Former England rugby captain Sir Bill Beaumont has been awarded the Freedom of Fylde – becoming just the second person to receive the honour from the Lancashire council.
Sir Bill was born in Chorley, Lancashire, but said he was ‘delighted’ to call Fylde home. He played for both Fylde and the county.
In 1978, he became England captain and two years later led the team to its first Five Nations grand slam win in more than 20 years.
After retiring from rugby, he was a team captain on the BBC’s ‘A Question of Sport’ and has been president of the World Rugby federation since 2016.
Fylde Council leader Karen Buckley said: ‘Sir Bill has not only subsequently driven transformational governance reform in support of world rugby, but he has also driven improvements for player welfare and wellbeing.
‘It was a privilege to award him the Freedom of the Borough of Fylde in recognition of these great achievements.’
The award is the highest the council can give. with former MP Michael Jack the only other person to have been awarded the Freedom of Fylde.
