When Helsby RUFC launched it's Walking Rugby initiative in 2021, the idea was to entice past players out of retirement to revisit the club and enjoy playing a slower-paced version of the game whilst renewing old friendships. The sessions also caught the eye of local resident, Ray Tabern, however, who's wife Linda waved him off to his first session with a word of warning "Now behave! And make sure you don't get carried away!". For whilst the couple were now enjoying their retirement in Helsby - returning to the UK after many years living in rural France - during his playing days, Ray had competed at the very top of both rugby codes.

This weekend, Ray celebrated his 71st birthday and to mark the occasion, we take a look back on his career.

Born in St Helens, Ray Tabern is a former Rugby Union and Rugby League hooker who followed in the footsteps of his father, Walter - himself a Leigh legend who amassed almost 400 appearances for the Lancashire Rugby League side during the 1950s. Having initially played rugby union for Leigh RUFC, Ray moved to Fylde RFC from where representative honours would follow - firstly with Lancashire and then with England, when he was selected for the England under-23 team's tour to Canada in 1977.

Switching to rugby league in November 1979, he signed for Leigh for whom he would go on to make almost 200 appearances over the course of the next eight years. He soon won silverware – putting in a man of the match performance in Leigh's 8-3 victory over Widnes in the 1981 Lancashire Cup Final in a season that would also see Leigh win Rugby League’s First Division Championship for only the second time in their history, under manager Alex Murphy – Ray playing alongside Des Drummond and Steve Donlan in that side.

Capped for Great Britain in a 7-8 defeat by France in July 1982, spells at both Fulham RLFC and Working Town would follow before Ray retired from the game – eventually returning to Rugby Union as Director of Rugby for Reading Abbey RUFC.

Ray arguably holds a unique distinction in the world of rugby union and rugby league, in that he is potentially the only player to have faced both New Zealand and Australia in both codes of the game. In January 1976 he was part of the North West Counties side that faced Australia and then in December 1978 he was part of the North of England team that played New Zealand at Birkenhead Park RUFC – Ray playing alongside his Fylde team-mate Bill Beaumont in both games and packing down alongside another firm friend of his, England prop, Fran Cotton in sides that also featured Roger Uttley, Tony Neary and Mike Slemen. Following his switch to Rugby League, Ray then completed the set against the Southern Hemisphere’s best, when in November 1980 he played in the Leigh Team who took on a New Zealand touring side and in November 1982 he featured again, when Leigh played an Australia side featuring greats of the game such as Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga, Steve Ella and Gene Miles.

With such a pedigree background, it was therefore unsurprising perhaps that Ray's Walking Rugby career was going to be short-lived, for within months of making his first appearance at Helsby Community Sports Club, he couldn't resist the urge to cast his eye over the Helsby RUFC 1st XV training sessions taking place on the other side of the club's pitch and in no time at all he would become part of Phil Arkell's Senior coaching team.

Now most Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons Ray can be found offering support and encouragement to the next generation of our players and whilst he's too modest a man to boast about his exploits during his own playing days, Helsby RUFC can consider itself fortunate to count in our ranks someone who can offer guidance about what it takes to play at the very top in rugby.

Happy Birthday Ray!