1989 lions tour fight

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#8 ‘Lions Flashback’- Australia v British and Irish Lions; 1989; 3rd Test

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Getting closer in our countdown to the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, it is only fitting that  Last Word On Rugby offer rugby fans a ‘Lions flashback’ or two. Continuing today, follow us as we recall ten of the best clashes from historic tours.

#8 : From this 1989 Lions flashback, the final test of the tour to Australia was a pivotal result. The era of All Black dominance had begun in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Bob Dwyer coached Wallabies were in a stage of rebuilding. Inviting the British and Irish Lions over, it continued a strong history of clashes between the two sides .

The first inbound tour to the Australian continent only [not combined with a trip to New Zealand] it placed all the focus on the eternal battle of the United Kingdom v the Colonies . And the bitter rivalry was seen often, in a ‘hard as nails’ series. Supported by a huge crowd (as seen in the attached footage) it was a popular tour–as was the 2001 and 2013 series. A trip to Australia was a sun-soaked tour, that rivals the Ashes for colour and emotion.

‘Lions Flashback’ – Third Test Decider

After the opening win to the home side, the British and Irish Lions did fantastically well to even the rubber, winning in Brisbane 12-19. This set-up the final match back in Sydney as the tipping point for the series result.

With pride on the line, Australia needed to chase a win, and the Lions controlled much of the pace of the game. With the boot of Gavin Hastings, they opened the scoring amid tussles and many blood noses. It was tough grind, and the small mistakes added to the barrage coming from the men in wearing University red.

Michael Lynagh had several attempts at goal, but strangely his boot was not always on target in this series, but with Nick Farr-Jones (see picture below) their combination did threaten the visitors often. The halfbacks battle was a fierce one, with pushes, shoves and more given during the series.

With an experienced pack, the Wallabies had many strengths, so the Ian McGeechan coached Lions needed to show good composure. The Aussie side pushed hard, although some hail mary passes would breakdown their attack often. But still, with their invention the last play of the first half saw a precision backline scissor-move send Ian Williams over the line. It was the best reply possible, to send his mates back into the sheds at  9-9.

Match balanced, and deserving of a Classic Finish

The men in red were are scattering of home nations greats, with the likes of Brian Moore, Dean Richards and Jeremy Guscott. Ieuan Evans and Robert Jones (Wales) running beside the Hastings brothers. With that talent, it meant that the Wallabies needed to defend stoutly. Aggressive tackling keeping the Lions behind the advantage line–for most of the game.

On occasion, interpretation of the breakdown laws had Mike Teague penalized. What today might earn a yellow card for cynical play, it gave the home side a 12-9 lead. But with the cries from the crowd “Lions, Lions, Lions”. That noise could have put off the players, as in a classic commentators moment, the great David Campese used what was called “Mickey Mouse rugby” on his own goal line.

Trying to link with Greg Martin, they blundered badly, and Welsh winger Evans pounced. It was a horrible moment, that took the home side from sublime to the ridiculous. And like today, moments can turn the tide in a match.

Lions take the lead and hold off Wallaby flurry of fireworks

Ahead now, the Lions would go on to hold off all attempts on their line. There were fireworks in every lineout, where the Australian locks the ‘Twin Towers’ of Bill Campbell and  Steve Cutler had a great battle with Paul Ackford (in the days before lifting players). It showed the great skillset from years ago. One man who came to the fore was Lions captain, Finlay Calder . The Scottish open-side flanker was a pest [somewhat like the Rabbit who made it’s way onto the field]. His leadership was cool-headed, while Hastings soon kicked his fifth penalty to extend the lead.

The home side were peppered with high balls, and fullback Martin was under pressure, and the visitors were playing more as a unit. Often taking turnover ball, they lifted each other and as the Lions were more aggressive, they also committed more infringements.

Lynagh took the chance to convert two further penalties, with 14 points himself in a sterling effort from the first-five. French referee was critical of the Lions defensive play, and images of Ian McGeechan with his head in his hands show the gravity of the occasion. Giving fans hope, it helped the match build up to a huge crescendo.

