Popular former Oldham rugby coach John Prince dies

John Prince was a man who was rich in his knowledge of both the amateur and professional game

Former Oldham RLFC coach John Prince, described by many as one of the nicest men ever to work in rugby league, has died.

John was a man who was rich in his knowledge of both the amateur and professional game, especially in his native west Lancashire.

Everybody who was anybody in rugby league 30 years or more ago knew John, from Waterhead to Wigan, Saddleworth to Salford, Higginshaw to Huyton.

He was Oldham's ‘A’ team coach for a while, possessing a special interest in first the scouting and then the development of young players, whom he would often refer to as “my lads”.

John Chadwick, a former club secretary and club chairman back in the Watersheddings days, now vice-president of the club and a close friend of current chairman Bill Quinn, said: “I remember John well - a smashing bloke, one of the best.

"We took him on as a man with a great knowledge of young players in the amateur game.

"He coached the ‘A’ team and brought on a lot of our youngsters, especially the Cumbrian boys, Howard Hill and Chris McKinney, when they first moved down here as kids.”

John also worked for Swinton Lions at a time when former Oldham coach Tony Barrow was also with the Lions.

Tony said: "John was head of youth at Swinton in my time there.

"Like me, he came from St Helens. He was a lovely fella.

"All the lads who came under his wing, be it at Oldham, Swinton or elsewhere, thought the world of him.”

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