The incredible story of Welsh rugby’s darkest 80 minutes
IAN Gough may or may not be a Dickens fan, but he has experienced the best of times and the worst of times, with the twist being that he travelled the full spectrum of emotions in a single afternoon.
Twenty years ago this week, Panteg’s finest made his Wales debut against South Africa in Pretoria.
The pride he felt that day still courses through him to this day.
But, for Wales, the match turned into the rugby equivalent of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They were bereft of firepower and overrun all over the field. They used three captains in the same game, handed out six debuts and conceded 15 tries. When the dust settled, the scoreboard made dismal reading for anyone of a Welsh persuasion: South Africa 96-13 Wales.
There was more humiliation in the post-match press conference, when home coach Nick Mallett described Wales as “probably the worst international side he had seen”.
At 21, Gough took it all in, fearing his Test career had crashed and burned before it had properly begun.
But nothing could have been further from the truth.
Gough went on to feature for Wales 64 times and now uses the video of his debut to help improve the academic chances of youngsters.
Here is his story of a tour and a Test from hell...
It would be wrong to say the tourists set out for Africa in great shape.
The Welsh Rugby Union and national coach Kevin Bowring had parted company weeks before and the team was under the control of caretaker duo Dennis John and Lynn Howells. The experienced pair were respected and capable, but the squad had been hit by multiple withdrawals and left these shores with confidence low.
There was even some doubt about whether players would get on the bus for the airport.
“There was a major wrangle over pay and team fees,” recalls Gough.
“Basically, with so many big names dropping out, the Welsh Rugby Union wanted to reduce our money and the feeling among most of the boys is that wasn’t on.
“It reached the stage where we weren’t going to get on the bus.
“Some senior players said we needed to stick to our guns, but then one or two boys broke ranks and our unity was shattered.”
The players got on the bus and boarded the plane. There was no turning back.
Wales defeated Zimbabwe 49-11 in the tour opener, but as preparation for a trip to South Africa the match proved about as useful as a ride in a lift might prove ahead of an assault on Everest.
Defeats duly stacked up against Emerging Springboks, Border, Natal and Gauteng Falcons.
Injuries hit the squad at every turn. David Weatherley was invalidated out of the tour, along with Rob Appleyard and Scott Quinnell. Leigh Davies and the powerful No.8 Mark Jones were also incapacitated midway through the trip and Wayne Proctor suffered a broken nose that ended his involvement prematurely. Rob Howley also picked up a knock.
Reinforcements were called for and the Swansea flanker Dean Thomas replaced Martyn Williams, only to be dismissed in the Gauteng Falcons game for a straight-arm tackle.
Despite all this, Gough insists it was a happy squad.
“The results weren’t good, but there was a great bunch of boys on that trip and we enjoyed each other’s company,” he says.
“It wasn’t our fault so many were missing.”
After the loss to Border, the Wales coaches had slapped a ban on players going out that evening, as the performance had been on the wrong side of horrendous. Disappointment prevailed. “We had planned to pop out for a few drinks and to sample the local culture, but Dennis and Lyn said that wouldn’t happen and anyone who did go out would find his passport on the counter in reception the next morning and that would be that –tour over.
“I was only a young lad and wasn’t impressed. I hadn’t played in the game and just wanted to get out of the hotel and have a bit of a look at South Africa.
“I trudged off to bed but, try as I might, I couldn’t sleep, not least because all I could hear was this loud music. I had a really restless night, and when I went down for breakfast the next morning I learned why.
“Chris Wyatt was not known as One Man Riot for nothing. He lived life to the full and took the attitude that if we couldn’t go out then the party would have to come to the hotel.
“So, he had got hold of the liaison guy and arranged for a karaoke machine to be taken to one of the rooms. There were air stewards and stewardesses who had come off flights there and Mark Jones, apparently, did a karaoke turn at 3am. A great time was had by all.”