Crowd urge on Wallabies – Lions repel efforts

Right at the death, Australia were desperate and ran the ball from anywhere. Not quite enough to breakthrough the strong line from the visitors, who as shown in this Lions flashback, were near exhaustion near the conclusion. Breathless action, and what a finish!! The Lions hold on, winning the close game, 18-19.

When asked post-match what his reaction to the win was, David Sol answered emphatically “Massive!”. The look on players faces (see below) said it all. Pure elation.

This test was a gripping encounter. Not necessarily with many tries, but the pressure was immense. It was followed 12 years later, as the Martin Johnson captained side were held 2-1, with Matthew Burke the hero of the final test. That was followed by 2013, where a Warren Gatland coached side would rebuild the Lions aura, with yet another 1-2 test series win.

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Follow our ‘Lions flashback’ series , building up towards the opening game of the British and Irish Lions tour, on June 3.

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1989 British Lions tour to Australia

From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In 1989, the British Lions toured Australia for the first time since 1971 . Unlike previous tours to Australia, the Lions did not play any matches in New Zealand, this being the first Australia-only tour since 1899 . The side was captained by Finlay Calder .

The Lions suffered a 30–12 defeat in the first test in Sydney on 1 July, then their heaviest defeat by Australia. [1] In this first test, Australia scored four tries, and flyhalf Michael Lynagh kicked 5 from 6. For the second and third tests, changes included Mike Teague , recovered from injury, at blindside flanker; Rob Andrew replacing Craig Chalmers at fly-half; and Jeremy Guscott and Scott Hastings coming into the centre positions. The team became the only Lions team ever to come from 1–0 down to win a series, winning the second test in Brisbane 19–12 and the third test in Sydney 19–18. [2] [3] The Lions completed their tour with a victory of a combined ANZAC team. Teague was named player of the series.

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How David Campese's stray pass helped the Lions win the decider in 1989

The buildup.

Try as they might, in the runup to the deciding Test the Lions could not escape the accusation that the tactics they had employed during the Battle of Ballymore had been too aggressive. The Australian press rounded on the tourists and they were not alone.

Coach Bob Dwyer questioned some of the injuries received by his players (a total of 25 stitches in all), and captain Farr-Jones, although openly saying he saw nothing untoward with the Lions methods, sounded a warning before the decider in Sydney: "To me, basically, it's open warfare. They've set the rules. They've set the standards. As far as I'm concerned, if the officials aren't going to control it, we're going to have to do something about it."

The Australian Rugby Union also got involved, holding a meeting on the eve of the final match, the outcome of this being three resolutions: 1) To openly condemn any foul play in rugby, 2) To present video evidence to the boards of the four home unions in the hope that they would take any necessary action against players the ARU thought had overstepped the line, 3) That the ARU members of the International Rugby Football Board would propose using video evidence in the future to punish players found guilty of any misdemeanours. The first point seemed, well pointless, as surely any board worth their name would not advocate violence, but the third point had merit, certainly in light of the citation boards that exist today.

Despite the barrage of criticism coming their way, the Lions had some backers. Crucially, referee Rene Hourquet felt the match in Brisbane had not been dirty: "Last week was not a violent game. It was very physical. If you can erase two painful moments, it was a match without problems".

Lions manager Clive Rowlands too was conveniently ignoring the first 40 minutes of the match: "After watching the video, the thing that strikes me is that in the second half of that particular match there's no hint of illegal action by either side."

At home, not all with a vested interest in the outcome of the series were shaking their heads disapprovingly, as a letter from a Mr JL Wall in the Times indicated: "The only peace on such tours is when the Lions conform to stereotyped images of being jolly decent sports and first-class losers."

Admittedly, an opinion given by a fan on either side of the equator wasn't likely to be the most impartial of views, but Mr Wall's correspondence agreed with a point made by Ieuan Evans on Sky's 1989 And All That programme , that the team had been castigated for being rubbish and now for being too rough.

Both teams were unchanged from the second Test, although Evans (stomach upset), Calder (shin), Dooley (knee) and Teague (shoulder) gave the Lions management a few late concerns in training on the eve of the match.

Thankfully all were passed fit, yet McGeechan had expressed a dissatisfaction with his squad for what he perceived as an almost demob happy feeling in the session, apparently heard shouting at his squad "If you want to go souvenir-buying now, you can. But we are going to come back to the training pitch this afternoon." The accusation stung the squad into action and, by the time the day of destiny had arrived, the injury concerns had cleared.

