then a step or two and like a boxer getting up after a knockdown, he teetered with a push onto the arena, gaining movement with every stride. Without him on the field the position was the same as the captain – certain defeat. How he stood up to the first ten minutes I will never know as my eyes steered their gaze from him to Prescott. As I write this 39 years on I permit myself a heartfelt "Phew! No Ashes! No basking in the future unending sunshine of happening to be there as Team Manager". During this tour, one Australian was moved to write: "Long-jawed Vince Karalius, the wild bull of the Pampas, is a dedicated wrecker of Australian forwards." Thereafter, the nickname stuck and Karalius was firmly embedded in the sporting public's conscience as what a rugby league forward should represent. Karalius represented Great Britain 10 times in his time with St. Helens. He also won five Lancashire caps. Coaching Six years after he retired from playing Karalius returned to Widnes – as coach, appointed in January 1972. Karalius imposed onto the club his own values and visions: fitness, determination and winning. He aimed to turn the club into a force, a vision that was achieved as early as 1974–75. First Salford were beaten in the Lancashire Cup Final and then rivals Warrington were defeated in the Challenge Cup. This was the first time in their history that Widnes had recorded two trophies in the same season. At his zenith, Karalius stepped down once from his role as coach. He was replaced in May 1975 by Frank Myler. He returned to the club for a short spell in March 1983 as co-coach with Harry Dawson. Dawson quit as coach in March 1984 with Karalius continuing as team manager. Vince Karalius was the coach in Widnes' 19-6 victory over Wigan in the 1984 Challenge Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 5 May 1984, in front of a crowd of 80,116. Karalius was also one of the original thirteen former Widnes players inducted into the Widnes Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2000, he became the first forward to be inducted into the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. Retirement After retiring from rugby league, Karalius forged a successful scrap metal business. He was a resident of the Isle of Man, where he died