Aldwinians Legends

Aldwinians prides itself on developing players. Below are a few examples of the Legends of Aldwinians — open a name to read their story.

International Level

Eric Evans MBE

Between 1928 and 1980, the England rugby union team won only one grand slam. It came in 1957 and the skipper was Droylsden-born Eric Evans. Universally acknowledged as a superb tactician, Evans captained his country with great success and later served as a selector. Yet, it was as a soccer player that he first made his mark on the Tameside sporting scene. Born on Edge Lane, Evans played for Droylsden Boys before switching to the handling code when he became a pupil of Audenshaw Grammar School, which he also represented at swimming, cricket and athletics.

In 1936-7, aged 16, he played throughout Aldwinians Rugby Club's inaugural season and continued to feature until the Second World War began. Evans made his mark in three positions: prop, hooker and flanker. Although only a teenager he commanded a place in the pack against men twice his age and much heavier. During the war he joined Sale and, in 1946, was elected a member of the Barbarians, captaining them on four occasions. When called up for national service, Evans played for the army side for three years. He then took a physical training course at Loughborough College and played for English Universities and Leicester Barbarians.

Evans qualified as a sports teacher and worked at Openshaw Technical College before changing career and taking a job as an industrial relations officer with an oil company. In 1948, while living on Clarendon Road, Audenshaw, Evans was awarded his first England cap and played prop forward against Australia at Twickenham. Later he established himself at hooker. He became England captain in 1956. During this time he earned a reputation as a master of the art of motivation. A contemporary said: "Eric got more out of more players than any other captain I have known."

At the end of the 1957-58 season Evans retired from international rugby. He was 37 and had been capped 30 times, scoring five tries. England won nine of the 13 games he had captained. He continued to play for Sale until 1963. He served as a selector for England and Lancashire and played for the red rose 117 times, leading it to the county championship in 1955. Evans was chairman of Aldwinians from 1957 to 1959, and president from 1960 to 1966. In 1982 he was awarded the MBE for services to rugby union. He died at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, in 1991, aged 69.

Dean Schofield

Position Lock

Club Sale Sharks

Position at higher level Lock

Clubs Glossop RUFC, Aldwinians RUFC, Wakefield, Sale Sharks, Toulon, Worcester Warriors, London Welsh, Leeds (Yorkshire Carnegie)

Honours Lancashire, England and Barbarians

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Winning the NPI Cup at Twickenham and a tour to Galway"

Favourite rugby memory: "Winning the Premiership!"

Warren Spragg

Position Versatile back

Club Sale Sharks

Clubs Sale Sharks, Wakefield, Orrell, Calvisano, Petrarca Padova, Fylde

Honours Italy, Italy 7s, England U21s, England 18s and England Counties

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Under 12s rugby tour to a caravan site in Blackpool! But I also loved all the mini and juniors tournaments we used to do as kids. Our coaches, Chris and George, were amazing and made Sundays the best day of the week."

Favourite rugby memory: "I've had a lot of memories from playing, but the best thing is catching up with old teammates and talking about stories from when you played together. If I had to pick an occasion, it would have to be lining up and singing the Italian anthem before playing Canada. 2006 was a whirlwind year for me and that was an unbelievable moment at the start of a new life in Italy."

Sam Stelmaszek

Position Scrum half / fly half

Club Sedgley Tigers

Position at higher level Scrum half / wing

Clubs Sedgley Tigers, Sale FC, Macclesfield RUFC

Honours Poland XV

County Cheshire, Lancashire

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Reaching the under 14s Lancashire final, just missing out by the last kick of the game"

Favourite rugby memory: "Going on tour to South Africa with Audenshaw and playing Paul Roos (#1 ranked school). Although we lost by about 90 points, the experience was unreal, with Table Mountain as the backdrop."

