An exceptionally controversial tour in political terms, the success of the British and Irish Lions unbeaten tour of South Africa in the summer of 1974 is nevertheless regarded as one of the greatest achievements in northern hemisphere rugby.
From The Vaults
10 June 2024
The Unsung Heroes of 1974
Test Match Replacements
Of the 22 matches played in South Africa, 21 consecutive matches were won and the tourists' final match, the fourth test against the Springboks, was controversially drawn 13-all with a possible winning try for the Lions by the Irish flanker Fergus Slattery being denied by the referee in the final minutes. Unusually on a tour with so many outstanding players reaching the zenith of their careers, the Lions selectors only used 17 players in the four tests.
There was just one change in the backline when Andy Irvine, the Scottish full back, replaced Billy Steele on the right wing for the third and fourth tests. And in the forwards, there was just one enforced change after the Scottish second row forward, Gordon Brown, broke his right hand in the third test and was replaced by Chris Ralston [pictured] of England for the fourth test.
History has understandably concentrated on the stars of the test side. With the Welshmen JPR Williams at full back, JJ Williams on the wing, Phil Bennett at fly half and Gareth Edwards at scrum half, complemented by such legendary forwards as the Irish captain and second row forward Willie-John McBride, the props Ian 'Mighty Mouse' McLauchlan and Fran Cotton, and a back row led by Mervyn Davies, this was arguably the most formidable team ever to face South Africa on their home turf.
All successful tour parties in the era of long tours often lasting several months needed a supporting group of reserve players of sufficient calibre to step into the test side if needed and be committed to the aims of the tour party. By any standards the supporting players on the 1974 tour who did not appear in any of the test matches were a rare breed, and some of them remain among the greatest players produced by their countries.
English Lions
England were going through one of their traditional mixed patches in the mid-1970s but they had beaten South Africa, New Zealand and Australia over the previous two years. If Alan Morley, the Bristol winger who played two matches as a replacement late in the tour, and Geoff Evans, the Coventry centre, were less well known, Alan Old was a highly respected and experienced fly half. The presence of the Gloucester prop Mike Burton and the back row forwards, Tony Neary of Broughton Park and Andy Ripley [pictured] of Rosslyn Park, ensured that the Lions always fielded a competitive pack of forwards outside the test matches.
Only one Scotsman did not make the test side and he already occupied a legendary if most unlucky position in Lions tour history. Sandy Carmichael from the West of Scotland club would be Scotland's most capped player by the time he retired, but he was one of the two 1971 Lions props, Ireland's Ray McLoughlin being the other, who were so badly injured in the fractious victory against Canterbury before the first test that they took no further part in that historic tour. He played in ten provincial matches on the 1974 tour but was not able to break through into the test side.
Irish Captains
The 1974 Lions "reserve" team contained five Irishmen of whom three captained their country. In the backs, there were the lithe pacy winger Tom Grace, leading try scorer on the tour with 13 tries in 11 matches, the elusive scrum half and occasional winger John Moloney, and the great centre and former fly half Mike Gibson [pictured]. A veteran of the three previous Lions tours including twelve test matches, Gibson was called in as a replacement for the injured Alan Old midway through the tour. Remarkably none of these distinguished Irish captains could make the 1974 test side. In the forwards, the hooker Ken Kennedy, another veteran from the 1966 Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, and the flanker Stewart McKinney could not force their way in either.
The dominant side of the 1970s in the UK was Wales and they supplied six leading members of the 1974 test side. But there were three other Welshmen, worthy players if never superstars, who helped form the nucleus of this remarkable set of Lions support players - the London Welsh winger Clive Rees, the Llanelli centre Roy Bergiers, and the marauding Llanelli flanker Tom David.
The 1974 British and Irish Lions was unquestionably one of the greatest touring parties ever assembled, but it is fun to ponder whether this "reserve" Lions side, almost all in their original chosen positions, might even have defeated the Springboks in that test series. It was after all a time when Springbok rugby for many reasons, political and sporting, was at a low ebb.
Would even a Springbok side on home soil have fancied facing this team in a test match?
Mike Gibson (full back) - Clive Rees; Geoff Evans; Roy Bergiers; Alan Morley (three-quarters) - Alan Old (fly half); John Moloney (scrum half)
Mike Burton; Ken Kennedy; Sandy Carmichael (front row); Chris Ralston; Tom David (second row) - Tony Neary; Andy Ripley; Stewart McKinney (back row)
Sources:
- Once were Lions - Jeff Connor & Martin Hannan (HarperSport 2009)
- A Statistical History of Springbok Rugby - Teddy Shnaps (Don Nelson Publishers 1989)
- The Unbeaten Lions - John Reason (Rugby Books, London 1974)
- Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1975-76 - Editor: Vivian Jenkins (Queen Anne Press Limited 1975)
- Scrapbooks and match spreadsheets in World Rugby Museum and Richard Steele Collections
About the Author
A professional musician and arts administrator, Richard Steele has been on the committee of the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham since 2005 and is the co-author of the RFU's 150th anniversary book England Rugby 150 Years.
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