It was the one honour that eluded him. New Zealand teams then were selected solely from players based in New Zealand. Everything else in the 40s and 50s that league offered, he achieved. Mountford’s professional career began with Wigan where, in his first year, he scored 17 tries. He went on to play in two Challenge Cups wins at Wembley, in 1948 and 1951, and was the first non-Englishman to win the Lance Todd Trophy as the best player in the final. Wigan also won the championship four times while Mountford was with them. Switching to player-coach at Warrington, Mountford took his club to the cup-championship double, the first time that had been achieved in 20 years. Mountford returned to New Zealand to coach the Kiwis, including on their tour of Britain in 1980, while at the same time being secretary of the New Zealand Rugby League. Return to the Inductee list