LAST UPDATE | 10 Dec 2023
FORMER ULSTER, IRELAND and Lions rugby player Syd Millar has died, aged 89.
IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts said tonight that Millar was “a titan of rugby union and a visionary”.
A stalwart of Ballymena Rugby Club and Ulster Rugby, Millar made his Ireland debut in 1958 and won a total of 37 caps as well as playing on three Lions tours, 1959, 1962 and 1966.
Millar went on to coach Ireland between 1973 and 1975 and was the mastermind behind the Lions undefeated tour to South Africa in 1974. He also served as Lions manager on the 1980 tour and as Ireland manager at the first World Cup in 1987.
He served as Ulster Branch president, IRFU president in 1995 and then chairman of the Lions from 1999 to 2002. He was appointed chairman of the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) in 2003 and served until 2007.
Millar was made a CBE in 2005 having previously been named an MBE and was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2009, as well as being awarded the Légion d’honneur in December 2007.
“Syd Millar was a titan of Rugby Union, both in Ireland and globally,” Kevin Potts, IRFU chief executive said.
Potts added: “He was a respected coach and manager and in latter years was a leading administrative figure who helped reshape the global game.
“Syd was a visionary who helped navigate the testing waters as the game moved from amateurism to professionalism.
“A past president of Ballymena Rugby Club, Ulster Rugby and the IRFU, Syd’s influence helped drive the global expansion of the sport. His is a legacy which will endure. On behalf of the Irish rugby community I would like to express my sincere condolences to his daughter Lesley, sons Peter and Johnny at this sad time.”
Ulster said his “contributions and legacy will forever be etched in rugby history”.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Ulster, Ireland, and British & Irish Lions legend, Syd Millar CBE, who was a member of @ballymenarfc.
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 10, 2023
His contributions and legacy will forever be etched in rugby history.
Our thoughts are with his daughter Lesley, sons Peter… pic.twitter.com/32KqXn20RI
The Lions meanwhile tweeted that there aren’t many who have “given as much to the Lions, or our sport, as the great Syd Millar”.
Rest in Peace Syd.
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) December 10, 2023
There aren’t many people who have given as much to the Lions, or our sport, as the great Syd Millar.
Three tours as a player, one as a series winning coach and another as a manager.
He also served as a committee member, selector and chairman.
It all adds… pic.twitter.com/5uutp2doMy