David Giles

Position Versatile forward

Club Waterloo

Clubs Aldwinians RUFC, Sale, Orrell, Waterloo, Aldwinians RUFC (to finish career)

Honours Lancashire Clubs, Lancashire Schools, Merseyside Schools, North of England Schools, England Schoolboys

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Wow, really hard. The best years of my rugby life were spent at the club. Leaving the club as a teenager then returning to play for the First XV was a huge honour. I used to watch them as a kid and wanted to follow in their footsteps. Pulling on the shirt and touching the 'family' sign as a 1st team player for the first time felt like I was home. Winning the Lancs trophy that season was just the icing on the cake."

Favourite rugby memory: "Playing for England U18s against Wales. We were getting well and truly roughed up. Losing, we had to claw our way back into the game. In the final minutes we were trailing by 2 points but pushing hard for the try. Up steps Jonny Wilkinson with a trademark drop goal, just as the referee put the whistle to his lips. I have never felt so elated on the field! It really meant more than I ever imagined to win that one."

Inter-Services Representatives

Daniker Wilmore

Position Front row

Club Wasps FC

Additional positions Centre and flanker

County Lancashire, Cheshire, Middlesex

Regional North West, South West, London & South East

Honours England U20, RAF, UKAF

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Playing 'British Bulldog' — it would start all serious but by the end we would just be in fits of laughter."

Favourite rugby memory: "Playing for England U20 at Worcester and beating France 5-10. My family and friends came to watch me play."

Brad Cook

Position Hooker, full back

Club Henley Hawks RUFC

Position at higher level Front row

Clubs Aldwinians RUFC, Bury St Edmunds, Henley Hawks RUFC

Honours RAF and Combined Services

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Beating Vale of Lune by 24 points and scoring every point"

Favourite rugby memory: "Beating the Army and Navy to win the Inter Services Cup after 22 years, in 2015"

Club Level

Mark Woodward

Position Centre

Club Wakefield RUFC

Clubs Wakefield RUFC, Aldwinians RUFC

County Lancashire, Lancashire U21s, Lancashire Colts

Favourite Aldwinians memories:

Every Saturday playing at Aldwinians
Colts tours
Beating Orrell Colts at home
Winning the NPI Cup at Twickenham
The games on the way to the final
Going back and seeing familiar faces

Favourite rugby memory: "Winning the Colts National Cup at Twickenham with Lancashire Colts and Chip, and playing at Premiership Level 2 against stars such as John Bentley and John Gallagher."

Jack Moorhouse

Position Fly half / centre

Club Sale FC

Clubs Aldwinians RUFC, Dukinfield RUFC, RGC 1404, Sale FC

Honours Cheshire Seniors, Lancashire U18/U20s

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Blackpool Under 16s Tour"

Favourite rugby memory: "Representing Cheshire @ Twickenham"

Dean Williams

Position Lock

Club Harbour Hawks (Dunedin)

Clubs Aldwinians RUFC, Sedgley Tigers, Macclesfield, Suburbs (Auckland), Harbour Hawks (Dunedin)

Honours Lancashire, Auckland B, Poverty Bay (Heartland Competition)

Favourite Aldwinians memory: "Probably too many to mention. Obviously, the rugby tours at the end of the season were always a highlight! Gaining promotion out of North Lancs/Cumbria to North 2."

Favourite rugby memory: "Winning the Auckland competition with the Suburbs, playing the final at Eden Park. It was an amazing day and a great 4 days after!"

Ben Hunter

Position Prop / hooker

Club Doncaster Knights

Honours Lancashire age groups

Favourite Aldwinians memories:

Friday night training sessions — a great set of lads from all backgrounds, with coaches Lee and Mooney giving up their Friday nights to pretty much babysit us, then into the clubhouse afterwards so all the parents could have a few.
Tour to France with the lads and dads — enough said!
Going to Twickenham when the First XV reached the final of the cup — a fond memory that has always stuck with me, of a team I looked up to.

Favourite rugby memory: "Playing in a Championship play-off final in front of 16,000 spectators. One I feel very fortunate to have been part of."