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Alastair Brindle: Brian Bevan

Brian Bevan used to wear loads of strapping for a game. He’d be strapped up all over. Every joint was strapped up! He was always first there for a game. If you turned up at 2 O’Clock he’d be there with his shorts already on and he’d either be having a rub down with Jackie Hamblett, the groundsman, who was like his bat man. Jackie would have all different lengths of tape prepared hanging down from the windowsill where Bev sat and he’d tape all his joints up.

If you saw him nowadays you’d not believe he was a rugby player, he just didn’t look like one at all. But once he took that track-suit off, you could see he was just a mass of sinewy muscle and by crikey, when he got on that pitch, he was just phenomenal. Was he the best rugby league player? No he wasn’t that would be the likes of Alex Murphy, who were in the thick of it all the time, but he was the greatest winger and try scorer ever to play the game, his record speaks for itself. He could score tries from anywhere on the pitch, he ran like a hare, no one could get anywhere near him

I remember the first time Vollenhoven, the great South African winger who played for St Helens, encountered Bev. They were on opposite wings. Bev got the ball and he cut across going towards Vollenhoven and he just went round him as if he wasn’t there. Vollenhoven, who was one of the very best, simply put his hands up as if to say, what can you do!

Alastair Brindle

 

Warrington Wolves v Hull FC Superleague memories game 17th May 2013

The Alzheimer's Society recently launched a national initiative called Dementia Friends which is giving people an understanding of dementia and the small things people can do that make a difference to people living with dementia. Alzheimer's Society want to create a network of a million Dementia Friends across England by 2015 - for more information visit dementiafriends.org.uk

Memory added on May 17, 2013

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