George North at 30 - What became of Wales superstar's team-mates in very first game of professional rugby

When Bill Shankly signed a giant centre-half named Ron Yeats for Liverpool football club back in the day, he invited the gentlemen of the press to take a close-quarters look at the club’s new acquisition. “Go on, walk around him. He’s a colossus,” said the great man.

There are no reports of the Scarlets doing the same when they unveiled George North as a player. But he was an 18-year-old wing who stood 6ft 4in in his stockinged feet and weighed in at 16st 7lb. Those were no ordinary dimensions for a wide-man or, come to think about it, for a lad who had only just completed his A levels.

Anyway, press the fast-forward button and yesterday’s boy wonder hits 30 on Wednesday. Where have the years gone?

A good question, but North has made good use of them, with 102 caps for Wales and three Tests for the Lions on the board. He has represented three clubs — Scarlets, Northampton and Ospreys — with distinction and before the knee injury sustained last year, he had been playing some of his best rugby.

The good news for him is that the big Three-O is a step along the way rather than an indicator of the finishing post ahead. There is still much for him to achieve and even scope for him to improve. As a former French prime minister once said: “Everything I know I learned after I was 30.”

Still, the mark is a milestone. North’s league league debut came for the Scarlets in Italy against Benetton Treviso on September 4, 2010. The new boy scored two tries in a 34-28 defeat for the visitors.

Who featured in the Scarlets side for North’s first game of competitive professional rugby all those years ago? Llanelli rugby historian Les Williams tells Mark Orders the details.

The words are his…

This guy was a very good rugby player, solid