FORMER York Rugby League Club player and well-respected junior coach Robin Divorty has died. He was 59.

Mr Divorty, from Dodsworth Avenue, York, died at St Leonard's Hospice in York after a short illness.

A well-respected character throughout rugby league in York, he played for York Schools, Heworth Under-17s, Green Tree, York Albion and Heworth as well as York 'A' at professional level.

He took up coaching in 1973 and held many roles throughout the amateur ranks in and outside the city. He coached British Amateur RL Association sides, Great Britain youth teams and Yorkshire Under-18s, and latterly worked with the York and North Yorkshire Service Area.

He was the coach of the famous York Under-11s schoolboy team that played at Wembley in a curtain-raiser to the 1978 Challenge Cup final in front of 95,000 fans. He is pictured at Wembley with Alex Davis, ruled out of that match because of a broken arm, who went on to play professionally for Hunslet.

A former Heworth coach and committee man, Mr Divorty's latest coaching role was as assistant to his son, the former Hull, Leeds, Halifax and Great Britain forward Gary Divorty, at New Earswick All Blacks ARLC, where they took charge of the under-15s team for which his grandson, Ross, played.

New Earswick All Blacks chairman Charles Rollinson said: "He was a tremendous character who will be sadly missed by everyone down at All Blacks. He was one of the best junior coaches there has ever been."

Mr Divorty leaves behind a widow, Beryl, daughter Karen, son Gary, daughter-in-law Jackie, and grandchildren Ross and Francesca.

The funeral will be at St Deny's Church in York city centre at noon on Thursday, July 10, followed by a private cremation. It is asked all donations are sent to the neurology department at Hull Royal Infirmary and/or St Leonard's Hospice in York.

Updated: 11:00 Saturday, July 05, 2003