0:00:02 > 0:00:05Every three years, they used to come for the very best,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08the rugby opportunity of a lifetime.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15All sportsmen wanted to go and play against the best in the world.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19You've got to take the one chance. You'll never forgive yourself.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21It was our Olympics.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24But the land of opportunity was South Africa,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27the most violently racist country on earth.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30I don't know if it was my naivety.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I didn't know about Nelson Mandela.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Didn't know much about apartheid.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Did we really know the truth? Were we fully aware of what was going on?
0:00:40 > 0:00:45They were effectively collaborating with the worst racial tyranny that the world has ever seen
0:00:45 > 0:00:47and infected rugby.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51This was the tour that was more than a tour.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55They would be heroes, but not at first.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Cast as villains, the Lions fought on for themselves
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and for others.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03We were sick and tired of being beaten up.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07There was a euphoric feeling of almost them going into battle for you.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It was more than a result, it was a statement.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13They played hard, they partied even more ferociously.
0:01:13 > 0:01:20This is the story of the extraordinary tour of '74 when the Lions roared.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24What they succeeded in doing was destroying the mud
0:01:24 > 0:01:28of the infallibility of the Springboks
0:01:28 > 0:01:33and the infallibility of white supremacy.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42South Africa in the 1970s,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46where racial segregation was enshrined in law.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Apartheid - separate development,
0:01:48 > 0:01:53or in other words, the preservation of white minority rule by any means.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The outside world had long protested against apartheid.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Sports teams were urged to stay away, including the Lions.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Still amateur then, but the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I lived about a mile from where I was born
0:02:12 > 0:02:15in the main street in Felinfoel,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17a small village about two miles outside Llanelli.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Your family obviously came first
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and to be quite honest, rugby was a big second.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I was involved predominantly in sales and marketing.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28We were relatively young people.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31You trained on Mondays and Thursdays
0:02:31 > 0:02:33predominantly with your club
0:02:33 > 0:02:37and then for good measure, you trained with Wales, your national side, on the weekend.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41I think I'd had six caps and I was just getting onto the stage, really,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45but I'd also become head of a PE department
0:02:45 > 0:02:46in a state comprehensive.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51In the Lions squad of 30, there were 8 Welsh players.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54As usual, at the cutting edge of innovation.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58I remember training in the school fields in a wetsuit.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03It was the month of April, it was pretty cool,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and I was just trying to experience the hot weather training.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10It was a goal we all set - although we kept at the back of our minds -
0:03:10 > 0:03:13that we could be on one of the most famous trips of all time.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15It was going to be an experience of a lifetime.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17There was no World Cup in those days.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21To go on the Lions tour was the be all and end all for a Welsh rugby player.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29The way to combat racialism is to persuade people that it's wrong.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Leading the protest against apartheid, and now the Lions,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38was a South African student who had fled his homeland,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Peter Hain.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43The frustrating thing about it
0:03:43 > 0:03:45was that we'd been able to stop tours coming to Britain
0:03:45 > 0:03:52because our direct action tactics of interrupting rugby matches were working.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55But what we couldn't do is effectively use the same tactics
0:03:55 > 0:03:57to stop a team going.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02I was receiving letters from MPs saying, "You mustn't go on this trip."
0:04:02 > 0:04:05They were stating their reasons, you'd read through,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and the word apartheid came in all the time.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12My advice to them would be that it's rather unwise for them to go.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14I don't think it was easy.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18I don't want people to think that we were selfish in so much
0:04:18 > 0:04:21that we never thought about anything else. We gave it a great deal of thought.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23We talked it round as a family
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and I said, "What do you think?"
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And I talked it round with close friends who'd been on trips
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and they said, "You've got to take the chance. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't go."
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I didn't know anything about it, I wanted to experience it,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I wanted to become a British Lion
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and that's all I was focusing in on and nothing else.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47In South Africa, to begin with, things were very clear.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49In simple black and white.
0:04:49 > 0:04:5380% of the population were against the tour.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56We found it unconscionable
0:04:56 > 0:04:58to think that a British Lion team
0:04:58 > 0:05:01would come to South Africa
0:05:01 > 0:05:04while South Africa was on the brink
0:05:04 > 0:05:08of extreme violence.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11I didn't really look forward to the British Lions
0:05:11 > 0:05:13actually coming here because we believed,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16as did a lot of South Africans,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20that rugby as a sport was the bastion of the oppressor,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22the bastion of the apartheid regime.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25So many of our people had died in the struggle
0:05:25 > 0:05:29that it was indeed insensitive
0:05:29 > 0:05:33to play upon the graves of people who had died.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Some players had opted not to go on the tour of 1974.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I had been on the '68 Lions tour
0:05:43 > 0:05:48and I kidded myself that we weren't supporting apartheid.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I took on board all the sort of, "We were building bridges."
