Reliving the 1986 IRB centenary celebrations
Roar Guru By sheek, 11 Feb 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- 1986 Lions, International Rugby, IRB, Rugby Union
Related coverage
Back in 1986, the IRB invited many of the world’s best players to participate in two celebration matches commemorating the centenary of the IRB.
The first match played on Wednesday 16 April featured the British And Irish Lions XV against The Rest Of The World XV. The Lions tour of 1986 to South Africa had been cancelled.
However, according to journalist-author and Wales and ex-Lions player Clem Thomas, the 1986 Lions team was officially recognised, and the 21 man squad presented with their tour blazers.
Scots hooker Colin Deans was awarded the captaincy.
The Lions XV was: 15-G.Hastings(S), 14-T.Ringland(I), 13-B.Mullin(I), 12-J.Devereux(W), 11-R.Underwood(E), 10-J.Rutherford(S), 9-R.Jones(W), 8-J.Beattie(S), 7-N.Carr(I), 6-J.Jeffrey(S), 5-D.Lenihan(I), 4-W.Dooley(E), 3-D.Fitzgerald(I), 2-C.Deans(c-S), 1-J.Whitefoot(W). Bench: 21-M.Kiernan(I), 20-M.Dacey(W), 19-R.Hill(E), 18-I.Paxton(S), 17-I.Milne(S), 16-S.Brain(E).
The World XV was: 15-S.Blanco(FR), 14-J.Kirwan(NZ), 13-A.Slack(c-AU), 12-M.Lynagh(AU), 11-P.Esteve(FR), 10-W.Smith(NZ), 9-N.Farr-Jones(AU), M.Mexted(NZ), 7-S.Poidevin(AU), 6-M.Shaw(NZ), 5-S.Burger(SA), 4-S.Cutler(AU), 3-G.Knight(NZ), 2-T.Lawton(AU), 1-T.Rodriguez(AU).
The match was won 15-7 by the World. Farr-Jones and Poidevin scored the tries for the World with Lynagh adding the extras. Beattie scored a try for the Lions with Hastings kicking a penalty.
The second match was played on Saturday 19 April in apparently terribly wet weather. This match featured the 5 Nations XV against the Overseas Unions XV. The French jumped across from the World/Overseas team to the Lions/5 Nations team.
5 Nations XV: 15-s.Blanco(F), 14-t.Ringland(I), 13-P.Sella(F), 12-M.Kiernan(I), 11-R.Underwood(E), 10-M.Dacey(W), 9-R.Hill(E), 8-I.Paxton(S), 7-L.Rodriguez(F), 6-J.Jeffrey(S), 5-D.Lenihan(c-I), 4-J.Condom(F), 3-I.Milne(S), 2-S.Brain(E), 1-J.Whitefoot(W).
Overseas XV: 15-R.Gould(AU), 14-J.Kirwan(NZ), 13-D.Gerber(SA), 12-W.Taylor(NZ), 11-C.du Plessis(SA), 10-N.Botha(SA), 9-D.Loveridge(NZ), 8-S.Tuynman(AU), 7-S.Poidevin(AU), 6-M.Shaw(NZ), 5-A.Haden(NZ), 4-S.Cutler(AU), 3-F.van der Merwe(SA), 2-A.Dalton(c-NZ), 1-T.Rodriguez(AU).
The match was won easily by the Overseas team 32-13. Gerber crossed twice, with Kirwan, du Plessis, Shaw and Rodriguez also adding tries. Botha had an off day with the boot, managing just one conversion plus 2 penalties.
For the 5 Nations Ringland scored twice, Blanco kicking a conversion and Kiernan a penalty.
For Australia Slack, Lynagh, Farr-Jones, Gould, Tuynman, Poidevin, Cutler, Lawton and Rodriguez were invited to the celebrations, each appearing in at least one match.
Similarly, for NZ Kirwan, Taylor, Smith, Loveridge, Mexted, Shaw, Haden, Knight and Dalton appeared in at least one match. For SA Botha, Gerber, du Plessis, Burger and van der Merwe did likewise.
