We had total unity and greatest set of backs, says ‘Boss’
No rugby nation has greater strength in depth than New Zealand and not the least of the 1971 Lions achievements was to win all 20 games in New Zealand outside of the Test matches.
The Lions second string styled themselves the TWs – Tuesdays and Wednesdays – and their efforts did much to maintain momentum and morale. One of their mainstays was Bob “Boss” Hiller, a prodigious kicker for England who revelled in the close camaraderie of the entire squad.
“Great days, everything seemed to click perfectly,” recalls Hiller, now Harlequins president. “Firstly, the TWs were all accomplished Test players in our own right with our own competitive instincts and pride. Our regulars would include the likes of Alastair Biggar who, alas, has just passed away, Chico Hopkins who did so well in the first Test when Gareth Edwards got injured, Frank Laidlaw, Rodger Arneil, Arthur Lewis, John Spencer, Mike Roberts, Fergus Slattery and John Bevan. That’s some array of talent with a sprinkling of ’68 Lions and future greats like Fergus.
“Of course, everyone of us would dearly liked to have been playing in the Tests and a couple did get the call. Gordon Brown got promoted towards the end, John Bevan started the first Test and was brilliant all tour, an amazingly strong player, it’s just his unbelievably bad luck that we also had Gerald Davies and David Duckham.
“The ‘secret’, if you like, is the respect we all had for the truly great players in our ‘1st XV’. When I look at the Lions starting back division – JPR, Duckham, ‘Sydney’ Dawes, Gibbo, Gerald, Barry and Gareth we are talking about probably the greatest set of backs the world has ever seen. There are at least four of my all-time World XV right there.
“I’m the most competitive so and so on the planet, I was a nightmare in my dotage, I approached a Quins Vets game exactly like I approached an England match. Of course, I wanted to be a Lions Test player as well as a Lions tourist but for me and others like me in the TWS there was absolutely not an ounce of resentment.
“We were in the presence of greatness and it was my joy and pleasure to train and play with these guys day in day out under Carwyn’s inspired coaching. They were the main men, our job was to support them, play our socks off when we were wearing the Lions jersey, be the very best players we could be and keep the show on the road at all times.
“And yet we were always the one indivisible unit. Carwyn would move straight from coaching the Test team on Saturday to preparing the Midweek XV and show exactly the same passion and insight in that task. He was simply light years ahead of any other coach I ever encountered. Great man.
“With injuries and the need to rest players there was a good deal of doubling up. I played a couple of times in the Saturday XV, against Waikato and Taranaki while all the big names did their turns in midweek. It was seamless.
“We would all enjoy a drink together on Tuesday night and again every Sunday when Cliff Morgan started the Sunday Club and had ties issued. We moved as one.”
Something that intrigued observers during and after the tour was what would the Lions have done if the much-targeted Barry John had got injured or not suddenly morphed into a world-class goalkicker. Would the Lions have promoted Hiller or gone into the Test series without a frontline kicker. Unthinkable today but not then it would appear.
“Good point,” continues Bob. “I don’t actually recall any of us having that conversation! JPR was our full back, end of story. And rightly so. London Counties once picked JPR at 15 and me on the wing against the Springboks to incorporate my kicking but that was never an option against New Zealand.
“We would have been fine. Either JPR or that rugby genius Mike Gibson would have risen to the occasion and banged a few over. Gareth wasn’t the worst kicker, either.
“My best memories? So many but the biggest match for the TW boys was probably Wairapa Bush just three days after we had lost the second Test. We needed to get back on the horse asap – things can go wrong very quickly in New Zealand – against a very rugged and fired-up team skippered by the great Brian Lochore. Gareth and Barry played that day – no rest for them – but I was given the honour of captaining the side and we really produced the goods scoring seven tries, winning 27-6. A very proud day.
“Then there was the match against West Coast Buller – one of the easier games on tour – when David Duckham scored six tries. After about his third, with the match won, he started deliberately touching down as wide out as possible for the conversion. He said I needed the practice!
“I’ve got just one regret from the entire tour and that was somehow managing to lose that first game in Australia against Queensland. I had gone through the South Africa tour of 1968 without losing a match with the dirt-trackers and I went through New Zealand unbeaten with the TWs but losing that one game in Australia really irritates me 46 years later.
“Alas 24 hours in Hong Kong took a heavy toll.”