GRANT FOX
FOR A YOUNG KID GROWING UP ON A FARM IN THE WAIKATO WHO PLAYED RUGBY ON FROSTY SATURDAY MORNINGS IN BARE FEET AND KICKING THE BALL WITH MY TOES, IT HURT! I SAW BARRY JOHN KICKING AND THOUGHT ‘THAT WILL SAVE MY TOES’.’ GRANT FOX
Grant Fox beat the Lions with Auckland in 1983 and 1993, and helped the All Blacks win the series in 1993. Now he’s back as an All Blacks selector.
“I was nine years old when the 1971 British & Irish Lions toured and I have a very clear recollection of Barry John because it’s the first time I saw an around-the-corner goalkicker.
“For a young kid growing up on a farm in the Waikato who played rugby on frosty Saturday mornings in bare feet and kicking the ball with my toes, it hurt! I saw Barry John kicking and thought ‘that will save my toes’.”
It wasn’t just his toes the Lions saved. In 1991 they rescued his test career as he contemplated retiring amid the vitriolic fallout from that year’s World Cup.
“I’d certainly borne the brunt of it and was strongly considering retiring. I had a summer contemplating not playing but one thing that stimulated me was the thought of playing the Lions. I’d played them with Auckland but not as an All Black.
“I wanted to give myself that opportunity. Heading into 1993 I was desperate to be a part of an All Blacks team that played against the Lions. The desire to play against them as an All Black burned deep and it fuelled me for two years.”
And Fox says after the 2015 World Cup it was the Lions again who prolonged his involvement with the All Blacks – this time as a selector.
“It’s exciting. I would never have thought I’d be in this situation at all. In 2011, when I started – four years, I thought I’d enjoy that.
“In a way I went through the same process I did as a player [in 1991] because I thought in two more years we have the Lions and that made it a very easy decision to make.
“I love the Lions. It’s a unique brand because we see them only every four years and they come here only every 12 years. That scarcity helps promote the desire.”