THE funeral has taken place of a former Warrington Wolves, Latchford Albion and Thames Board Mills rugby league player.

Larry Flood, born Laurence Andrew Flood on April 3, 1951, died on October 11, aged 73.

He was 25 when his debut for The Wire came along.

In fact Flood was one of six debutants for Warrington on September 19, 1976, when coach Alex Murphy decided to field the A team for a league match against Rochdale Hornets. 

Warrington had played a tough match at Leigh in the Floodlit Cup on the Tuesday and had a Lancashire Cup semi-final to play against Workington Town two days later.

The Wire’s makeshift team, none of whom appeared in the starting line-up for the Workington game, put up a great display and pulled off a shock win 21-14 at the Athletic Grounds.

Flood featured in the centre, alongside the other debutants Gary Fletcher, Glen France, Colin Hart, Peter Taylor and a triallist prop.

France crossed for two of the tries, with Norman Turley also bagging a brace and Mike Peers one, while France also kicked three goals.

Eddie Hunter, who went on to make a successful move into the back row, was Flood's winger that day.

It turned out to be Flood’s only appearance for The Wire, which has subsequently given him the Heritage Number 777.

Flood had played his rugby with Latchford Albion and represented both the Warrington town team and Lancashire. He later played with works team Thames Board Mills RLFC, now defunct.

His funeral was held in Weymouth, where he lived, on Thursday, October 24.

All at the club and in the Warrington Players’ Association have passed on their condolences to Flood’s family and friends.

Additional reporting: Neil Dowson