THESE BOYS CAN ROAR LIKE LIONS
Tait tips fellow Scots Hogg and Russell to emulate his heroics on South Africa tour
IT’S almost 23 years to the day now since Alan Tait emerged as a try-scoring hero for the Lions in South Africa. Yes, Jeremy Guscott ultimately grabbed the headlines with the drop goal that won the second Test and clinched a famous series win over the Springboks.
But it was his Scottish team-mate’s decisive score in the first Test in Cape Town on June 21, 1997, which set the tourists on their way to a sensational triumph.
Tait was among five Scots in that squad, including Gregor Townsend, Tom Smith, Doddie Weir and Rob Wainwright.
And, as the Lions prepare for a return to South Africa next summer, he believes that at least two of his compatriots — Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell — can follow in his glorious footsteps by playing their part in a series victory.
‘For me, out of everywhere the Lions go, South Africa is the best place to visit,’ said Tait, who started in both victories as the Lions won the series 2-1 in ’97.
‘That isn’t taking anything away from New Zealand and Australia but the welcome we all got in South Africa in 1997 was fantastic. They really embraced that Lions tour like nowhere else I had toured with Scotland or any other team, league or union, during my career.
‘The locals love their rugby and players with flair. I know the tour is a year away but there are a few Scots already in the frame that the South Africans will love.
‘If you were picking the squad now, it is Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell that would definitely be chosen and could make the Lions starting team and do the business.
‘Hoggy has matured as a player and deserves to be Scotland captain. He will be on his third Lions tour in South Africa and he is only what, 27, 28?
‘You can expect the unexpected from Finn, which is just the sort of thing Warren Gatland as head coach will need against South Africa. You need someone who can break the Springboks defence with a piece of magic and he is the man to do that.
‘Both are world class on their day and they both like the big stage — and there is no bigger stage than playing for the Lions against the world champions.’
Tait and the 1997 Lions faced that same scenario when they took on South Africa.
Just two years previously, the Springboks had won the most famous World Cup final of them all when they beat the All Blacks in front of Nelson Mandela.
Tait wasn’t even playing rugby union in 1995. He had won eight caps for Scotland in 1987 and 1988 before moving to rugby league for nine years, during which time he represented Great Britain on 16 occasions.
He returned to union when it became professional in 1997 with Newcastle Falcons but had only played two Five Nations games in that year before he was picked for the Lions.
He was a centre and always played there for Scotland, yet Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan knew he was more versatile than that. Realising he was top heavy in talent in that area, with Allan Bateman, Scott Gibbs, Will Greenwood and, of course, Guscott, McGeechan decided to use his Scotland international on the wing.
‘There was a lot of talent in the centre and there was no guarantee I would get a game in that position, which was why it was good when Geech told me he would also consider me as a winger,’ said Tait. ‘It may have been a surprise to some but Geech played me there for the Scotland A team back in the early 1980s.
‘Okay, there is a big difference starting on the wing for Scotland A compared to playing there for the Lions against the South Africans, but I was confident I could do it. To be honest, though, just being on the tour was a bonus for me. The Lions weren’t on my radar but I had returned to union at the right time.’
Indeed he had. McGeechan and his assistant Jim Telfer made the wise move of bringing in some ex-rugby league men who had returned to rugby union in its first full year as a professional sport.
‘There was myself, Scott Gibbs, John Bentley, Allan Bateman, Scott Quinnell and David Young,’ said Tait. ‘Geech’s reasoning was that the union guys were just getting used to professionalism after the amateur era and we had been in that environment in league for a long time, in my case nine years, so we were ready and used to meeting professional standards.’
Tait was certainly ready and, the week before the first Test, got his first run out on the wing for the Lions in the 42-12 win over Natal Sharks.
The team for the first Test was picked by a committee made up of McGeechan, Telfer, tour manager Fran Cotton and captain Martin Johnson.
‘I got the nod not because of my pace, although it still wasn’t too bad, but more because of my defensive qualities,’ recalled Tait.
‘Things haven’t changed too much as the South Africans were always physical in all positions and the boys who go out there next year will have to match them in that area out wide.
‘That first Test is a good memory as we got the 25-16 win and I got a try in the last minute. For some reason, I celebrated by putting my hands out in front of me and making like I was shooting pistols in the sky. I had never celebrated a try in such a way before or since.’
Tait started the second Test, too, and played well, particularly in defence, as the Lions clinched the series with an 18-15 win in Durban courtesy of Guscott’s famous drop goal.
It was once Tait had returned home, however, that the sheer enormity of the achievement fully dawned on him.
‘Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the Lions experience but I was far into my rugby career by then and it was a case of job done in my eyes,’ he said.
‘I had played in big games in rugby union and league and took that win in South Africa in my stride.
‘I initially really didn’t appreciate how significant an occasion it was for us to win in South Africa with them being world champions and all that.
‘I am sure those who go there next year — hopefully Hoggy and Finn and a lot more Scottish players — will realise how big a deal it is.
‘Nothing will give me more pleasure than to cheer them on to victory from wherever I am watching the games.’
Expect the unexpected from Finn — just the thing Gatland needs