Australia : Martin, Williams, Maguire, Walker, Campese, Lynagh, Farr-Jones; Hartill, Lawton, Crowley, Campbell, Cutler, Gourley, Miller, Tuynman

Lions : G Hastings (S), Evans (W), S Hastings (S), Guscott (E), Underwood (E), Andrew (E), Jones (W); Sole (S), Moore (E), Young (W), Ackford (E), Dooley (E), Teague (E), Calder (S), Richards (E)

"A 2-1 series win will close a decade of British rugby not conspicuous for success and would bear witness to McGeechan's contention that the playing gulf between the two hemispheres is by no means as wide as many people think," wrote the Times' David Hands on the Friday and, as British fans awoke at 5.55am on Saturday to watch the live action, it was hard not to get a little ahead of the match and imagine just what an accomplishment a series win in Australia would be.

The tension was almost edible as the players appeared in front of the 39,401 crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium. An underlying feeling of trouble ahead was not helped early on, when once again Rob Jones and Nick Farr-Jones became involved in a scuffle, though in truth it was hardly violent, more a case of nervous energy being released .

The disagreement had started when Farr-Jones held on to the ball after the Lions had been awarded a penalty, but Jones' actions backfired when he was penalised, and the Lions' chance had gone. In a cat-and-mouse match, it looked as if neither team could afford to squander such opportunities.

At least Gavin Hastings, returned to kicking duties after a poor second Test, was back on form, his two penalties giving the Lions a 6-0 lead. Michael Lynagh would reduce the gap with his own penalty, but another kick from the Scottish full-back put the Lions 9-3 in front.

However, for the third Test running, Australia would score the first try, a superb dummy from Lynagh giving Ian Williams the chance on the stroke of half-time , which Lynagh would convert. With just 40 minutes left, there was nothing separating the teams: one match all and 9-9 in the decider. The teams were so evenly matched that a moment of brilliance or madness looked like deciding the outcome. Step forward David Campese.

Michael Lynagh put Australia in front for the first time through his penalty at the start of the second half, but the Lions advanced in search of an immediate response. From a scrum in a promising position, the ball was fed to Rob Andrew, who unusually fluffed his attempted drop-goal, slicing the ball wide of the post, Lions fans groaning in unison as the ball ended up in the hands of David Campese.

The obvious and safe thing to do was to touch down for a 22-metre drop-out, but Campese had other ideas, moving forwards before throwing a poor pass to full-back Greg Martin who, not surprisingly, was taken slightly unawares with the thought process of his team-mate. Martin spilled the pass and, as the ball touched the turf in the corner of the pitch now known as Campo's Corner, Evans and Greg Martin moved towards the ball, time seemingly standing still.

Evans pushed Martin, giving him an outside chance of getting to the loose ball first, as both men hit the ground and the ball simultaneously . The decision would go straight to the TMO now, but back in 1989 Rene Hourquet did not have this luxury, so his decision to rule in favour of Evans is still talked about to this day.

Even as a partisan Brit, the try does look a little questionable, but my opinion doesn't matter and neither does Martin's . What is indisputable is that had Campese taken the sensible approach on that famous July day in 1989, this debate would never have taken place. Such is the thin line between an undoubted rugby genius and madman that Campese was in his career.

Hastings missed the conversion, but two penalties gave the Lions a 19-12 lead with just a quarter of the match remaining. This series was never likely to drift off quietly though. Lynagh replied with two penalties of his own in the 71st and 74th minutes, and as the clock ticked down – very slowly if you were a Lions fan – just one point separated the teams (19-18), and visions of a last-minute Australian winner began to flood my brain.

Luckily I was spared any such nightmare becoming a reality, as come the end of the game the Lions were in the ascendancy. With the Australian try-line in sight, Hourquet brought an end to proceedings, and the Lions had completed their "coming back from the dead" series win, to quote Finlay Calder. The Lions had become the only team in the 20th century to come from 1-0 down to win a series, and boy did it feel good.

