Final Whistle
Lindsay Knight recalls the 1971 Lions tour and a side that produced the extraordinary record of 22 wins from 24 games in New Zealand.
Lindsay Knight rated the 1971 Lions highly, but questions whether they had to play so conservatively in the Test series.
A sthe lengthy tours of yesteryear are now casualties of professionalism, it can be safely concluded that those made by the 1937 Springboks and the 1971 British Lions will keep forever their special place in rugby history.
Three other touring teams have won Test series in New Zealand, but none has the aura of those two sides as international rugby icons who compare favourably with those landmark tours by some fabled All Blacks sides.
Besides the rare feat of winning an away series against the All Blacks, they were unbeaten elsewhere in New Zealand and left many lessons from which rugby in this country benefitted.
I can’t write with authority on the 1937 tour. But as one of the few survivors of the 1971 media entourage, I had many insights into what inarguably was a great side.
Some might question whether those Lions should be rated so highly. After all, they only just beat what, by All Blacks standards, was a moderate side and were actually outscored across the series eight tries to six.
After the successes of the 1960s, and the 1970 tour of South Africa, the All Blacks had lost many key players and so fielded a largely inexperienced side led by an ageing, injury-scarred Colin Meads. So lacking in confidence were the All Blacks that for the third Test they felt compelled to recall Brian Lochore from retirement to play at lock.
Many mistakes were made in selections, too, in particular the dropping after the first Test of fullback Fergie Mccormick.
Indeed, some of the Lions’ tactics adopted in the Tests were inexplicably conservative. In the fourth Test, for instance, they seemed content to play for a draw and made limited use of their superior backline.
Yet their mystique has lasted over the last half century. Unlike most other Lions sides that have toured New Zealand, before and since, this side managed to avoid those factors which have caused so much self-destruction: cliques, damaged egos and, especially, selection arguments on national lines.
The 1971 Lions, based on the thenstrong Wales sides, had an articulate, charismatic coach in Carwyn James, a Welsh captain in John Dawes and several great Welsh backs like JPR Williams, Gerald Davies, Barry John and Gareth Edwards, plus No 8 Mervyn Davies.
But there were significant contributions from other countries. Mike Gibson, a superb all-round back, and his Irish countrymen Willie John Mcbride and Ray Mcloughlin, were influential leaders. Scottish manager Doug Smith was a shrewd manipulator of mind games and he and James were masters of public and media relations. And there were a couple of England Test regulars in wing David Duckham and hooker John Pullin.
The most celebrated of their provincial wins was the 47-9 (67-9 in modern scoring values) hammering of Wellington. Here, though, was one of the after-effects which through the years has enriched New Zealand rugby.
Wellington took heed of the Lions’ counter-attacking approach and by the season’s end was the country’s most exciting provincial team, setting the pattern for similarly imaginative attacking back-play by subsequent All Blacks sides.
New Zealand rugby in 1971 was again reminded of the need for strong scrummaging. Another lesson was the superiority of Barry John’s instep goalkicking, which brought him 180 points. Soon that method became the New Zealand norm and the All Blacks have had several champion exponents of their own, like Grant Fox, Andrew Mehrtens and Dan Carter.
There was one other historical oddity to the 1971 tour, raising questions as to who benefitted from it the most. Until then New Zealand had struggled to shed the 10-man obsession of the 1950s and ’60s, while the Lions were seen as the best exemplars of adventurous rugby.
But increasingly the roles were reversed. The All Blacks became celebrated for their beautifully balanced game, whereas British sides generally became preoccupied with forward power – to the detriment of their once elegant backs.