The story of the 1974 British & Irish Lions team who conquered the Springboks in South Africa during one of the most aggressive and controversial tours which took place at the height of the Apartheid era
In 1974, at the height of Apartheid and in the face of much political pressure to stay at home, the British and Irish Lions accepted an invitation to tour South Africa. The country had been banned from the Olympic Games and almost all international sporting competitions. The last time the South African Springboks had toured Ireland in 1969, protests broke out in Dublin outside Lansdowne Road.
Nevertheless, after all the controversy and political game-playing, the Lions arrived in South Africa ready to play some of the most competitive and aggressive rugby ever against a rugby-mad country that had never lost a test series on home soil.
In often violent and contentious circumstances McBride’s Invincibles, as they came to be known, won match after match, decimating the formerly unbeatable Springboks before a controversial draw in the final match, thus ensuring that the Lions remained undefeated in South Africa.
The team returned to Britain and Ireland as heroes, all previous condemnation somehow forgotten, and many of the Lions admit to not giving the politics of the situation much thought; they were rugby players simply there to play their game and nothing else.
While some maintain the tour helped legitimise an evil regime, others believe the defeat of their beloved Springboks by the touring side dealt a severe blow to South African national pride. Makhenkesi Stofile, who then watched from the crowd as a young black man and is now South African Minister of Sport, believes that black men came to the games hoping to see the Springboks lose, and when they did there was “great jubilation” in his township and throughout the country.
This programme takes us back to that divisive period and features interviews with key players on both sides. It includes archive material of the matches, personal photographs and film actually shot by the players themselves which has never been seen by the public before (much of it filmed by John Moloney, a Dubliner). Also revealed are the behind-the-scenes stories of camaraderie and raucous parties including tales of charismatic leader Willie-John McBride carrying Phil Bennett around after he played while injured, and Fergus Slattery’s illegal trip into the black neighbourhoods of Soweto and District 6.
27 JULY 1974.
SOUTH AFRICA, BRITISH & IRISH LIONS (Ellis Park)
South Africa: Tonie Roux; Chris Pope, Peter Cronje(T), Jan Schlebusch, Gert Muller; Jackie Snyman(3P), Paul Bayvel; Niek Bezuidenhout, Piston van Wyk, Hannes Marais (capt); Moaner van Heerden, John Williams; Klippies Kritzinger, Jan Ellis, Kleintjie Grobler.
Bench: Rampie Stander, Malcolm Swanby, Gavin Cowley, Gert Schutte, Andre Bestbier, Kevin de Klerk
Replacements used: Stander for Bezuidenhout 57.
British & Irish Lions: JPR Williams; Andy Irvine(T/P), Ian McGeechan, Dick Milliken, John Williams; Phil Bennett(C), Gareth Edwards; Ian McLauchlan, Bobby Windsor, Fran Cotton; Willie-John McBride (capt), Christopher Ralston; Roger Uttley(T), Fergus Slattery, Mervyn Davies.
Bench: Mike Gibson, Tom Grace, John Moloney, Ken Kennedy, Sandy Carmichael, Tony Neary.
Scoring sequence: 5′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 3-0, 10′ Uttley R.M. (T) 3-4, Bennett P. (C) 3-6, 25′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 6-6, 35′ Irvine A.R. (T) 6-10, 60′ Cronje P.A. (T) 10-10, 70′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 13-10, 76′ Irvine A.R. (P) 13-13.
Referee: Max Baise (South Africa).
Attendance: 75000.
