Lions prop Carmichael, victim of ‘Battle of Canterbury’, dies at 77
The epitome of Scottish stoicism and one of the finest props of his generation, Sandy Carmichael passed away last night aged 77.
Carmichael was part of the successful Lions tour to New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa in 1974, as well as making 50 Test appearances for Scotland in an era when caps were far harder to accrue.
He was also a member of the Barbarians’ famous victory against New Zealand in Cardiff in 1973, which could be regarded as a degree of karma for the events of two years earlier, when Carmichael seemed destined to start for the Lions against the All Blacks.
That was until a shameful provincial match against Canterbury, widely accepted as the dirtiest match in Lions history. Carmichael was punched repeatedly in the face at the scrum and in one instance kicked in the head at a ruck. He was left with multiple cheek fractures. The photograph of his facial injuries is one of rugby’s most iconic if grisly images.
Yet Carmichael never identified the perpetrator of the assault that robbed him of his Test place against New Zealand. In an interview with The Scotsman in 2015, he was determined to keep it a secret so that the matter would stay alive. “Nae chance,” he says, “I’m taking the guy to my grave.”
The grandson of a Scotland football international, Carmichael was a skilful hockey player who instead found his calling in the front row, first at loosehead and then at tighthead. Carmichael treated scrummaging as a science, relying as much on technique as raw strength. He was renowned for his ability to scrum off one leg so he could sweep the ball back on the feed.
Yet he was also mobile around the field and made two crucial try-saving tackles in the 1969 Five Nations victory against France. Representing his country from 1967 to 1977, he became the first Scotland player to win 50 caps.
However, he suffered for such longevity. He retired in 1978 because of arthritis in his spine. Aged 42, he underwent the first of five hip replacements, and he lost count of the other operations he underwent. He told the Irish Independent in 2005: “I take so many pills, I rattle.”
The Scottish Rugby Union said in a statement: “He was a giant of the game in Scotland in many ways and our thoughts and condolences go to his friends and family.”