Many thanks to John Griffiths (AskJohn) from the good folk at scrum.com, for most of this info. Also thanks to fellow Roarer Sam T for his enquiries to the NZ rugby museum.
Recommend this story.
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
- Explore:
- 1986 Lions, International Rugby, IRB, Rugby Union
February 11th 2010 @ 2:39am
Viscount Crouchback said | February 11th 2010 @ 2:39am | Report comment
Interesting article, Sheek. Where were the games played? Look at all those Scots in the Lions XV – how times have changed. It’s interesting to see John Beattie at 8 – he now works for the BBC and his son, Johnny, is the current (very impressive) Scottish Number 8.
February 11th 2010 @ 4:44am
Wavell Wakefield said | February 11th 2010 @ 4:44am | Report comment
I don’t believe the Lions XV was effectively what would have been the Lions test side, VC, more of a composite of available players.
February 11th 2010 @ 7:23am
pothale said | February 11th 2010 @ 7:23am | Report comment
WW
Of the Ireland side at the time, the selections look about right for the ‘yo-yo’ team as Sheek correctly describes them – I remember these seasons only too well, coming out of Lansdowne Road beaming at having won the championship, and the following season losing every bloody game – excrutiating stuff. Then back up on the high dive board the next.
Trevor Ringland, Brennie Mullins, Mick Kiernan, Donal Lenihan, Mick Bradley were all leading Irish lights at the time – Campbell had just left the building.
There are some bum notes for which there may be explanations – the absence of Tony Ward though he was already being replaced by Dean at 10. Des Fitzgerald – father of present-day Luke. Would he have been the choice tighthead at the time since he’d only arrived on the scene and had lost the three matches he played in? Irish captain – Ciaran Fitzgerald? Maybe he was on the bench. Or just too divisive. Or not good enough.
Keith Crossan was pretty handy as a winger too for Ireland at the time, but Rory Underwood had arrived on the English stage at that point.
February 11th 2010 @ 8:37am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 8:37am | Report comment
Pothale,
Ciaran Fitzgerald had been captain of the ill-fated 83 Lions. Even then, many people believed Colin Deans to be a better hooker. Phil Orr was over 35, & probably past his best. The other possible candidate is Hugo O’Neill, who might have challenged paul Thorburn for the number 2 fullback position.
As you say, Paul Dean replaced Tony Ward at no.10 during 1986. Over at Wales, they hadn’t yet decided Jonathon Davies was a better no.10 than Malcolm Dacey.
February 11th 2010 @ 8:43am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 8:43am | Report comment
Brett,
The ANZAC-Lions match took place in 1989.
Sadly, it turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. Originally 6 ABs were invited, including skipper Buck Shelford. But the NZRU were strangely worried about the upcoming Wallabies match, & didn’t want their guys getting too close to ours. As if! In 1989, the Wallabies weren’t even close to the ABs in ability.
In the end only 3 ABs – Steve McDowell, Frano Botica & Kieran Crowley – appeared. McDowell being the only current first-team regular.
February 11th 2010 @ 5:06pm
Go_the_Wannabe's said | February 11th 2010 @ 5:06pm | Report comment
I remember that game and was so impressed I even bought a gurnsey……it’s a pity ANZAC games didn’t become regular fixtures against the Lions etc……but the concept was killed off by the lack of NZ support….a real pity.
I think someone else suggested a regular SANZAR game against the 6 Nations…..what a way to end the rugby year that would be!
February 11th 2010 @ 5:50am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 5:50am | Report comment
Wavell,
You’ll find this was close to the best Lions team of the time. Sure, there may have been 3-4 other potential candidates, but by & large, it was pretty close to the best Lions of the day.
