ru_nationalteam death_date death_place birth_place ru_nationalcaps ru_proclubs article_title school name birth_date ru_nationalpoints image ru_position other birth_name ru_nationalyears university
england 27 november 1957 aldershot , england kensington , england 15 oxford university rfc harlequin f.c. barbarian f.c. adrian stoop
 dover college rugby school adrian dura stoop 27 march 1883 -lrb- 6 -rrb- adrianstoop1.jpg fly-half yes adrian dura stoop 1905-1912 oxford university
adrian stoop

adrian stoop -lrb- 27 march 1883 -- 27 november 1957 -rrb- was an english rugby union player of dutch descent .
he played 182 times for harlequins between 1901 and 1939 , and won 15 caps for england .
he was president of the harlequins 1920 -- 1949 .
the club 's ground , the stoop , is named in his memory .
his association with harlequins lasted from his debut against oxford university in november 1901 until 1950 when he ended his 30-year stint as president of the club .
he played his last game in quins colours in 1939 , at the age of 56 .
he made 182 appearances in total , captained the side 143 times and scored 86 tries , being club captain for 8 consecutive seasons from 1906/07 to 1913/14 .
stoop was born on 27 march 1883 in cromwell road , london .
his father was dutch and his mother was half scottish/half irish .
he went to dover college in 1896 and on to rugby school in 1898 , where he played for the school team , and then to oxford university , where he was captain of the rugby team in 1904 .
it was whilst he was still at rugby school that he was asked to join harlequins .
he had also been approached by blackheath , who at the time were a bigger name than quins , but he decided to accept the offer from quins .
in 1905 , stoop made his debut for england against scotland and it was also against scotland that he earned the last of his 15 caps in 1912 .
during this time he captained the national side twice , including the first ever international played at twickenham in 1910 .
had it not been for a broken collarbone in 1907 he would have added to his international appearances .
stoop is widely credited with revolutionising back play .
previously , the two half backs were designated as `` left and right '' , but stoop incorporated ideas already being used in wales and new zealand to introduce the concept of the scrum half and outside half .
he used these ideas to great success for both harlequins and england .
as well as being club captain from 1906 -- 1914 , stoop was secretary from 1905 -- 14 and from 1920-38 as well as president from 1920-1950 .
he was also president of the rfu in 1932 and was a member of the selection committee .
in addition to quins and england he also represented oxford university , surrey and the barbarians .
he died on 27 november 1957 , aged 74 .
he is buried at hartley wintney , hampshire , where he had lived for many years .