0:05:51 > 0:05:53It was nonsense.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57As soon as I got there, I realised it was a mistake.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00You'd see black people being kicked around, knocked around.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04You saw the fact of white buses and black buses.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07You saw people not allowed to walk on the pavements, even.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It was a very weird society.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13For the Welsh players who were going on tour,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15the long journey was about to begin.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Destination - South Africa, starting point - closer to home.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23We met at Bridgend railway station, everyone looking at us.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25We were all packed up with our bags.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And then get on the train up to London.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32That's what Gareth said to me, he said, "This is the place where you can shine.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35"You're going to a country where there are superb rugby connections.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39"If you're gonna play rugby anywhere, it's gonna be South Africa."
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Phil Bennett headed for London by car,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46stopping on the way to pick up steelworker and Pontypool hooker Bobby Windsor.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48I picked Bobby up
0:06:48 > 0:06:50and he was a real character.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53He couldn't wait to get to London, get stuck into training,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and to try his new kit on.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I remember as we were driving into a certain part of London,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01we were met by, it seemed, thousands of demonstrators with placards.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05They weren't saying very nice things on these placards.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08They were throwing things at the car and everything.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It was pandemonium there, really.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15We were virtually under house arrest in London because of the demonstrators.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18We were confined to our hotel for two or three days.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20We had a few functions to go to, but not too much,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22because of the political issues.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27Outside the hotel, Peter Hain waited to hand over a petition
0:07:27 > 0:07:29to Lions captain Willie John McBride.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33It was like talking to somebody who was deaf.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37It was as if our conversation never met.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I just said to him, "Well, you know, I...
0:07:41 > 0:07:45"..understand that you disagree with us,
0:07:45 > 0:07:46"but we differ on that.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50"I will take this petition and I will talk to the players. That's the best I can do."
0:07:50 > 0:07:52He just said he was going to play rugby.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54We were saying, I was saying,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56"The consequences of you doing that
0:07:56 > 0:08:00"will keep Nelson Mandela in prison for longer,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04"will keep apartheid oppression for longer
0:08:04 > 0:08:08"and will maintain racist rugby in South Africa for longer.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10"This is unacceptable."
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Under siege in their hotel, it was final decision time.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Willie John had asked us, "Do you want to come on this tour?
0:08:19 > 0:08:21"If you don't, I'll think no less of you.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23"There's the door. On your way."
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I respect anybody's view, but I said,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30"If anyone in the room feels that they have made the wrong decision,
0:08:30 > 0:08:31"the door is open."
0:08:31 > 0:08:34It did prick at my conscience at the time.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Were we doing the right thing? Did we really know the truth?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Were we fully aware of what was going on?
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- 'Racist rugby...- We can't bury our heads in the sand, I feel.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49'The way to combat racialism is to persuade people that it's wrong.'
0:08:49 > 0:08:54It was amazing because you'd have heard a pin drop in that room.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57"There's no turning back. You can't say in two weeks,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01"'I'm off home.' We've got to be 100% committed to the cause.'"
0:09:01 > 0:09:04I knew from that moment on we had 30 men
0:09:04 > 0:09:08that were going out there and we were going to be together.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12May 7th, 1974.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15The Lions landed in Johannesburg.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Disowned by Harold Wilson's government,
0:09:18 > 0:09:20snubbed by the embassy,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22underrated by their rugby opponents,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25the Lions were on their own.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Ahead of them lay three-and-a-half months of rugby.
0:09:28 > 0:09:3422 matches. That's more than double the number the Lions of 2009 will play.
0:09:36 > 0:09:3918 games for provincial players to soften up the Lions.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Four test matches in Cape Town,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, and Johannesburg
0:09:46 > 0:09:49for the South African Springboks to destroy them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57No Lions team had won a test series in South Africa
0:09:57 > 0:09:59for 78 years.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04In all those years, they had been coming here on tour and losing.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Beaten and beaten up.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12To take on South Africa now, a new battle plan was drawn up.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The 99. It involved the forwards naturally,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18but was also embraced by a young doctor at full back.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20If the 99 was called,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22you'd hit the nearest one to you,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27the premise behind this being that not everyone could get sent off.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30The whole attitude was if there's trouble,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32everyone pile in.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33No-one steps back.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I wasn't going to pile in. Me and Phil Bennett and Andy Irvine,
0:10:37 > 0:10:3912 stone little weaklings,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42we're not going to step in, but it was the forwards and JPR.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47The 99, not as frequently used as legend would have it,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49but used.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Between the outbursts of fighting, there was good rugby,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54lots of it. Excellent rugby.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56The Lions won their first six games.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01'Billy Steele coming inside!'
