The story goes that the then Widnes rugby league coach Doug Laughton didn’t exactly have rose petals thrown his way when he turned up on a scouting trip to watch Wales union wing Elgan Rees in the 1970s.
A Neath official told him: "You can get out of here. And you can take the big thug you've brought with you, too."
The chap standing alongside Laughton was, to borrow Raymond Chandler’s classic description of his character Moose Molloy, “a big man but not more than six feet five inches tall and not wider than a beer truck. His skin was pale and he needed a shave. He would always need a shave…he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of cake.”
READ MORE: The Wales youngster capped last year who could soon fill Liam Williams' boots
That was Jim Mills, a legendary rugby hard nut who would have made Jaws, the James Bond film villain, send out for reinforcements, and tell them they had better show up pretty sharpish. Laughton replied to the official’s request: “I will go, but only after you’ve told him to leave, too.”
We must assume the pair went nowhere. Happy days.
But imagine what it was like in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the 15-a-side code in Wales seemed to be losing a player a week to league. Stellar talents too, the lost generation to our game in many ways.
Just how did that lost generation of Wales union stars fare in 13-a-side and what happened after? We took a look…
David Bishop
“Targeted? I felt like I was a dartboard! I got battered, I really did,” Bishop said recently of his time in rugby league. He had been a magnificent player in union but found it tougher in league. You can read our interview with David Bishop on his life in Welsh rugby here.
His debut for Hull Kingston Rovers saw the former Pontypool RFC player carried off amid a chorus of “what a waste of money!” from the Salford fans. But Bishop stuck at it and turned his situation around, excelling for Wales and being named player of the year at his club two years running.
Allan Bateman
Bateman made the call to switch codes just when he was establishing himself in the Wales team. He reflected in his book: “I made the wrong decision. I should have stayed at Neath. I am not normally an impulsive person, but this was an instance when I acted without engaging my brain properly.”
Even so, he turned his switch to Warrington into a success, playing for Wales and for Great Britain and also cracking the unforgiving world of Australian rugby league with Cronulla.
The Clamp, as Bateman became known because of his tackling, was just an exceptional rugby player. With the pace and an eye for a gap, he could weave his way through defences and was tough enough to ride tackles and put in uncompromising hits himself. Here's more on Bateman.
Ron Waldron rated only Jonathan Davies as a bigger loss to the Wales union team than the Maesteg man.
John Devereux
Devereux was just 23 when he went north, having played in a World Cup for Wales and represented the Lions. Probably, he felt he had few worlds left to conquer at 15-a-side.
He had seven years with Widnes and also spent time with Manly Sea Eagles in Australia. There were also appearances for Wales and Great Britain.
Powerful and strong-running, he did himself justice up north.
Adrian Hadley
He decamped to league after a particularly strong campaign in union that saw him etch his name into Welsh folklore with two memorable tries against England at Twickenham.
The big man performed well for Salford, appearing in three cup finals, but Widnes wasn’t such a happy experience, amid financial problems for the club.
“Joining them was a mistake,” he later said. “I became very homesick. I'd train on a Tuesday, jump into my car and drive straight to Cardiff. They used to wonder where I'd got to."
A member of Wales’ squad at the 1995 World Cup, he went on to forge a career as a union pundit after a stint as a coach and director of rugby.
Stuart Evans
The 6ft 1in, 19st Evans could have been an all-time union great.
Playing at tighthead, he came up with a performance against France in Paris in the 1987 Five Nations that the following year’s Rugby Annual for Wales described as “superb”. Neath’s then supremo Brian Thomas described Evans as a "scrum on his own", with the giant front-rower named as that season's Welsh player of the year.
Then he left for rugby league at the age of just 24. He remains fondly remembered in the 13-a-side code, not least for his refusal to be intimidated. The Big Truck, as he was known, played for St Helens between 1987 and 1991.
One of his most memorable encounters came in a Challenge Cup match against Castleford. The opposition thought they had a formidable pack but were blown away, with Evans to the fore. “Early in the game, one of Castleford’s top forwards decided to give Stuart his best shot. He took it like an armoured car would take a snowball and it did not deter him in the slightest.” So wrote rugby league writer Adrian Lawrenson.
A hard man was Stuart Evans. He played for Swansea RFC after returning to union in Wales.
Jonathan Davies
"I was captain of Wales, and the shock that happened down there was tremendous," Jonathan Davies has said of his move from union to league in 1989.
