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When Oldham signed Adrian Alexander in December 1979. Following close after the capture of his fellow London based, Rugby Union forward Bob Mordell, it caused something of a sensation in the press, giving the club more national coverage than it had enjoyed for years.

“Alex”, has he came to be known, came north with a big reputation in Union circles and at the time of his defection was actually captain of the famous Harlequins club, having represented Middlesex county and the “Barbarians”. He had also played for an England XV and a full cap was almost imminent. All this making the switch of codes all the more dramatic, prompting the wide media interest.

He played at prop in a try-scoring debut against Batley on December 9th, 1979 and, strange as it may seem, went on to introduce some of the skills of the fifteen man game into Rugby League. I refer, of course, to the knack “Alex” had of regaining possession for his team after an Oldham kick off. This was most effective in combination with Ray Ashton, who would lift a restart kick high into the air, with the ball travelling just more than the necessary ten yards. “Alex” would then use his height to palm it back “line-out” style to the Oldham players.