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Huge crowds came to sit and watch the games.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Huge white crowds.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08But black supporters came, too,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11to be segregated and put in cages.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14To be confined to a particular little area
0:11:14 > 0:11:18that was reserved for non-Europeans exclusively
0:11:18 > 0:11:20was an absolute insult.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24When the Lions played Western Province,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27an impressionable 15-year-old was among the black fans.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32It was just great to be close to the players,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34the players that you admired then,
0:11:34 > 0:11:39but there was a fence between you and the players.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41You couldn't go there to touch them,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45and that was the main idea - to touch them and get some inspiration from them.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49The 1st Test was approaching. The Lions were still unbeaten.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Next, a game against a team called the Proteas.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Now they were dipping their toes in gesture politics.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05'A great moment of history in the game of rugby football.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09'The first meeting between the British Lions and a non-white team.'
0:12:09 > 0:12:14What was everybody saying? It's a token game, etc.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17We were talking to the black players we played against
0:12:17 > 0:12:19after the game having a beer.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23That was the most important thing of their life.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25'Roy Bergiers... Bergiers.'
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Sure enough the Lions won the game easily,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32but was this such a token fixture, a hollow victory?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Not for the captain of the Proteas.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38It was important for me to show the quality of my people
0:12:38 > 0:12:40because, you must remember,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43some of the groupings of the then governing group
0:12:43 > 0:12:48told the world that non-whites and blacks don't play rugby, which was nonsense.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51It was another chip away from the old apartheid block.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Playing against white people, so to say,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58we were showing the local white people who didn't want that
0:12:58 > 0:13:00that this is the way the world is
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and you must adapt or you will die.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08After the game and during the course of their visit here in Cape Town,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10I spoke to Willie John and Fergus and I said to them,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13"Guys, what are you going to do to the Springboks?"
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Willie said, "We're gonna destroy them."
0:13:16 > 0:13:19I was happy about that because it was important for us that they be beaten.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Saturday, June 1st.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25The 1st Test at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30The Lions, unbeaten, against the Springboks, hungry.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33We were starved of international rugby
0:13:33 > 0:13:35so any opportunity for us
0:13:35 > 0:13:40to test our strength
0:13:40 > 0:13:42against a world-class opposition
0:13:42 > 0:13:45obviously would be met with enthusiasm.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Going out at Newlands was the biggest sound I've ever heard.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04You had so little support. You felt that the whole nation was against you.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10They'd had a downpour for a week in Cape Town beforehand.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15I thought, "This could be anywhere in Wales in the middle of our season."
0:14:16 > 0:14:20A massive Springbok pack would surely revel in the conditions.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Instead, South Africa were ill-disciplined.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The penalty points mounted for the Lions
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and there was an even more telling point about to be made.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35There was one scrum in particular
0:14:35 > 0:14:39where we were somewhere between our 22 and 10 metre in our own half
0:14:39 > 0:14:41and the boys went low into a drive position
0:14:41 > 0:14:46and they drove the Springboks back half a yard, a yard,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47three yards.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53And I could sense the pack getting up and saying, "We've got this!"
0:14:53 > 0:14:58It was the first time in Springbok rugby history
0:14:58 > 0:15:03where we were confronted by perhaps a physically... more powerful physical pack.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And that was an eye-opener for us.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10COMMENTATOR: 'Edwards looks for the long drop at goal.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'He struck it beautifully, and it sails through!
0:15:13 > 0:15:15'The Lions leap in the air!
0:15:15 > 0:15:18'Their joy unbounded, and rightly so.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23'Phil Bennett...tired but delighted.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Oh, what a feeling! They were not used to losing in their own back yard.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34First blood to the Lions, first ring of the alarm bell.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39We were under the illusion, perhaps, that we had stayed up with the rest of the world.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44Um, we had been out of international rugby, the Test arena, for a few years,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and it really showed.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51The Lions celebrated. If their rugby was impressive,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53their partying was legendary.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Yes, there were some wild parties, wild nights,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01and it was vitally important. There was three-and-a-half months away from family and friends.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06On they went, every game a cause for further celebration.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09'Bennett switches to Milliken, Milliken still going.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13'Milliken to JPR Williams. This time it's a try!
0:16:13 > 0:16:16'Milliken is going over...
0:16:16 > 0:16:18'And he's scored!'
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Not only were we a very good side, we were mentally and physically very strong.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25They had no answer to it.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29'Tony Neary going for the corner! A dramatic last-second try!'
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Everybody was treated the same. There was 30 players
0:16:33 > 0:16:35who respected each other, who would die for each other.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40The Lions win three more matches, to make it 11 out of 11,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44going into the 2nd Test, at altitude, in Pretoria.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Loftus Versfeld, the Afrikaners' heartland,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51where something had shifted. The Lions were no longer on their own.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Black rugby followers, who had wanted the tourists to stay away,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56were now cheering them on.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02When a pattern started emerging, that this particular group of tourists
0:17:02 > 0:17:04would be invincible,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06that excited us.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09We knew the reason that they were not supporting us
0:17:09 > 0:17:14because we were part of a system that...was against them.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21'Edwards...
