Clive Sullivan: Rugby League Legend

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Sport: Rugby League

BBC One - Clive Sullivan: Rugby League Legend

Nathan Blake uncovers the hidden story of a rugby league legend: Clive Sullivan.

Football icon Nathan Blake uncovers the incredible story of a Welsh rugby legend: his uncle, Clive Sullivan, who was the first black man to captain Great Britain in any sport.



Football icon Nathan Blake isn’t the only sporting legend in the family. Now, on the eve of this year’s Rugby League World Cup, he’s setting out to uncover the incredible story of one of Wales’s greatest sporting heroes, who, shockingly, most Welsh people haven’t heard of - his uncle, Clive Sullivan.

Clive was a true trailblazer. The first black man to captain Great Britain in any sport, he paved the way for black British athletes and broke sporting records which still stand today. His breathtaking try in the 1972 Rugby League World Cup final against Australia went down in history as one of the greats. Today, the world cup ball has been christened ‘the Sully’ in his honour.

Tragically, Clive died in 1985, when he was just 42, and Nathan never had the chance to get to know him properly. He’s keen to find out more about the extraordinary story of his uncle. Why did Clive leave Wales - and his family - to play rugby in Hull? How did he become known as a sporting god in England but fade into obscurity in Wales? Who was Clive Sullivan?

Nathan’s journey begins in Cardiff, Clive’s hometown. Here, he discovers that Clive was part of an exodus of gifted black rugby players, who left the city for the north of England. He speaks to fellow former player Terry Michael, who tells us that he felt no option but to move north to continue his playing career. 

Sullivan found a welcoming home in rugby league, and in Hull. Here, he did the unthinkable and played for both of the rival teams, Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers. In 1982, he became the first (and only) player to lift the Challenge Cup for both teams. When Nathan meets an array of ex-FC and KR stars, including Mike Smith and Keith Tindall, he learns about the incredible level of respect that Clive garnered over his years in the north. It didn’t matter which team you supported, Clive was an idol to all. Nathan attends the Clive Sullivan Cup derby, where fans of both teams speak about Clive’s enduring legacy. It seems that his legend status has never faded.

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