Gerald Davies opened the scoring with a try for England/Wales
after 15 minutes of play, but Scotland/Ireland were in the lead by
half time thanks to tries by Irish winger Tom Grace and points
kicked by Scottish fullback Arthur Brown. England/Wales fought back
in the second half with tries from John Lloyd, JPR Williams and
Tony Neary. A conversion by Phil Bennett and a penalty by John
Taylor had also contributed to their points tally. Irish players
scored all five tries for the Scotland/Ireland team. Mike Gibson
scored three tries in this match - saving the game in the last 15
minutes after England/Wales had edged back into the lead. The final
score was Scotland/Ireland 30, England/Wales 21.
The match was followed by a dinner hosted by the SRU at the
North British Hotel - now the Balmoral Hotel - in Edinburgh. The
front cover of the menu is decorated with symbols of all the Home
Nations: the Scottish thistle, the English rose, the Irish shamrock
and the Prince of Wales feathers. The team lists are printed on the
back cover, though they are not entirely accurate - the menu was
printed before Gareth Edwards and David Duckham withdrew from the
England/Wales side due to injuries.
The menu includes Crevettes Marie Rose, Vichyssoise and Caneton
Rôti aux Oranges. Sounds French, but there is a Scottish twist, of
course - soufflé glacé au Drambuie, anyone? During the evening, the
attendees toasted Queen Elizabeth II, the invited guests and the
SRU. The menu is a reminder of an historic occasion when the rugby
stars of the day put their differences aside to celebrate an
important anniversary.
