FORMER Barrow and Great Britain scrum-half David Cairns has been selected in a team of All Stars picked by Arnold ‘Boxer’ Walker in his authorised biography.

Boxer, who captained Workington, Whitehaven and Cumbria more than 35 years ago, says Cairns is one of the best scrum-halves he ever played against.

“David was a fantastic player. I think he played a couple of times for Great Britain, but he should have played more,” says Boxer, who captained Cumbria seven times.

“There were so many good scrum-halves around then. I wasn’t surprised when he moved to Salford for £35,000, which was a lot of money back then. David was very quick and for sure quicker than me – you always had to watch him at the play-the-balls.

“He was a great tackler and I think he was actually smaller than me. He loved defending.

“David was a really deceptive runner who was always likely to make a break – you had to keep your eye on him all the time – he was through a gap and away before you knew it.

“He was a lot different to me as regards playing clean. I admit I could be dirty sometimes, but you never got that kind of stuff from David – he was always hard and fair – and he was known for that throughout the game.

“David’s long-time stand-off was another Barrow player, Ralph McConnell, who played for Wath Brow, and they formed a very good partnership. Those two gave me as tough a game as any of the top internationals I played against.”

The book, Boxer, The Life of a Cumbria Great , tells the story of the Great Britain international scrum-half, who is one of the county’s greatest players. In 1980, he was voted the best scrum-half in the world by the magazine Open Rugby .

It has been written by the award-winning former Evening Mail sports journalist Mike Gardner, who wrote the critically-acclaimed biography of Barrow, England and Great Britain stand-off Willie Horne 23 years ago.

“Boxer was a writer’s dream,” says Gardner. “He was keen that the book should be truthful and a honest portrayal of his amazing story.

“Boxer’s life is full of highs and lows, from playing in four cup finals and for Great Britain to when he was stretchered off with a serious neck injury, and the crowd thought he had actually died.

“He was an incredible player who had the nickname of George Best and this book will be of great interest to Barrow fans. There are chapters about Barrow players Spanky McFarlane and Smiler Allen, and a chapter about Boxer’s experiences playing for Cumbria, where he is full of praise for Barrow forwards Malcolm Flynn and Tom Gainford.”

Boxer, who made his debut for Workington as a teenager in 1971, played 198 games for Town before being transferred to Whitehaven for a record fee of £30,000 in January 1980. After three seasons at the Recre, Boxer broke his neck and never played again.

He played 19 times for Cumbria and was a full England and Great Britain international.

Frank Cassidy, a former Evening Mail sports editor, said: “The abiding memory is of a sudden roar from the terraces as yet another grudge match between Barrow and Workington detonates just in front of the Craven Park Popular Side and at the heart of the melee stands a blond, slight figure in a Town jersey swinging punches like Rocky Marciano in a title fight.

“The hardest field game in the world has spawned more than its share of colourful characters, but there will only ever be one Boxer Walker.

“Now the life and times of this revered west Cumbrian mighty atom have been crafted into a top-notch page-turner by prizewinning author Mike Gardner, and I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”

The authorised biography is being launched on Sunday, May 14, at Workington Town’s League One game against South Wales Ironmen at Derwent Park, and, again, the following weekend, when Whitehaven play Hemel at The Recreation Ground.

The book will not be available in bookshops in South Cumbria, but you can pre-order a copy, which will be signed by Boxer and the author, for £15 including postage and packing through Paypal to mikegardner@hotmail.co.uk – books will be dispatched on the weekend of the Town book launch.

The book will also be available in the Evening Mail office, on Abbey Road, Barrow, with a donation from every sale going to Jo’s Appeal – a charity set up in memory of former Evening Mail journalist Jo-anne Davies, which raises money for St Mary’s Hospice, The FGH oncology unit and The Eve Appeal women’s cancer charity.

Jo-anne’s husband Matt Davies, Evening Mail sports editor, chairman of Jo’s Appeal and a former colleague of Gardner, said: “This is a great gesture by Mike which we really appreciate.

“Mike has done a brilliant job documenting the life of Boxer Walker – just as he did for Barrow great Willie Horne 23 years ago – and this book will be a must-read for all avid Cumbrian rugby league fans.”