It was a different time... how class of ‘87 prepared to take on world
Rugby correspondent THE past is a foreign country, someone once said, where those who live there do things a heck of a lot differently. And particularly when it comes to preparing for Rugby World Cups, he might have added.
Cut to the inaugural global tournament in 1987.
No fortnight in the Swiss Alps building sculpted physiques for the Wales squad then. “We had a weekend in Saundersfoot,” remembers Adrian Hadley.
“We trained on the Friday, had a game situation on the Saturday, had a few beers in the evening and did a fun run on the Sunday.
“They made us all do the fun run to try to sweat the beer out of us.”
Different times.
THE WAY IT WAS
THE Welsh Rugby Union had considered it the height of sophistication to enlist the 1964 Olympic long jump champion Lynn ‘The Leap’ Davies to assist with fitness. JJ Williams was also involved.
But it was the amateur era and the changing ways of the world, which had already been embraced by the southern hemisphere, were taking time to sink in with everyone in this part of the world.
When Wales defeated England in the quarter-finals, the management cut the players slack, allowing them a spot of rest and relaxation. “They gave us two days off in Surfers Paradise and we went on the lash,” recalls Hadley.
“It wasn’t ideal preparation for a World Cup semi-final, but it’s the way it was and it was the era we were in.” But rugby had begun to move on. When Swansea’s Paul Arnold arrived to play in New Zealand in the mid-1980s he had pitched up at Michael Jones’ local club. To Arnie’s surprise, the future All Blacks great had already been given a sponsored car. “The thing was, he didn’t need it,” Arnold later said.
“He used to run to training and run home after it.
“That’s the way he was.”
Few were like Jones, a once-in-ageneration player, but New Zealand, in particular, had begun to take fitness to a different level. The All Blacks class of ‘87 were an 80-minute team, using their conditioning and killer streak to ruthlessly punish teams.
“They were much fitter and stronger than us,” said Hadley.
“I don’t know what they had been doing in their build-up but they’d obviously prepared differently from us and were one hell of a side.”
THE PROP WHO DIDN’T PLAY
WALES also suffered injuries during the campaign, one in particular notably regrettable.
Prop John Rawlins had flown to the other side of the world as a replacement, but he didn’t see any action. “Never in the history of modern sport can anyone have flown so far for so little,” wrote Ieuan Evans in his autobiography, Bread of Heaven.
“After a 32-hour flight from London, John stepped off the plane in Brisbane where we were preparing to play England in the quarter-final. He went straight to the training ground, changed, and, after two minutes, he had torn a hamstring.” THE BRONZE BRIGADE (it’s still Wales’ best-ever World Cup finish) YET Wales still achieved their best World Cup finish after beating Australia in the third-place match, with Hadley scoring a superb late try and Paul Thorburn hooking over the conversion from the touchline.
A number of Welsh players acquitted themselves well on the big stage.
Hadley ran strongly out wide, Paul Moriarty stood tall up front in an outstanding back row with Gareth Roberts and Richie Collins, John Devereux proved a hard-running presence in midfield and that year’s Rugby Annual for Wales contended that Robert Jones and Jonathan Davies had been the best half-back pair of the tournament.
“I enjoyed the experience,” said Hadley.
“And I’m sure a lot of the other boys did, too.
“It was an eye-opener in a lot of ways.
“We had a meeting beforehand where the WRU told we’d have to be very careful about doing any adverts, interviews or sponsorships because the sport was amateur.
“But then we went to our rooms, turned on the televisions and one of the first things we saw were New Zealand players advertising stuff and obviously getting rewarded for it.
“That said, we did quite well when we played.
“Before we faced New Zealand we’d conceded only two tries in the tournament. We defended as we’d been taught to defend, by putting our bodies on the line, and it worked in all the games bar the one against the All Blacks.
“I played with Jiffy in rugby league and union and he was an exceptional player, electric off the mark and with good vision. Would he have hacked it in the modern game? Of course he would have. I think most of us would have if we’d had the chance.”
REGRETS? (He has one major one)
SADLY, Wales were unable to properly build on their bronze-medal finish that year.
They won a Triple Crown in 1988 but were then crushed twice by New Zealand and the WRU parted company with coach Tony Gray. Six months later, Wales lost at home to Romania, and less than a month later Jonathan Davies had left for rugby league, one of many from that World Cup team who head north.