No backward steps from these two rugby greats of the past

ENGLISH rugby lost two hugely underrated stalwarts this past week, neither of whom really made the headlines, but whose contributions were significant nonetheless. John Barton played 265 times at lock – and occasionally in the back row – for Coventry when Cov were one of the world's great club sides, winners of the fledgling RFU Knockout Cup and a team that on more than one occasion fielded ten or more England internationals.

Barton was one of them but his Test career is curious in the extreme. In his youth, raw-boned and athletic, he broke into the England team in 1967 and went very well in his first two games –an 8-3 win over Ireland in Dublin and a narrow 16-12 defeat against France at Twickenham.

Then came England's end-of-season visit to Cardiff when Barton again impressed, indeed he scored two of England's three tries, one of them a cracker after good work form John Finlan and Budge Rogers. Alas for him and England the Welsh, with Keith Jarrett to the fore, were inspired after the break and eventually ran out 34-21 winners.

Along with more than half the England team Barton was banished from international rugby at the start of the following season and was totally ignored for five years until, in 1972 when nobody much fancied the trip to Paris, he was sensationally recalled.

England were massacred 37-12 and that signalled the end of his England career.

A noted lay preacher locally Barton, who was 77, became the ‘hardman' in the Cov pack in his latter years and it would be fairly normal for him to address his congregation on a Sunday morning with a black eye or bandaged cut. After retiring he served as the club fixtures secretary for a number of years.

Another who never took a backward step on the pitch was former Orrell flanker Dave Cleary, a much-loved passionate character at the very heart of the rise and rise of Orrell in the 80s and 90s. Cleary died aged 59 this week.

A feisty but highly skilled flanker who would have been gold dust in the modern game, Cleary captained an outstanding Orrell Colts team that largely went through the senior ranks together and helped make the club a major force in the land.

Cleary also did stalwart service for Lancashire, captaining them to the 1990 County Championship and late in his career, having been overlooked by England, played for the Irish Exiles and Irish Wolfhounds.