SIR IAN MCGEECHAN

South Africa v Lions, Cape Town, 1974

Ihad made my tour debut for the Lions in Potchefstroom against Western Transvaal. We were given our jerseys in the team hotel in Stilfontein where we were training. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to be playing with Gareth Edwards! He was my hero and probably the best player I ever played with.

Of course I had trained with guys like Gareth and JPR Williams, but to actually play with them was different.

Sad to say, but I honestly cannot remember much about the Test itself. Three things stand out: the first 30 minutes flew by, it was very muddy, and I never contemplated losing. I was 27 so maybe it was the naivety of youth!

But I was determined. I had trained on my own with my wife back home, using a stopwatch, to make sure I was as fit as anyone.

What really stayed with me from that first Test, which we won 12-3, was after the game when we were back in the changing room, looking across at Willie John Mcbride and Syd Millar. The look that they gave each other will stay with me forever. It was not overexcitement. It was genuine satisfaction at a job well done.