Gough had propelled himself into the Test reckoning with an outstanding performance against Natal which saw him make countless tackles, many of them piledriving affairs which knocked the wind out of opposition ball-carriers.
A first cap seemed likely after such an effort.
But he wasn’t the first to learn what was coming his way.
“My dad knew I was playing before I did because news had filtered back to Pontypridd, presumably through the Dennis and Lynn connection. They were coaches there and might just have told someone. Anyway, my father knew before I did,” says Gough.
“The game itself was totally bittersweet, the high point
of my career and the low point.
“I remember the anthem and feeling so proud.
“But I don’t have such fond memories of the song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. They played it after each of the South African tries, all 15 of them.
“We were overpowered and lucky to stop them getting 100 points.
“At the end of the game I was on my knees, desolate, thinking my Wales career was over before it had properly begun.
“Then I went into the dressing room and there were the old-school props Mike Griffiths and John Davies, with Garin Jenkins, our hooker, close by. Totally deadpan, Mike said: “At least we didn’t go back in the scrums.” Gough did play for Wales again. In fact, he pulled on the red jersey 63 more times, featuring in the World Cup in 2007 and in the Grand Slams of 2005 and 2008, standing out in the second of those triumphs with a capacity for hard work that might even have raised the odd eyebrow on a busy day in a Siberian salt mine.
What impressed about him as much as anything was his resilience.
Successive Wales coaches dropped or under-used him, but he refused to take the message.
“Knocks happen, but it does get better with hard work and the right attitude,” he says.
“I thought: ‘How am I ever going to get picked for Wales again?’ After all, I had been part of our worstever defeat.
“But we beat South Africa a year later and I finished with 64 caps.”
South Africa would have scored 100 points had the hooker Naka Drotske held on to a pass with the line beckoning.
They were terrific that day, punishing Wales after Arwel Thomas had given the tourists an early lead.
And they knew they done their jobs well.
“A few of them, including Percy Montgomery, had a swagger in their green and gold blazers after the game,” remembers Gough.
“What can you say? They had played well, so I suppose they were entitled to feel good about themselves.
“But what I also remember after the game was Sir Tasker Watkins getting up and saying winning was always going to be a tough challenge for a young squad missing so many players. But he promised that certain things would be put in place to improve things. By that, I assume he meant Wales would bring in a certain Graham Henry and make certain structural changes.
“Whatever, within a year, Wales avenged that defeat with Mark Taylor scoring that memorable try.”
Taylor had also featured at Loftus Versfeld. A subsequent set of programme notes noted that he had gone from Pretoria to euphoria in the space of 12 months.
Since his retirement as a player, Gough has teamed up with John Radford, the ex-head of Pontarddulais Comprehensive School, to launch the mentoring programme Reach for the Sky.
The idea is to help pupils who have been identified as facing potential academic challenges.
And Gough uses the game against South Africa as a reference point.
“Careers are rarely straight lines and everyone has to work to get things right,” says Gough.
“I tell the youngsters that the individuals who make it are not all rock stars. It isn’t success all the way. They have had setbacks, too, at certain points.
“I use the video of the South Africa game. It shows me on my knees, thinking that it’s all over for me with Wales.
“In the commentary, JJ Williams is saying we are not good enough. In fairness, on the day he had a point.
“But there were reasons why we lost so heavily that day and some of that side went on to achieve a lot. Stephen Jones, for instance, was making his debut and look what he has done in the game.
“The message is you can turn it around with the right support.
“Life is not easy, but it can be made to work and success can come to those who put in the effort.”
“I’m glad I was on that tour,” says Gough.
“I made some great friends and adversity can build character.
“A couple of years later Gary Teichmann, who led South Africa against us, came to Newport and I ended up playing alongside a Springbok who was a true legend of the game.
“Of course, you don’t forget the defeat. But we learned a lot on that tour. It was something that stood a lot of us in good stead.”