RIP 2024
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That 71 touring party ignited a change in NZ rugby.
I know this is commonly said but was it really that true? Fred Allen's 60s ABs and the 60s Bay Shield holders both played 15 man rugby.
NZ rugby seemed to regress for the mid 70s before blossoming with the 1978 Grandslam team - did we wait between 71 and the 80s before the change was ignited?
Edit: RIP Barry John.
Probably a bit OT but it's pissing down where I live, so here goes....I was seriously into Rugby in those days and think it was a combination of things:
Fred Allen's '67 team wobbled on until 1970 and most of the key players retired (or had had enough) by then. The '71 AB's were pretty poor in reality and player stocks were low. We ended up bringing in a former no.8 to lock with Pinetree FFS.....
Other nations, particularly Wales and England, had started thinking. And they had Carwyn James. Rugby as a whole in NZ stopped thinking. While some administrators and coaches like Bill Freeman could see the writing on the wall and the need to change, there was a belief we had all the players we needed and a new, successful provincial wonder-coach would put us back at the top of the tree.
The disastrous '72-'73 tour exploded the Wonder Coach theory and left rugby in NZ in a unbelievable mess. There was talk about whether the game would survive as playing numbers dropped. After the NZRFU in-fighting, people like JJ Stewart and Eric Watson started to be listened to.
The '76 B side tour to Sth America was a masterstroke, deepening the player pool and produced players like Stu Wilson, Mourie, Haden, Spiers, Taylor etc.
The '77 Lions tour was the turning point. They played some of the smartest rugby I've ever seen against a bloody good Lions side. The Lions have a huge scrum which is pushing us back? No problems, we'll do a 3-man scrum so the ball's out so quick it doesn't matter. Oh, and Watson threw out the old guard and installed a young bloke called Mourie as Captain.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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Ian Lavender. Last surviving Dad's Army actor.
Got the complete series as a present a few years back and it's still a joy to watch. Brilliant, funny and fresh.
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@Donsteppa said in RIP 2024:
"Don't tell him, Pike!"
Great piece of comedy. Was reading today that Philip Madoc, who played the U Boat captain, was camel-trekking in Mongolia when someone recognised him and shouted out "Don't tell him Pike!"
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‘Don’t tell him, Pike’: Ian Lavender and the story behind the funniest Dad’s Army episode ever made
The Deadly Attachment showcased the beloved sitcom at its ridiculous, class-obsessed best – and contained its greatest gag
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That 71 touring party ignited a change in NZ rugby.
I know this is commonly said but was it really that true? Fred Allen's 60s ABs and the 60s Bay Shield holders both played 15 man rugby.
NZ rugby seemed to regress for the mid 70s before blossoming with the 1978 Grandslam team - did we wait between 71 and the 80s before the change was ignited?
Edit: RIP Barry John.
A quick bit of research on the 71 and 77 Lions tours shows try scoring mostly by backs in 71 and forwards in 77. This may point to ABs playing more running rugby in the 71 series. I was eight years old at the time and vaguely recollect BG cutting it up although he may have been the standout in our backline compared to the Lions who were mostly better in positions 9-15
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That 71 touring party ignited a change in NZ rugby.
I know this is commonly said but was it really that true? Fred Allen's 60s ABs and the 60s Bay Shield holders both played 15 man rugby.
NZ rugby seemed to regress for the mid 70s before blossoming with the 1978 Grandslam team - did we wait between 71 and the 80s before the change was ignited?
Edit: RIP Barry John.
A quick bit of research on the 71 and 77 Lions tours shows try scoring mostly by backs in 71 and forwards in 77. This may point to ABs playing more running rugby in the 71 series. I was eight years old at the time and vaguely recollect BG cutting it up although he may have been the standout in our backline compared to the Lions who were mostly better in positions 9-15
I think this plays into my theory, that although the 71 Lions were admired for the way they played, they didn't really ignite a change, or if they did it was a very slow one.
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I thought they'd all died years ago, including Pike.
I was genuinely surprised they were all dead, and then I checked their wiki page to see if any of the non main cast actors but who were in multiple episodes were alive and most of that list was dead too - the first one who was still alive was Benedict Cumberbatch's old man.
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@Nepia Having lived through it I still contend they ignited a change. We hadn't really rated Northern Hemisphere rugby for a long time but all of a sudden they were schooling us.
No one (I think) had ever gone undefeated against every provincial opponent. Until that Lion's side. It was genuinely shocking. We kept on thinking they'll get there but no matter the opposition and / or game plan they were better than us.
We expected some razzle dazzle in the backs but to be monstered in the forwards was truly shocking.
It did lead to a change in how the game was played here. It didn't happen overnight as we didn't have the players or the coaches but it did happen.
Some of the other points raised: BG didn't live up to the reputation he'd gained in 1970 but rarely did.
The AB's of the 60's played great running rugby but the 71 Lions attacked from everywhere and had flair players everywhere We still had Fergie McCormick at FB even under Allen. That AB didn't revolutionise the game in the same way that the Lions did.
When Fergie was found to be too slow and too old we had to bring in Mains FFS - someone we were still using in 76. The Lions had JPR.
We would have actually won the series if a try had been worth 4 point. However in reality the Lions would have adjusted. they were simply better than us all over the field and that was unfathomable.
I agree pretty much with @Victor-Meldrew summation but I think we were very lucky to win in 77. It was the wettest and muddiest winter on record which was a real leveller and still we had the rub of the green We had improved significantly but I think the Lions were the better team. they weren't a happy side though. NZ had a lot of journeymen but prevailed. Mourie came in for the 3rd and 4thtests. Tane Norton captained the side.
We still had some more shit results to come in the 70's though.
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Marathon record holder Kiptum dies at age 24
Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a car crash in Kenya late Sunday. He was 24.
Bugger
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@Catogrande Didn't mind him to be honest. Chris Moyles on the other hand.