The aftermath

Mike Teague was again a colossus in the final Test, and such was his impact that he was named man of the series, even though he missed the first Test due to injury. Each player could earn a maximum of 30 points per match in the scoring system used to decide the winner of the award, Teague's score of 48/60 highlighting his epic displays, as Lynagh (28) and Richards (25) finished second and third respectively.

Richards role in the final Test was considerable too, but the whole pack of forwards played their part in the series finale, as did both Jones and Andrew who were tactically superb, their kicking game constantly turning the Australians, and relieving pressure.

For Australia, it wasn't hard to find a scapegoat for the defeat. Campese's horror moment was discussed with as much vigour as had previously been reserved for the Lions and their tactics after the first Test. At the time, co-commentator Chris Handy commented famously: "You don't wear a green and gold jersey to pull out that sort of Mickey Mouse rugby." On returning to the dressing room, Campese was abused by spectators and shunned by his team-mates.

The fallout would roll on for weeks, some suggesting that Campese be dropped from the team, leading Nick Farr-Jones to compose a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald in support of his colleague: "Not only as captain of the national team, but as an Australian, it disturbs me to hear and read the constant and at times vilifying attacks by rugby followers and the press on one of our greatest sportsmen, David Campese. Campo's blunder was careless and costly. But few of the Australian players would be satisfied with their performances, including myself."

Campese's gamble – there can be no doubting that had the move actually succeeded, the Lions may well have been stretched defensively – had not paid off (a similar moment in the first half showed the method behind Campese's madness), but the vilification he received for his error was slightly worrying.

When his brother Mario was attacked outside a pub by someone angry enough to punch an innocent man due to the actions of his famous sibling, then you do wonder if some people take these things a little too seriously – and that's coming from me.

That said, from a British perspective, the onfield incident was extremely funny, especially in the light of Campese's revenge in 1991 (on us English sports fans at least) and his subsequent constant barracking of anything British. The man himself features in this advert in Australia, suggesting that although the event at the time was distressing, as the years have elapsed, Campese must have developed a thick skin over his wayward pass. But at the time, reports of a proposed offer of £250K to play for the St. Helens rugby league team, must have seemed tempting.

For the Lions, the tour did not stop in Sydney, the midweek side led expertly by Donal Lenihan taking on a New South Wales Country XV in Newcastle, with Tony Clement finally getting his first game since replacing Chris Oti on tour. In what turned out to be an exhibition match, the Lions ran out easy 72-13 winners, scoring a total of 14 tries, as Donal's Doughnuts finished their work in style.

The midweek dirt-tracker team completed an unbeaten tour, their most important win undoubtedly the 41-25 comeback against ACT just a few days after the disastrous first Test . That it was seen as the pivotal moment of the 1989 Lions tour speaks volumes for the vital role Lenihan's side played down under.

The final match of the trip was against an Anzac XV, a representative side taken from both sides of the Tasman Sea. Alas, the team was hit by the withdrawal of 11 New Zealanders, but as the match progressed it looked as if a slightly patched-up Lions side would end the tour on a losing note. Trailing 15-13 with just seven minutes remaining, drop goals from Scots Craig Chalmers and Gavin Hastings edged the Lions to an excellent 19-15 win, absent skipper Calder – David Sole filling in for the match – praising his team for their professional approach.

Ultimately, the 1989 Lions tour to Australia was judged as a raging success due to the series win against Australia. After all, it had been a full 15 years since a touring Lions team had won an international series. To come back from their first Test shellacking to win the series 2-1, is an achievement that should never be undervalued, a triumph for Messrs McGeechan, Uttley and Rowlands, and quite a turnaround for a heavily-burdened skipper in Finlay Calder.

Some might say that the Australian team was in a state of transition, a work-in-progress that at the time was far from the World Cup winning side of 1991, but to beat any Australian team in their own backyard takes some doing.

That the very concept of the Lions was apparently under threat before the tour shows the significance of the success. To that extent, a huge debt of gratitude should be owed to the 1989 Lions, and Ian McGeechan in particular. Joe French (the ARU president) summed up the general feeling surrounding the Lions 1989 tour: "It was the most successful tour ever to our country. There's no doubt the Lions must continue."