Here’s an alternate XV of the day: P.Thorburn(W), M.Duncan(S), S.Halliday(E), S.Johnson(S), A.Hadley(W), J.Davies(W), R.Laidlaw(S), W.Anderson(I), P.Winterbottom(E), D.Pickering(W), M.Colclough(E), S.Perkins(W), G.Pearce(E), W.James(W), G.Chilcott(E).
Davies was just breaking into the big time, while Colclough was at the end of his career. Winterbottom’s omission can be considered a surprise. Otherwise, the Lions chosen in 1986 were pretty spot on.
In 1986 Scotland shared the 5 Nations with France (3 wins each). Ireland had been champions in 1985 with 3 wins & a draw. Scotland won the GS in 1984. Of the 4 home nations, ‘Scotland & Ireland were the strongest during the period 1982-86.
Although the Irish were up & down like a yo-yo. They won titles in 1982-83-85, but were winless in 84 & 86.
February 11th 2010 @ 6:03am
Wavell Wakefield said | February 11th 2010 @ 6:03am | Report comment
I disagree, sheek, but I’m pretty busy so I’ll come back to this point over the next few days. Ok?
February 11th 2010 @ 7:06am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 7:06am | Report comment
Wavell,
I’m sure you would have a better first-hand memory of 1986 5 Nations than me. I’m relying on the history books rather than first-hand knowledge. But I think you’ll find that Lions team close to the mark.
February 11th 2010 @ 7:27am
pothale said | February 11th 2010 @ 7:27am | Report comment
Eh – WW is about the 25 yr old mark, if I recall. If he has a better first-hand memory of the 1986 5 Nations, I’ll be wondering what they put in his bottle feed.
February 11th 2010 @ 10:35am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 10:35am | Report comment
Pots,
I wonder if WW is upset there aren’t enough Englishmen in that 1986 Lions team? They were crap back then anyway………. !!!!!
February 11th 2010 @ 10:42am
pothale said | February 11th 2010 @ 10:42am | Report comment
Trying to be just a little provocative, Sheek?
February 12th 2010 @ 9:34pm
Dublin Dave said | February 12th 2010 @ 9:34pm | Report comment
Windup artist or what, Sheek.:)
In point of fact, the most successful Lions test team ever, the 1974 team to South Africa, only had two Englishmen in its first choice test side, namely Fran Cotton at prop and Roger Uttley in the back row. Chris Ralston won a cap in the fourth test at lock, but only because Gordon Brown of Scotland was injured.
“Ciaran Fitzgerald had been captain of the ill-fated 83 Lions. Even then, many people believed Colin Deans to be a better hooker.”
Now that really is mentioning the war! Many would argue that Ciaran Fitzgerald was not even the best hooker in Ireland at the time. Rivals such as Pa Whelan, John Cantrell or Harry Harbison were probably better players.
However, Fitzgerald was the better captain by a street. When he was brought back and given the captaincy in 1982, the team went from zeros to heros in double quick time. A record run of test defeats (at the time) was overturned to such effect that Ireland were Triple Crown and Championship winners in 1982 and shared the title in 1983. When he was dropped after the Lions tour, the team was whitewashed in 1984 but then, a further recall, and the introduction of some exciting new players, and Ireland won another Triple Crown and Championship win in 1985.
The decider of that year’s series, at home to England, saw one of the iconic TV moments in Irish sport. With the scores tied and time running out the camera zoomed in on Fitzgerald’s hot and angry little face as he marched up to his pack and demanded of them “Where’s your fucking PRIDE??”
You didn’t have to be an expert lip reader.
It worked too. A spirited forward drive off a lineout, quick rucked ball (remember that concept? how are all those rule changes working out for us?) and a last minute dropped goal.
For the Lions tour in 83, he was the only real choice as captain. Ireland were the pre-eminent team of the four countries, and the captains of the other three teams were no great shakes. Eddie Butler (now a commentator) was Welsh captain that year, Roy Laidlaw was captain of Scotland and John Scott was English captain.