"If I'd have failed, I would never have been able to go back.
"If I'd failed I couldn't go anywhere — I couldn't go home. I'd have just had to get a normal job and give my rugby up."
He didn’t fail, helping Widnes beat Canberra Raiders in the 1989 World Club Challenge. And after switching to Warrington when Widnes hit financial trouble, he was named Man of Steel in 1993. He also proved a hit in Australia. If you want to read more about Davies' genius, it's all here.
His try for Great Britain against the Kangaroos — showcasing his speed and swagger — remains a favourite with pretty much everyone who saw it, while Davies also led Wales to the 1995 World Cup semi-finals against England.
An unqualified success, then, before he returned home to union.
Kevin Ellis
Ellis set a Glamorgan Wanderers try-scoring record of 29 for a season, but no senior cap came his way in union. He had better luck in league, featuring prominently during the 1995 World Cup campaign that saw Wales reach the last four. He played with distinction for Warrington and Workington before doing well in Australia. Along the way he featured for Great Britain.
For those in doubt, he was a significant hit in league. Played union with Maesteg at 45.
Dai Young
It’s hard for a prop schooled in union to make it in league.
Young had joined Leeds for a then record deal of £150,000 in 1990. He later went on to play for Salford. He made 14 RL appearances for Wales, some of them at the World Cup, and one of life’s natural leaders skippered Salford and was admired for his hard, uncompromising play, even though he always seemed more comfortable in his original code.
Went on to coach Wasps in union and is now director of rugby at Cardiff Rugby.
Scott Quinnell
The big man joined Wigan in 1994 in a record £400,000 deal over four years. “I cannot pretend it’s anything other than a significant setback for us,” lamented Bob Norster, Wales’ union team manager at the time.
Quinnell played at prop or in the second row as Wigan won two league titles during his stint there. He also played for Wales and earned respect.
His name will be more associated with union, though. Now a media personality and an after-dinner and motivational speaker.
Rowland Phillips
The former Neath union man enjoyed four seasons with Warrington and three with Workington. He played a lot in the front row, in one game making 44 tackles. He also featured for Wales and Great Britain. Graft was never going to be a problem for Phillips.
One of sport’s characters was popular up north, too. Played and coached in union after his return.
Paul Moriarty
A £100,000 deal saw him depart for Widnes, where he won various honours. He also played for Halifax and for Wales and Great Britain.
League suited Moriarty with his mobility, handling ability and relish for the physical side of the game. He could look after himself but he had a wide skill set and came back to union a more rounded player.
A success? Absolutely.
Works for a player agency after a spell as a coach.
Richard Webster
There was no more honest player in union than the former Swansea RFC flanker. He overcame countless injuries and would always put his hand for unglamorous jobs on a rugby field.
When the Lions toured New Zealand in 1993, few distinguished themselves in the midweek team, but Webster did, putting his body on the line without a second thought. Weirdly, the 13-a-side game probably didn’t see the best of him, notwithstanding that he played for Wales.
When he returned to union from Salford, he enjoyed a strong spell with Bath, with the club’s website fondly referring to him as “arguably Bath’s most successful rugby league recruit”.
Mark Jones
He was big, he was powerful and, as countless opponents will testify, he could look after himself on a rugby field. There were appearances for Wales and for Great Britain in league, but union always seemed more of a natural habitat for the man who had contributed so much to Neath RFC during their success years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Played for Hull and Warrington.
Gerald Cordle
“He was the only player to worry Martin Offiah,” a league player once said of Cordle, who went north having scored 166 tries in 194 games for Cardiff RFC. Why he wasn’t capped at union remains a mystery.
He scored 81 tries in 128 games in league, figuring for Wales and Great Britain. Let’s say he finished in credit. Heavily in credit.
Scott Gibbs
The centre enjoyed his stint in league and helped St Helens to Challenge Cup final success in 1996 and the inaugural Super League title. Many feel he could have been a star. He did figure for Wales and his game appeared suited to 13-a-side. But he didn’t stay long before returning to union. Here's a feature on his new life.
Went on to win the man of the series award on the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa and cemented his status as a Welsh legend with THAT try against England at Wembley in 1999.
Jonathan Griffiths
The former union Test scrum half played for Wales and Great Britain at league and performed well for St Helens, where he was used at scrum-half and stand-off. It was versatility that served him well when he returned to west Wales, with Llanelli using him at nine, 10 and at flanker.
His time up north worked. He returned home to work as a fireman in west Wales.
