 1972 he captained Great Britain.

Funnily enough, I don’t remember him talking much about it at the time, but I was only four then.

But he was a very proud Welshman. He was very proud of his heritage and his country, so I can only imagine how proud and pleased he must have been to captain his country in a World Cup; and then, for his team to win.

He joined Hull Kingston Rovers in 1974, and a particular memory I have is of the 1980 Challenge Cup final, where Dad played for Hull KR against Hull FC.

He would have been about 11 years old; It meant a lot to me to go to Wembley to see him, not only as a Hull KR fan but as the son of Clive Sullivan.

I remember how nervous Dad was during the preparation and how important it was to him.

I had always wanted to play in the Challenge Cup final and had started to think that maybe I would never make it.

Hull KR won and Dad even played in another Challenge Cup final in 1982.

It was one success after another; but his former teammates, opponents and people who knew him told me that he was not only a great rugby player, but that he was also a great man. He had time for people, was always friendly and was a great companion.

Hearing that makes me prouder than any number of career highlights.

And to me, dad was just that: my dad.

We used to go and watch him play rugby, but this public persona that emerged from his countless achievements is not something I’ve really identified with; at least until recent years, when there has been increasing recognition of all he accomplished.

As my dad worked full time and played rugby at weekends, we didn’t get to see him much; and he died when we were relatively young. There are still many things I don’t know about him.

However, I do remember that he would never let me win. Whether it was soccer in the backyard, playing wrestling, playing cards, Monopoly, Scrabble, Dad was very, very competitive. I don’t remember if I ever won or not; but I know it was always a struggle to beat him.

And what I learned from that – from him – was: if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. And keep trying until that is the case.

This idea of ​​striving to do well and striving to improve is something I took with me into my own career. I was also an international rugby player, but my father never saw me play.

But I’m quite shy and not as sociable as my father, and I wanted to be allowed to deal with my pain myself, in my own way. And I just didn’t feel like we could do that.

Now, I’m fine with the fact that he didn’t see me play, but I still wish I’d had the opportunity to chat with him about the experience of playing rugby at professional and international level.

When I was a child, I played soccer and ran track. It wasn’t until a friend of my father asked me if I wanted to play rugby, when I was about 15. that I began to follow in my dad’s footsteps.

I imagine having my father’s name live up to it gave me a bit of a boost. I played for the same club, Hull KR, in the same position: on the wing. So there would always be comparisons.

He cast a long shadow, but at the same time I was glad that when he played, people remembered my father and his abilities. Gradually, my attitude matured from feeling like I was in a battle with my father’s legacy to one of acceptance.

I started thinking, ‘I’m my own player and I do my own thing. And if you want to remember the things my dad accomplished because I’m on the field, then I’m perfectly happy with that.”

Since then, Dad has been commemorated in many wonderful ways. The A63 road in Hull was renamed Clive Sullivan Way; and was one of six inaugural members to be inducted into the Hull FC Hall of Fame in 1993.

Then in 2022, he joined the British Rugby League Hall of Fame.

That was a very special evening for me. The history of rugby is within that Hall of Fame. Not only was it a milestone for my father’s legacy; It meant a lot to me, as someone who was “in” the rugby world, to be there and witness it. I understood the gravity of what this honor meant to my father.

My father left a huge legacy and was undoubtedly a pioneer.