David Willicombe obituary: Tribute to a former Halifax RLFC and Great Britain international who has died, aged 72.

The centre was a Welsh rugby union starlet with Cardiff International Athletic Club, the club which had earlier produced Johnny Freeman and Colin Dixon. Halifax gave him £1,500 to turn professional in 1969, when he was just 18, and he made an immediate impact, scoring 54 tries and 26 goals in 152 appearances, before being sold to Wigan for £9,000 in January 1974.

His Halifax debut was on September 6, 1969, the seventh match of the season, at Huddersfield. By the end of it he had played 29 matches, made his international debut for Wales against France in Perpignan and had just turned nineteen.

He played a prominent role in the Halifax team that won the Players No 6 Competition in 1971-72, scoring a try in the final against Wakefield Trinity at Odsal. He also played in the Challenge Cup semi final against Leeds later that season.

He was big and strong, and fast as well, ideal for a centre, and it was no surprise when he was selected by Great Britain for his Test debut in January 1974 against France in Grenoble.

He became a British Lion on the 1974 Tour, though by then he was a Wigan player.

He went on to make 119 appearances for Wigan, scoring 36 tries and 6 goals. In total he played three times for Great Britain and 13 times for Wales. He retired as a player through injury in 1980.