From that day forth, the Lions gained a momentum which, although not always matched with onfield results, has gone from strength to strength, and gives us the excitement and anticipation felt during a Lions year that we witness today.

But the final word deserves to go to Ian McGeechan: "A Lions tour is the ultimate. It's the individual summit for a player." Such passion for the cause has never left McGeechan, his emotional attachment shown fully in the various tour documentaries made since 1989. His 1997 Lions triumph in South Africa may have been his high point, but I will always look back on that 1989 tour and thank McGeechan for playing his part in the rebirth of the Lions.

This is an article from our Guardian Sport Network

This blog first appeared on That 1980s Sports Blog

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Bath Rugby legend Gareth Chilcott recalls the brotherhood and glory of the '89 Lions tour, and how he saved Dai Young's life...

The squad lost the first Test but went on to win the series Down Under

• 17:11, 15 JUN 2017
• Updated 17:53, 15 JUN 2017

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There are Lions tours and there are LIONS TOURS.

There are tourists and there are TOURISTS.

Gareth ‘Coochie’ Chilcott slots into the second category on both counts and, after liver disease almost killed him, the Bath Rugby legend is gearing up for another jaunt to the other side of the globe.

Chilcott is part of the 1989 "brotherhood" – the touring party to Australia which hammered their names into Lions lore by becoming the first and only bunch to lose the first Test and win the series.

Despite 28 years passing since that British and Irish collective won 11 out of 12 Down Under, the memories for Coochie are still lucid and fill him with joy, even the time he saved Dai Young from dying young in white water.

When they were selected for the ‘89 tour Chilcott, Andy Robinson and Jeremy Guscott become the first Bath Lions for 85 years.

Everyone has a story about how they find out and Chilcott, now 60, is no different.

"I was working for Johnson Press, for Malcolm Pearce, in Bath," he said, cutting a much slimmer figure than before his life-saving liver transplant last September.

“The whole warehouse staff was by the radio, just waiting. When my name came up there was a big cheer.

“I thought I was in with a shout because I was a loosehead who was playing tighthead for England, so I was versatile.”

There was one hitch, though, which was quite specific to the man in question.

“My disciplinary record, which was immense.”

He had been banned after the violent battle between England and Wales in Cardiff in 1987.

He had been banned for a year for stamping on Bristol’s Bob Hesford’s head and had four or five red cards to his infamous name.

“That was the big debate and, in later years, tour manager Clive Rowlands told me it was very much a split vote on whether or not they could take me.

“Luckily, they needed somebody who could get the job done in a certain way. It was a great honour.”

How do you bring together players from four nations, who had been knocking lumps out of each other for years, and meld them into a winning unit?

“The Five Nations before that Lions tour was a bit niggly. There was a bit of animosity and if there’s any animosity you won’t win games.

“The week before we left he made sure we socialised. There were lots of meetings down the boozer together.

“It was Ian McGeechan’s first tour and he brought in things like forwards and backs being paired off in the rooms, and you had to room with someone from a different country.

“Then every three days you would change. My first room-mate was Wales’ Robert Jones, then I had another scrum-half in Gary Armstrong.

“I couldn’t understand a word he said in Scottish and I don’t think he could understand my Bristolian.”

Chilcott also roomed with Ieuan Evans and Gavin Hastings, and by the end of the tour everyone knew everyone.

As a member of the social committee, the player known as the "shop steward" at Bath played a key role in making the squad tight.

“We didn’t go on these fluffy five-week tours. We went on the proper men’s tours – three plus months away from home.

“You became a British Lion rather than an Englishman, a Scotsman, a Welshman or an Irishman.

“It was a great family. Lions tours need that.

“Forget what happens on the pitch, it’s about how they do it off the pitch.”

His Lions debut was against Australia B, the second match of the tour, on a wet and windy day in Melbourne, which the Lions won 23-8.

“What I remember from that game, apart from the weather and the fact we won, was that when you went into the changing rooms your Lions shirt was hanging up there.

“Just to see it hanging up there you thought: ‘Wow, how lucky am I to be on a Lions tour’.”

Chilcott nearly missed the tour for reasons other than his disciplinary rap sheet.

He was playing for England against Romania in Bucharest – Guscott’s hat-trick scoring debut – when he felt a pain “like a gunshot” in his Achilles after ten minutes.

