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Willie John McBride captained the Lions in 1974. ©INPHO/Allsport
lions great

Lions legend Willie John McBride recalls the 1971 Tour to New Zealand

We talk to the great man about his call-up shock in 1962 and defeating the mighty All Blacks in New Zealand.

WILLIE JOHN MCBRIDE played 63 times for Ireland but has won a permanent place in the pantheon of rugby greats as a Lion. The legendary lock earned 17 Test match caps for the side, between 1962 and 1974, and captained the side that finished a tour to South Africa unbeaten in ’74.

Born into a farming family in County Antrim, in 1940, McBride’s rugby career was not a priority until he was a year short of 20. When the game became a focus, the young forward excelled. Within two years he was starting for Ireland, against England at Twickenham, and selected for his first Lions tour. South Africa was the destination and the amateur ethos was in full effect.

McBride told TheScore.ie, “I loved playing for my country but there is something so special about the Lions. No other sport has four nations coming together to tour and take on the best. To be considered one of the best 30 players at the time was special stuff but it was, for me, a complete shock to be selected.”

The 1962 Lions had a tour manager and an assistant but, as McBride explains, the selections and tactics were usually left to the captain. His Test debut for the Lions came when he was ‘cast in from the start’ in the Second Test, which the Lions lost 3-0. The scoreline would reflect that of the final tally for the ‘Bok-dominated series.

McBride, pictured here in 1967, in training for Ireland. (PA Archive)

Former Wales prop John Robins came on-board as coach for the 1966 tour, taking in Australia and New Zealand, but snapped his Achilles’ tendon midway through. The coaching, once again, fell to the captain. McBride remembers the Australian leg as a time when the sport was struggling for a foothold. He said:

We played eight games, right across the country. In many ways, at the time, rugby was dying in Australia and our games were money in the coffers. Now they’ve won two World Cups and the sport is thriving. I like to joke that they’re doing well off the back of our efforts.”

The Lions dismissed the Wallaby challenge and recorded a 31-0 win in the Second Test. The All Blacks put up a sterner challenge. “We were playing men from New Zealand, like Colin Meads, that came from a farming background and were hardy individuals,” said McBride. “The First Test [20-3 loss] was a shock to the system and even though the last three games were closer, we could have no complaints with the result.”

McBride set off on his third tour, to South Africa, in 1968 as part of a squad captained by Ireland teammate Tom Kiernan and coached by former Lions captain Ronnie Dawson. The organisation and structure improved but the Test match struggles continued. There was one draw and three chastening defeats. The emergence of a cadre of talented Welshmen such as Barry John and Gareth Edwards, says McBride, was a portent of successful times to come.

Jet-lag in Brisbane

The tour to New Zealand in 1971 took a two-game diversion to Australia and McBride recalls a warm welcome by Queensland in Brisbane. He said:

We were literally off the plane and we were playing. I turned out in that game, I wouldn’t say I played. We were so tired. All I wanted to do at half-time was lie down.”

The Lions bounced back from that 15-11 loss to win their next 11 tour games and go into the First Test with the All Blacks in top form. A 9-3 victory at Carisbrook followed and the visitors sensed an historic series win. Such confidence was no surprise, according to McBride, as the team was littered with names that were legends in their own time. “We had JPR Williams, Gordon Brown, Mike Gibson – that was the calibre,” he declared. “Incredible.”

Reality took a sizeable bite in the next Test, in Christchurch, as the All Blacks put five tries on the board in a 22-12 masterclass. The Third Test was to prove a tighter affair but ultimately proved to be the making of the Lions. Recalling the 13-3 triumph now, McBride said, “There was a guy called [Jazz] Muller who kept kicking people and giving away penalties. Barry John was more than happy to kick those penalties.”

McBride with Gareth Edwards at a Lions event in 2009. (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

History, in the form of a first ever Lions series win over the ABs, beckoned in Auckland. A 14-14 draw secured the series but it required some magic from a Welshman. McBride comments, “JPR dropped a goal to draw the match. I don’t think has ever done it before or after.”

The Ulsterman cherishes that winning tour to New Zealand and getting one over his old second row adversary, and a player he calls his greatest opponent, Colin Meads.

Five tours, 67 matches, 17 Test matches, two famous series wins and an untold amount of dust-ups, yet McBride can easily point to his outstanding moment. “Playing in that 1971 team with some of the greatest players to ever play the game; it was magic to play on a team like that.”

On Thursday, TheScore.ie talks to Willie John McBride about the 1974 tour to South Africa and the ’99′ call.

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