A vicious press campaign, largely led by the acerbic John Reason (the Stephen Jones of his day, only he was English) started before the team was even announced to try to denigrate Fitzgerald’s achievements. Its focus was that Peter Wheeler, the English hooker, should be Lions captain. Which rather begs the question, why wasn’t he captain of England at the time?
When Fitzgerald was inevitably made captain, the pressure only intensified and he became the scapegoat for the entire failure of the enterprise. But then, every Lions team bar one had failed in New Zealand in the 20th century.
He had the last laugh in 1985.
February 11th 2010 @ 5:52am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 5:52am | Report comment
Viscount,
The matches were played at Cardiff & Twickenham, & I think in that order.
February 11th 2010 @ 8:04am
Brett McKay said | February 11th 2010 @ 8:04am | Report comment
Sheek were the ANZAC games around this time as well, or were they a few years later?? I just have a memory of guys at school wearing the outstanding ANZAC jumpers, would have been around that mid-late 80s…
February 11th 2010 @ 5:09pm
Go_the_Wannabe's said | February 11th 2010 @ 5:09pm | Report comment
Brett, I remember the ANZAC game…….see my comment above!
February 11th 2010 @ 9:00am
Sam Taulelei said | February 11th 2010 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Thanks for posting the team lists Sheek, reading through those names brings back many memories.
I remember the doom and gloom press reports in the English newspapers about the widening North-South divide following the Five Nations vs Rest match. If the 1970′s is remembered and regarded as a golden era for British rugby the 1980′s saw them fall and Australian and French rugby rise.
I wish I still have copies of those games, repeated viewings and age eventually saw the ribbon wear thin on my VHS tapes and break. It was such a thrill to watch Danie Gerber and Carel du Plessis play together with their peers.
February 11th 2010 @ 9:45am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Sam,
We will never really know how good Gerber & du Plessis were. By all accounts, they were absolute top-drawer. If I were picking the best XV from the time I’ve watched rugby – circa 1969 to present, I think I would have Campese & du Plessis in my top team, followed by Kirwan & Jeff Wilson.
Difficult to place Lomu. He was truly awesome, but only for a short time. My best Lions wingers would be Gerald Davies & Duckham followed by Robinson & Underwood.
My best centre pairing would be Sella & Horan/Gibson, followed by Gerber & Gibson/Horan, with O’Driscoll & Maso on the 3rd line. My best Lions centres would be O’Driscoll & Gibson followed by Guscott(out) & either Gibbs or Townsend(in).
Fair to say both Gerber & Guscott could play either centre position equally well, allowing for some flexibility in selections. Then there was the mercurial Frenchman Jo Maso, who was treated poorly by his national selectors, despite his prodigious gifts.
February 11th 2010 @ 9:59am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 9:59am | Report comment
Wavell Wakefield,
The afore-mentioned Clem Thomas wrote a book – ‘The History Of The British & Irish Lions’, first published in 1996 just prior to Clem’s death, & then continued by his son Greg. My edition was published in 2001 after the Lions tour to Australia that year.
Between the 1983 & 89 tours, Thomas has this to say on page 201 (paperback edition):
“In April 1986, the Four Home Unions, beset by the world lobby against apartheid, broke the Lions tour schedule by calling off their projected tour to South Africa, but a Lions team was selected to help celebrate the centenary of the International board, the principle governing body. It was only the second time for a Lions team to appear on British soil, and a squad of 21 players was assembled to play a team drawn from the rest of the International Board countries, at Cardiff Arms Park, under the management of Clive Rowlands and coached by Mick Doyle”.
Thomas then names the squad of 21 & the result, before continuing on page 202: “This was the only time that blazers and ties were issued to the players, and they were considered official British Lions”.
Therefore, applying practical, logical commonsense, it’s only fair to say that the Lions team selected in 1986 was the very best available based on current form & availability (no injuries) from the recent 5 Nations tournament.
Also keep in mind, following the disaster of 1983, the selection committee would have drawn a line through the name of some players – rightly or wrongly – from that tour to NZ. They would have been keen for a fresh & new start…..
