Neville Glover: Rugby Legend Passes Away at 70 After Brief Illness

Neville Glover: Rugby Legend Passes Away at 70 After Brief Illness

Former Parramatta, New South Wales and Australian winger Neville “Nifty” Glover has passed away at the age of 70 following a brief illness.

Glover, who also served as a police sergeant and senior prosecutor, featured in 121 matches for Parramatta and added 13 appearances for Penrith across a nine-season career spanning 1975 to 1983.

During his time in first grade, he crossed the line for 59 tries.

In 1978, Glover earned representative honours for both New South Wales and Australia, and also took the field for City Firsts. He wrapped up his playing days with Penrith in 1983 before transitioning into coaching. His contributions were later recognised with the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, followed by the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018 for his service to rugby league and the broader community.

Despite a distinguished career, Glover is often unfairly recalled for a dropped pass that denied a near-certain try when Parramatta trailed 11-10 late in the 1976 grand final against Manly.

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Parramatta paid tribute to the club great in a statement released on Friday afternoon.

“Everyone at the Club — including former teammates, colleagues, and friends — is deeply saddened by Neville’s passing. He will always be a valued part of the Blue and Gold family,” the statement read.

“The Parramatta Eels and Parramatta Leagues Club extend their sincere condolences to his wife Sharyn, as well as his family and loved ones.

“The team will wear black armbands in Neville Glover’s honour during Monday’s match against the Wests Tigers.”

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Raphael Abiola avatar

Raphael Abiola (Sports editor) Raphael Abiola is a Nigerian Sports Journalist with over seven years of experience. He obtained a B.Tech degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in 2015. Raphael previously worked as a football editor at Stakegains (2016-2018) and a content editor with Opera News Nigeria (2018-2023). Raphael then worked as an Editor for the Local Desk at Sports Brief (2023-2024). Reach him via email at raphael.abiola@briefly.co.za.