Paid tribute to rugby player on touring side (8)
I believe the answer is:
lionised
'paid tribute to' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'rugby player on touring side' is the wordplay.
'rugby player' becomes 'lion' (the Lions, Great Britain's rugby league team).
'on' is an insertion indicator.
'touring' indicates anagramming the letters (touring can mean moving around).
'side' anagrammed gives 'ised'.
'lion' inserted inside 'ised' is 'LIONISED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lionised that I've seen before include "being given celebrity status" , "Made a lot of in a beastly fashion" , "Treated like celebrity - like Leo?" , "Celebrated" , "Made to feel like the king of the jungle" .)