February 11th 2010 @ 10:02am
Timmypig said | February 11th 2010 @ 10:02am | Report comment
Sheek I concede that Gerber was at the end of his career in 1992, but Horan made him look like a fool in the test at Capetown (Campo’s 50th test try). I’ve only seen highlights of his earlier exploits – was he that good, or is there a bit of Jappie mythology going on?
February 11th 2010 @ 10:32am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 10:32am | Report comment
Timmypig,
I remember that 1992 test you refer to. Yes, Horan stood him up a few times, memorably dispossessing Gerber of the ball to feed Campo for his 50th test. But Gerber was 34, repeat 34, while Horan was only 22.
The only other time I watched Gerber play, was on video of the 4 x Boks-NZ Cavaliers matches of 1986. The scores in these 4 tests were: 21-15, 18-19, 33-18 & 24-10. So the Boks gave the Cavaliers a royal 3-1 thrashing. However, the ABs players in the Cavaliers side, while awesome in their day, were mostly at the end of their careers.
Gerber was brilliant in this series, fast, strong & powerful on the attack. But he was a weak defender, although I don’t specifically recall this. He was voted some years ago as the greatest Bok of all time, so I guess that’s pretty decent praise indeed!!!
This was also the only time I saw Carel du Plessis on video. He was beautifully balanced, & fast for a big man (tall & well built). I recently asked a Saffie acquaintance (whose rugby knowledge preceeds mine by at least 10 years) to give me a comparison of du Plessis & Bryan Habana.
He said it was no contest in du Plessis’ favour. Not only was du Plessis faster (no doubt in his mind about this), but also a smarter tactically & better technically, winger. Du Plessis also made the alltime Boks side on the left wing.
February 11th 2010 @ 10:38am
Sam Taulelei said | February 11th 2010 @ 10:38am | Report comment
Nah mate he was that good. I watched him play for the 1981 Springboks on their tour to NZ and it wasn’t until late in the first test in Christchurch when the game was already lost that Naas Botha decided to move the ball wide and all of a sudden he was finding gaps and space where previously our defence was coping. Together with Ray Mordt he really stretched and busted through our defensive line in the third test.
When England toured SA in 1984, Gerber put on one of the most devastating and dominant displays of power running rugby that I’ve ever seen from a midfield back, and this was at a time when Phillippe Sella was widely recognised as the world’s premier centre.
He had everything, size, speed, aggressive defence and a wicked sidestep.
Against the 1986 Cavaliers he made Vic Simpson look like a lost schoolboy and with Carel du Plessis and Jaco Reinach on the other wing we couldn’t match them for sheer speed. Gerber is one of my all time favourite rugby players.
February 11th 2010 @ 11:56am
sheek said | February 11th 2010 @ 11:56am | Report comment
Thanks Sam,
There’s nothing like strong “conviction” to clear up the pecking order of players from different eras…..
Considering gerber could play both centre positions equally well, how does this backline sound?
Gareth Edwards feeds the ball from the scrum to Mark Ella, who doubles around Danie Gerber, before a cutout pass past Phillippe Sella to David Campese. When tackled, Campo flick passes back inside to fullback Serge Blanco cutting into the centres, who finally passes to Carel du Plessis, coming off his left wing to plant the ball down between the posts!!!
Of course, every great team requires a backup team. So let’s go with C.Cullen, J.Kirwan, B.O’Driscoll, T.Horan, J.Wilson, H.Porta & D.Loveridge for the backups!
And the best Lions team in the past 40 years? Well, I’m going to cheat a bit because I want all 4 countries represented. So gavin hastings pips JPR Williams at fullback. Here’s the Lions backline: G.Hastings(S), G.Davies(W), B.O’Driscoll(I), M.Gibson(I), D.Duckham(E), (10-A.Welshman!), & G.Edwards(W).
For flyhalf, can’t decide who out of Barry John, Phil Bennett or Jonathon Davies is the man. Of course, Davies never represented an official Lions team. On three different days I might select them each in turn!!!