The English lads were belting out Welsh songs!
EXCLUSIVE: Lions legends Gareth Edwards and Sam Warburton compare tour notes . . .
SIR Gareth Edwards points to a pair of worn-out boots inside a glass cabinet at the Cardiff Arms Parks and ushers over Sam Warburton for a closer look.
‘I’ll tell you a story about the owner of these boots, Sam,’ says Edwards. ‘They were worn by Barry John when the Lions beat the All Blacks in 1971.
‘It was the morning after the third Test in Wellington and we went for a six-mile run. Barry had been playing so well that the New Zealand locals called him “The King”. We’d drunk some beer the night before and Barry decided he’d had enough two miles in, so hitchhiked back on a lorry!’ Laughter fills the room. It is an exchange between young and old — 28 and 69 — and Warburton’s response highlights how times have changed since the Lions beat New Zealand 46 years ago.
‘Are you serious?’ says the 2017 Lions captain. ‘We’d probably get sent home!’
There was little chance of John being sent home in ’71. The No 10 had a formidable half-back partnership with Edwards that helped propel the Lions to a 2-1 series victory. It brought overnight superstardom — and set the benchmark for years to come.
‘You see snippets of old tours on TV growing up,’ says Warburton. ‘You talk to ex-Lions about all of the history but then when you’re on tour, you try to put all that stuff to one side. You don’t want to put a load of pressure on you.’
Beating the All Blacks in New Zealand remains an onerous task but the dawn of professionalism has impacted on some of the finer details of touring.
‘We were given a voucher for two pairs of free boots in ’71 and it felt like Christmas,’ says Edwards.
‘We had a kit bag, a carrier bag for the plane and two jerseys. On previous tours we didn’t even have tracksuits — they just said, “Bring a heavy sweater”! We took such pride in that little badge on these brand new tracksuits.’
Warburton almost squirms in embarrassment at the modern-day pampering. ‘We get loads of kit at the start of every season and you get sick of it,’ he says.
‘But Lions kit is something you always cherish. I’ve got a tie rack and the red and gold Lions tie hangs proudly in the middle. I never touch it.
‘In 2013, we were given three huge bags of kit. We get 90 to 100 pieces of individual kit. Seven or eight gym T-shirts, seven rugby shirts, socks, shorts, two suits, two shirts, tracksuits, leisure kit, casual gear. We need a van to carry it all.
‘For weights you’re told, “Blue shirts, red shorts, white socks”, and if you get it wrong you get a punishment. Four years ago we had a dice with different punishments and one of them was phone your coach and ask to become club captain!’
Phone calls were a luxury in ’71. ‘We had one call a month and it was a pound a minute,’ says Edwards. ‘I did person-to-person calls to Maureen so I wasn’t paying for nothing.’
Reaching for his iPhone, Warburton replies: ‘You’d find it easy these days, Sir Gareth! I speak to Rachel every day on Face Time; in the morning and before bed.’
Some traditions, however, have withstood the test of time.
Welshmen dominated the ’71 squad and coach Carwyn James found himself under fire for favouring players from his side of the border.
Warren Gatland has faced similar accusations of favouritism, but the unique bond between four rival nations remains.
‘People were saying, “Oh, there’s too many Welsh guys. Welsh captain. Welsh coach”,’ recalls Edwards. ‘We introduced choir practice with songs from every country. Maybe a sip of beer, too.
‘By the end, David Duckham and John Spencer were speaking Welsh as good as anyone! They still sing
Sospan Fach as good as anybody in Llanelli!’
Gatland has reintroduced the choir this summer.
‘That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?’ says Warburton. ‘I remember on the last tour, Johnny Sexton was behind me in the changing room with the Welsh flag wrapped around him, chanting “Wales! Wales! Wales!”. You all just get behind each other’s country. Ken Owens will be our choirmaster.
‘Leigh Halfpenny usually takes it really seriously and belts it out, then gets paranoid when all the boys laugh at him for taking it so seriously. We tell him he’s got the voice of an angel . . . it’s more like a bag of cats! We had a good singsong when we beat Australia.’
If the Lions beat the All Blacks this summer, the celebrations will eclipse those of 2013. So what is the secret, from someone who has been there and done it?
‘Team spirit,’ says Edwards. ‘At some point, something can just bring you together. A game, a joke, a specific moment. For us, it was a nasty match against Canterbury.
‘I don’t know what that moment will be for you, Sam, but I wish you all the best.’