Treatment three times a day kept him together enough to travel Down Under, but he was not fit by the time the matches started and felt the injury all the way through the tour.

“On a modern day tour the doctor probably would have said: ‘We need somebody 100 per cent fit’.”

The First Test , Sydney, July 1, 1989

Chilcott was an unused substitute in the first Test in Sydney, missing out to future team-mate David Sole on the loosehead side and Young at tighthead.

The tourists were out-muscled and beaten 30-12, meaning the mid-week game against ACT, a handful of days later, became a make-or-break fixture.

“We had to win that game. The tour depended on it.”

A young Guscott showed his class in that 41-25 victory – the Lions trailed 21-11 – and they went the rest of the tour undefeated.

But Chilcott came off towards the end of the contest; his injury having flared up again.

It ended up costing him his chance to feature in the victorious Tests two and three.

For the rest of the tour, Coochie was a fully-fledged member of Donal’s Doughnuts, the mid-week side captained by Donal Lenihan who kept up the winning momentum.

“I know they had a meeting about whether to bring in a replacement for me.

“Then Clive came to me and said: ‘We want you to be part of the squad, but we can’t risk you in a Test match with an injury like that’.

“He said: ‘Can you promise me that you’ll get through every mid-week game from now on and not let me down, so I don’t have to risk Dai or David Sole?

“I said: ‘I’ll play every game even if you’ve got to take me on with crutches’.

“I did. That allowed me to stay on tour and we won all them games.

“The ironic thing was by the end of the tour I was full fit, I came back and had a really good season for Bath.”

The Second Test, Brisbane, July 8, 1989

When Jones stepped on his opposite number Nick Farr-Jones’ foot at a scrum it all kicked off into a mass brawl known as the Battle of Ballymore.

By the end of the game Wallabies Greg Martin, Steve Tuynman, Michael Lynagh and Farr-Jones had 25 stitches between them at the hands of the beefed-up Lions.

“I would have loved to have been involved in that. You know my record.

“We got bullied in the first Test a little bit, so we put out a more physical side to fight fire with fire.

“We needed a spark and Jonesy created that. We had most of the England pack and we turned into a big mauling side, which is the way we played with England."

A day after his 24th birthday, Guscott produced a moment of magic, scoring from his own grubber kick to seal a 19-12 victory.

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The Third Test, Sydney, July 15, 1989

The teams were back in Sydney for the decider.

“We had so much confidence going into the third Test and the Australians didn’t have long to regroup.

“All the Tests were nip and tuck. The third one was in the balance until David Campese – and I still remind him every time I see him – tried an act of brilliance which didn’t go right.”

That act ended with the lethal winger throwing a wayward pass over his deadball line, which Evans pounced on for glory. Coochie was watching from the stands.

“There was jubilation. Test matches are often about a dropped ball, a missed tackle or a bit of brilliance.

“We had a good night and weekend celebrating but we still had a couple of games to go.”

Wins against New South Wales Country and the ANZAC XV capped off one of the most successful Lions tours of all time.

Coochie believes the achievement should get more acclaim than it does.

“It was a great tour but an unspoken tour in a way.

“It felt like the last one between real amateur and professional, and it feels like it’s been largely forgotten but it shouldn’t be.

“We’re the only side in Lions history to win a Test series after losing the first test.”

Chilcott couldn’t leave for New Zealand with his company, Venatour, without regaling the rafting incident involving the Wasps' director of rugby, Young.

The team were on a fast-flowing river and were told that if they capsized they should stick to the left to avoid a “boulder the size of a bus” that had a tunnel worn through it, from which a floating human was unlikely to emerge alive.

“We went over. We all went left but Dai was flung to the right and heading for disaster.

“I was the nearest man to him. He couldn’t swim and because he was quite big his life jacket didn’t fit properly.

“It was open and moving about. He was swimming like a brick rather than a fish and, just before he got to the boulder, me and an Australian pulled him to the left.

“I should have pushed him to the right and it might have been me playing those Test matches.”

The ‘89 Lions still get together for reunions almost 30 years later – without fanfare, without sponsorship and without media intrusion.

Only serious health problems – a liver transplant, for example – prevent all the old team-mates coming together en masse.

