AS we continue to serialise parts of the Centenary Book, we look at those who have reached the pinnacle of representing their country.

Rams’ only international captain, Swedish sensation Axel joined the club in November, 2021, and went onto make his first-team debut at Caldy the following month.

The versatile three-quarter – who has played in every backs position bar scrum-half in the past three seasons – enjoyed a sensational second campaign at Old Bath Road, winning the Captain’s Player of the Year award.

During a campaign in which he became a human highlight reel, Axel crossed the whitewash 13 times in 22 appearance, including incredible efforts against Hull, Rosslyn Park and Cinderford.

Another productive season in 2023/24 saw Axel reach a half-century of first-team caps in the final game against Birmingham Moseley, his try tally standing at 19.

Aside from finishing as a runner-up in National One, Axel also secured a second-place finish for Sweden in the Rugby Europe Trophy – his country’s best-ever result.

He captained the team in their final two wins against Lithuania and Ukraine, a try against the former helping him end with five in five games having bagged doubles against Croatia and Czechia.