Tributes have been paid to the former Kells and Whitehaven coach Barry Smith who has died at the age of 74.
Regarded as a gentleman and a true rugby league man, Barry had also been latterly involved with Wath Brow Hornets.
Peter Smith, the current Kells coach, led the tributes. He said: “Barry shared the coaching duties with Harold Rudd and they moved the club forward, winning the Cumbria Cup seven times out of eight seasons and establishing Kells as a successful club again.
“Barry played a lot of his rugby at Kells and was a tough scrum-half to play against. His teams that he coached were just as rugged.
“He left Kells in 1988 after we had played Leeds in a famous Challenge Cup-tie at Whitehaven. He moved to coach Whitehaven. He was a genuine rugby man and a gentleman who will be sadly missed by all who knew him and played with him and were coached by him.”
When he returned to the amateur ranks, he joined the Wath Brow club and current youth chairman Martin Brough paid tribute.
He said: “Barry coached numerous and successful teams and became the club’s National Conference League secretary. He taught me a lot in those days. He was on our committee and also played a big part in creating the club’s new gym and changing rooms.
“Everyone will say the same. He was a gentleman and will be missed by many.”
Former Whitehaven chairman Tom Todd was a board member at the time Barry coached the team.
He said: “ Barry was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and of course his stint as coach at Kells was legendary.
“It took all of the then chairman’s persuasive talents to wrest Barry from Kells to the Recreation Ground such was his dedication to the amateur side.
“From memory Barry organised a training field behind the Kells End so the team would never miss a training session.
“He had a policy of targeting the best amateur talent at every opportunity to make sure they played for Whitehaven and I think it fair to say he was one of the first of that ‘new wave’ of coaches of his era.
“He was always smiling! Some players are remembered for scoring a singular great try. Barry scored one such try.
“I think we were playing Warrington at home and we were pressing on their line. Tom Gainford broke from the scrum and gave the perfect inside pass to Barry who sailed under the posts unimpeded.
“Whenever I met Barry we would always end up talking about this try and with that twinkle in his eye he would say ‘well it might have been a bit forward’. Well for me and the rest of the crowd it wasn’t!
“RIP Barry and sincere condolences to all your family and friends.”
