Barnes David - Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions

BEHIND
THE LIONS

PLAYING RUGBY FOR THE
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

First published in 2012 by

POLARIS PUBLISHING LTD

c/o Turcan Connell

Princes Exchange

1 Earl Grey Street

Edinburgh

EH3 9EE

www.polarispublishing.com

Text copyright Stephen Jones, Tom English, Nick Cain and David Barnes, 2012

2012 British Lions Ltd, Polaris Publishing Ltd & Birlinn Ltd

Abridged history John Griffiths, 2012

The views expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or policies of the British & Irish Lions, the Lions Committee or British Lions Ltd, nor those of any persons, players, rugby unions, sponsors or commercial partners connected with the same.

Trademark and Copyright in the Lions Badge and in the Lions word marks is owned and registered by the British & Irish Lions (British Lions Ltd)

Official Website of the British & Irish Lions: www.lionsrugby.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the

express written permission of the publisher.

H ardback ISBN: 978 1 78027 098 2

eBook ISBN: 978 0 85790 529 1

Enhanced eBook ISBN: 978 0 85790 530 7

Interactive app edition also available.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Designed and typeset by Polaris Publishing, Edinburgh

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES

Beyond the original source material found in diaries, letters and articles that were used to

recall the earliest tours, and the fresh interviews conducted within these pages,

some accounts have been supplemented with material from the following sources:

At the Centre ; Jeremy Guscott; Pavilion Books, 1996

Brian ODriscoll: A Year in the Centre ; Brian ODriscoll; Penguin Books Ltd, 2005

The British Lions ; John Griffiths; The Crowood Press Ltd, 1990

British & Irish Lions Website www.lionsrugby.com

Fifty Rugby Stars Describe My Greatest Game; Bob Holmes and Chris Thau; Mainstream, 1994

High Balls and Happy Hours ; Gavin Hasting; Mainstream, 1994

The History of the British & Irish Lions ; Clem Thomas and Greg Thomas; Mainstream Publishing, 2001

Its In The Blood ; Lawrence Dallaglio; Headline, 2007

John Bentley: My Story ; John Bentley; Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1999

Joking Apart: My Autobiography ; Donncha OCallaghan; Transworld Ireland, 2011

The Lions Diary ; Jeremy Guscott, with Nick Cain; Michael Joseph Ltd, 1997

Lion Man ; Ian McGeechan, with Stephen Jones; Pocket Books, 2009

Lions of Ireland ; David Walmsley; Mainstream Publishing, 2000

Looking Back... For Once ; Jim Telfer; Mainstream Publishing, 2005

Martin Johnson: The Autobiography ; Martin Johnson; Headline, 2004

Ronan OGara: My Autobiography ; Ronan OGara; Transworld Ireland, 2009

Rugby from the Front ; Peter Wheeler; Hutchinson, 1983

Size Doesnt Matter ; Neil Back; Milo Books, 2000

Thanks to Rugby ; Bill Beaumont; Hutchinson, 1982

Voices from the Back of the Bus ; Stewart McKinney; Mainstream Publishing, 2010

Willie John: The Story of My Life ; Willie John McBride; Piatkus Books, 2005

PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS PAGE NUMBERS REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION

COLORSPORT

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FOTOSPORT

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GETTY IMAGES

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INPHOPHOTOGRAPHY

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MIRRORPIX

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THE ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NEW ZEALAND

78, 80

PRESS ASSOCIATION

103, 106, 139, 148, 150, 151, 177, 178, 197, 199, 200, 222, 336, 343, 344, 364, 394

The authors and publisher have made every effort to clear all copyright permissions, but where it has not been possible and amendments are required, the publisher will be pleased to make any necessary arrangements at the earliest opportunity.

The authors would like to thank everyone who has given their time so generously to assist in the preparation of this book. Those whom we interviewed are too many to name individually but their thoughts are included in the pages which follow and we would like to thank them for giving so generously of their time and for being so honest about their great ups and downs with the Lions.

Special thanks must go to the following for their expert help in the production of this book: John Griffiths, the world of rugbys premier statistician and historian and its most meticulous recorder. No one attempting a book of this scope could hope to succeed without him; Rob Cole and his colleagues at the Westgate Sports Agency for their input with Lions history and the Welsh element of Lions touring history; Adam Hathaway of the People , rugby and cricket expert; and to Clem and Greg Thomas for their wonderful book, The History of the British & Irish Lions .

Thanks also to Peter Burns at Birlinn and Polaris for all his tireless work in bringing this project together.

Stephen Jones, Tom English, Nick Cain and David Barnes, 2012

BY STEPHEN JONES

O NE OF rugbys most important distinguishing characteristics is a wanderlust. It takes the form of a compulsion to take the sport on the road, to seek out those who play in neighbouring or distant or foreign or even alien environments, to encounter them on the field, to absorb their culture and, frankly, to have a memorable social outing away from the strains of normal life, safe in the rock-like communal solidarity of a rugby team.

And sometimes the most rewarding aspect is that once you have experienced the distant environment, perhaps even clashed harshly on the rugby field, for all the differences in culture and surroundings, you find that so much is the same. Attitudes, outlooks, affections. Experience teaches that even amongst the occasional vicissitudes of modern day professional rugby, there are still such beings as the universal rugby man and woman, with rugbys forgiving balances and love. You can travel 12,000 miles to discover an image of yourself.

And so the rugby tour was born. Tours began almost as soon as the sport had become recognisable and codified. Only rock music has anything like it. Even if the tour lasts only a night or two, even if it is just a whistle-stop trip to Cornwall or Devon or the Lake District or Cork or the Scottish Borders or West Wales at Easter, then it has traits in common with even the longest tour. The luckier schools and junior clubs these days are magnificently ambitious, and how marvellously education can be topped up, and how far eyes can be widened, by the months of fundraising leading to the trip of a young lifetime. My school tour was to Newton Abbot. Another planet.

In terms of distance and time spent, no activity on this planet has longer tours than rugby. At the highest levels, the wanderlust and all the other imperatives of rugby tours become simply the backdrop to a desire to take on the best rugby teams in the world. The challenge is implicit, it never has to be laid down. And it must always be accepted.