To celebrate the return of the Lions Tour, we take a walk down memory lane…
The ’99 Call’ and Undefeated Tour
In 1974 the Lions went to South Africa and returned undefeated, 21 wins from 22 games with one draw. However, upset with the rough nature of South Africa’s play and the leniency awarded from the referees, the Lions dressing
room decided on a 99 call. Meaning “One in. All in.” if one Lion retaliated the rest of the team would ‘get involved’ as well. The ref would have to send off the whole team, or no-one. The result was JPR Williams running half the
length of the field to deck an opponent during the “Battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium.” Teamwork at its best.
Kangaroo Court
Ever wondered exactly what it is like on tour? Well thanks to the ‘Living with the Lions’ DVD you can experience some of it from a safe distance. The iconic, not to mention a little disturbing, scene featuring members of the squad in fancy dress create a ‘court’ to punish (usually in the form of alcohol) those who committed offenses on tour has gone down in folklore. If you learn nothing else from this video, it is to not use your phone near Keith Wood, and that coach Ian McGeechan can glug his whisky.
Greatest Lion – Willie John McBride
With Lions tours only every so often, most great players manage two tours, maybe three if timing is on their side. Willie John McBride, who didn’t start playing rugby until he was 17, went on five Lions tours appearing in 17 tests in the process. A rough-hewn lock from Ulster, he went through the bad times (1966’s tour to New Zealand) before captaining the undefeated team in 1974. He is also known for creating the famous/infamous “99 call” and was an inaugural inductee into the Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jeremy Guscott’s Drop Goal
1-0 up in the three match series, the Lions went to Durban and were drawing 15-15 going into the final minutes. As it got scrappy, and players were dragged out of position, center Jeremy Guscott found himself at fly-half as the ball came out the ruck. With nobody on the overlap he decided to have a
dig and slotted the series clinching kick straight between the posts. And what does Guscott have to say about his career defining moment? “I don’t really remember it. My overriding feeling is still ‘what if I’d missed?'” Well we’ve enjoyed your success Jez, even if you’re unable to.
BO’D Spear Tackled
The big one. The Lions, away to New Zealand. A hugely experienced squad is assembled along with the largest backroom staff ever all under the stewardship of World-Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodwood. And it all went horribly wrong. The Lions are pulverized in every test match (and some of the warm up games as well). The misery possibly best summed up in the opening ten minutes of the first test as Captain Brian O’Driscoll is cleared out/spear tackled from the ruck by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu, dislocates his shoulder and is carried off on a stretcher. Game, tour, and nearly the Lions altogether, over.
Telfer’s Everest Speech
Comparing facing the Springboks to tackling Everest, Lions coach Jim Telfer tells the scrum forwards, getting picked for the Lions is the easy compared to facing the ‘Boks. Using some old fashioned “look what they said about you” techniques, and a liberal lacing of expletives, Jim rallies his troops to look inside themselves and find the will to, in his words “to get right up in their faces, and turn them back, knock them back, out do what they can do. Out jump them, out shove them, out ruck them, out drive them, out tackle them, until they’re fucking sick of it.”
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