THE Rugby Football Union has appointed a Bolton man to take over as president of the game's governing body writes Chris Hall

Former England international Malcolm Phillips has been rewarded for his 50 years service to the sport with the position of junior vice president of the RFU.

The 66-year-old ex-Fylde and Oxford University centre will be promoted to vice-president next year before finally taking his seat in union's top job in 2004.

But he insists he has plenty of work to keep him busy until then, with his roles on the International Rugby Board, the Six Nations Committee and as a director of the Rugby World Cup.

"There's no substitute for playing but, from an administration point of view, this is the pinnacle," he said.

"This is what you get for being involved in rugby union for many years and working your way through the system, so I'm delighted. But I will be keeping up my work with the IRB and the Six Nations until I become president."

After earning his 25 England caps, Phillips worked his way through the county and North Division ranks to become a national selector and begin his rise to the top of the RFU tree.

Although he was born in Cheshire, he has spent the last 36 years living and working in Bolton, where he claims rugby union could finally be ready to take off.

"There's a lot of competition in the area from football and rugby league but, to be fair, Bolton Rugby Club has been resurrected and they are doing pretty well," he said.

"Rugby union is definitely becoming a stronger force in the North West. With high profile rugby league players like Henry Paul and Jason Robinson recently switching codes, we now have a much higher profile with more and more people starting to watch and play."