Battling The Lions: Willie John McBride

There couldn't be more contrast between Willie John McBride's 1983 and 1971 Lions tours to New Zealand.

In 1971, he was a key component In the successful Lions visit, playing a crucial role as lock and pack leader as the tourists won the series 2-1. But 12 years later, he had a frustrating tour as manager, struggling to adapt properly to his role after originally believing he was in line to become coach.

The great Irishman says "1971 was a turning point for the entire Lions concept".

"Until then, Lions tours had been seen as something of a fun trip, an excuse to let your hair down and have a party lasting a few months.

"You played rugby, yes, but it was never sufficiently organised or disciplined to threaten to beat the All Blacks in their own backyard.

"That was how it had been in 1966 in New Zealand. We were sent over there like lambs to the slaughter and it was really no surprise we lost the series 4-0."

But it was very different in 1971 because of two major factors. One was coach Carwyn James, a Welshman who understood what it would take to beat the All Blacks in their own backyard. And the second difference, perhaps the biggest factor of all, was that the Lions had the players.

"British Lions tours changed forever in 1971 when the Lions won a series in New Zealand.

For the first time in my experience as a Lion, we had a cluster of world-class performers, players who could genuinely lay claim to a place in a World XV.

"Of course, there had been some outstanding individuals before on Lions tours, men like Tony O'Reilly, David Hewitt, Jeff Butterfield, Cliff Morgan and Jack Kyle. But perhaps 1971 was really the first time when a Lions squad came together with so many world-class players.

"When we joined up before that tour departed, I remember looking around the room and thinking to myself, 'There are some of the best players in the world in their own positions in this squad. We have a real chance'.

"It was immensely satisfying to look the All Blacks in the eye and not blink first, which had usually been the case." But in 1983, it was the complete opposite and the Lions never really had the players to beat a powerful All Black side. The great Welsh era was over and the likes of Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Phil Bennett, JPR Williams, Gerald and Mervyn Davies, JJ Williams and John Bevan had gone.

Few squads could compare with those of 1971 and 1974 and the 1983 tourists were no exception.

Furthermore, they suffered from a serious run of injuries.

McBride remembers: "Too many of our forwards were not up to it.

Some did not want to know about the physical stuff. Yet we should still have won the first test and had we done so, that could have changed the course of the series.

"As it was, with Jim Telfer's tough demands on the training field and the ridiculous playing itinerary we had been given, it became too much." McBride became great friends with Colin Meads, through their mutual respect for one another from those days.

The Irishman criticised the All Black legend, saying he was far too good a player to act in the way he did on some occasions.

But overall, their respect has survived those tough battles on the field and today, the two giants of those times greet each other warmly whenever they meet up.

Somehow, their rivalry sums up the age-old battle between the Lions and the All Blacks.

No quarter asked or given, no prisoners taken. Rugby at its finest but its most ferocious.

Yet years after, when the scars of battle have healed, they remain friends, which is great testimony to the enduring qualities of this game that they played.

Player Snapshot

Willie John McBride played 17 tests for the Lions:
1962 South Africa: 2 tests
1966, New Zealand: 3 tests
1968 South Africa: 4 tests
1971 New Zealand: 4 tests
1974 South Africa: 4 tests.

Captain in South Africa 1974.

Manager of Lions in New Zealand in 1983.