“Some of my dearest friends are people I met on that tour. We've stuck together as a brotherhood.

“I still adamantly believe playing for the British Lions is the highest honour you can achieve in the northern hemisphere, unless you’re French.

“You’re not just playing for England, you’re playing for Great Britain and southern Ireland. That has to be the ultimate.”

This weekend, Chilcott is flying out to New Zealand for the business end of a tour he never thought he would be well enough to make.

He’s enlisted the help of Bath Rugby president David Trick to host a tour party of 30 from Bath.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Six or seven months ago I was given two months to live.

“I never thought I’d get out of a hospital bed, but I have thanks to some fantastically-skilled surgeons at Kings College Hospital in London and the loving care of the nurses and my family and friends.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and old friends.

“You look at the game these days and I couldn’t even get the shirt on, let alone play.

“I hope they have the fun and comradeship we had on Lions tours.

“Rugby is all about confidence and momentum.

“This series is in the balance – we’ve won, lost two – but I think we will be competitive in the Test matches.

“Whether we’re skilful enough or tactically aware enough to beat the All Blacks remains to be seen.”

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Classic Match: 1989 Lions leave it late but preserve unbeaten start

Before the Battle of Ballymore there was a skirmish in Sydney as The British and Irish Lions answered their first major test of the 1989 Tour against New South Wales. [more]

Before the Battle of Ballymore there was a skirmish in Sydney as The British and Irish Lions answered their first major test of the 1989 Tour against New South Wales.

The first expedition to Australia in 23 years started serenely, as four successive victories fuelled hopes of a series which could rival the 1974 ‘Invincibles’ for dominance and drama.

But a determined New South Wales team containing 10 Wallabies caused a storm at North Sydney Oval, with only a late Craig Chalmers drop goal sparing the side’s blushes.

The Lions lost their unbeaten streak a week later in the first Test, perhaps still feeling the effects of a bruising clash with the Blues.

They would, of course, come from behind to win the series 2-1, and this gruelling contest offered a first real look at the fighting spirit that would later prove so crucial.

With both camps using this match as preparation for the first Test it took on a ferocious feel, with Wallabies captain Nick Farr-Jones describing the lineout battle as a ‘dockyard brawl.’

That was on account of three separate wrestling matches which broke out during the contest, as both sides went full throttle in a first half which the hosts shaded, leading 9-7 at the interval.

Less than a minute into the second half and the Lions hit the front. In the third Test of the series, a misplaced David Campese pass allowed Ieuan Evans to score and it was an error with his feet which gifted the Lions a try here.

As the legendary winger failed to find touch with his kick, Hastings pounced to dot down and just 12 minutes later second row Robert Norster powered over, extending the visitors’ lead to eight points.

Marty Roebuck, at this stage one of the lesser-known stars in the New South Wales team, then swung the game on its head single-handedly.

The Lions had dominated for much of the second period but were caught off guard by Campese switching wings to create an overlap in a desperate attempt to spark a comeback with just nine minutes remaining.

He offloaded to fellow wing Acura Niuqila, whose chip downfield evaded Hastings and Rory Underwood and found its way to Roebuck who hacked goalwards before winning the race to touch down.

Roebuck, a World Cup winner in 1991 and now a general practitioner, converted his own try having already kicked four penalties to leave the hosts just two points short of parity.

Minutes later he bisected the posts with another penalty, seemingly heading for a fairytale return to the side after being dropped in the aftermath of a 30-3 defeat by Queensland a month earlier.

Now seeing their unblemished record slipping away, the Lions looked to find a second wind and did so from the restart when they forced a lineout inside their opponents’ 22 with just two and a half minutes on the clock.

With possession retained, fly-half Chalmers assumed position and despite falling off-balance as the ball came his way, he steadied himself before steering the ball wide of two onrushing defenders and between the posts to seal a dramatic late victory.

The Lions’ 100% record lasted one further match, a routine 39-19 win over New South Wales B, before the Wallabies claimed the first Test.

And after levelling the scores in Brisbane, McGeechan’s comeback kings would once again break Australian hearts, with a 19-18 victory in the decider cementing their place in the record books as the first Lions side to win a series after losing the first Test.

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