0:17:21 > 0:17:23'rolling for JJ Williams...
0:17:23 > 0:17:28'Williams kicks it on! This could be a try! Williams has scored!'
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Any defeat inflicted upon white South Africa
0:17:31 > 0:17:34was a source of joy and delight to non-whites.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42'JJ Williams, where has he come from? Williams...a yard to go!
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'And he's scored!
0:17:49 > 0:17:52'Slattery...to Phil Bennett.'
0:17:52 > 0:17:56The ball comes to me, with about 50 or 60 metres to go.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- 'Look at that acceleration!' - I'm coming up to the full back
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- on the outside.- I think his stud caught Phil's instep.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I feel this incredible pain in my ankle.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08'What a solo effort! Phil Bennett!'
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Two men came across cos they'd seen me go down,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and one of them was Willie John McBride.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19He said, "Phil, are you OK?" "No, not really." He said, "I need you."
0:18:19 > 0:18:21I don't care how painful it is, you can't go off.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26He looked down, and blood was pumping everywhere. He says, "Bejesus, it's only a scratch."
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Phil Bennett stayed on, cut and battered,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34but more than playing his part in the Lions' victory -
0:18:34 > 0:18:38more than a victory. 28-9. They had crushed the Springboks.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42The results and the importance of beating the Springboks
0:18:42 > 0:18:47was making world headlines. And you couldn't help but talk about the rugby
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and the implications of it all.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52For them to lose at rugby
0:18:52 > 0:18:56was almost identical to them losing part of their culture
0:18:56 > 0:19:02or part of their superior status or part of their very essence.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07The Lions were off for some culture of their own -
0:19:07 > 0:19:10five days in Kruger Park game reserve.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Five days of rest and recuperation -
0:19:13 > 0:19:15something like that.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19We were 2-0 up in the series, we'd gone to Kruger Park - come on, give us a break!
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Willie John put Phil on his back, and started running through the bush.
0:19:27 > 0:19:33The rangers thought we were mad. They said, "We often have leopards and lions coming to the camp."
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Something rolled from the perimeter of the fence of Kruger Park.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41There were trees everywhere. And - bang! - I hit my head on a branch.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44The tree took Phil's head off, virtually.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47I'm shouting, blood pouring here, my leg gone.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Willie John gave me a hand, and he shouted back, "It's every man for himself!"
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Out of the park and back to the pitch, where it was business as usual.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58'Edwards going for the corner.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01'It must be the try.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04'And this, a real outburst.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06'What unpleasant scenes.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11'Edwards...to JJ Williams. Five yards short for Tony Neary.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14'He must be there!'
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Boet Erasmus stadium, Port Elizabeth,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22the Lions one victory away from glory.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26We'd come through these games after the 2nd Test,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30and now...got to cap it off, 3rd Test, Port Elizabeth.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38I think all of us knew the 3rd Test was the most important game, perhaps, of our lives.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42We knew we were on the verge of something very special.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47Can you be the first side in history to win a Test Series in South Africa?
0:20:47 > 0:20:513-0 up. You're in history. You're in the history books.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56All the threads of this tour were about to join together.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59This was to be rugby on the REALLY dark side.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05I knew from the start we would take no prisoners.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The word went out that we would not...step back at all.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15It was important for us that they be beaten
0:21:15 > 0:21:18because they didn't represent South Africa, they represented a minority group.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21All of us were huddled around a radio.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34It was perhaps the first ever British Lions side in history that had gone out there
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and said, "We won't be intimidated."
0:21:36 > 0:21:40They represented not just the United Kingdom, possibly,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43but they represented, to me as a youngster,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46something greater than that. They came here and said,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51"You might want to be oppressors, but you won't oppress us on the rugby field."
0:21:51 > 0:21:54That meant the old cry - 99.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57'15 yards out from the Lions' line.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00'Going hell for the leather for the line.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02'Only three yards short.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04'The fists break out.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09'And, really, this is a giant free-for-all,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11'fitting more for the boxing ring.'
0:22:11 > 0:22:15JPR running in, in he goes with his headband on!
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I remember, as I was going...
0:22:23 > 0:22:27towards the forwards, there was Phil Bennett and Andy Irvine running the other way!
0:22:27 > 0:22:31There was a euphoric feeling of almost...
0:22:31 > 0:22:36them going into battle for you, that's how it felt. The look of absolute glee
0:22:36 > 0:22:38on the faces of my friends around me,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41um, was really special.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44When the first punch was thrown, all of a sudden South Africa knew
0:22:44 > 0:22:47it wasn't going to be one against one or two against two,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51that they'd have eight forwards fighting, JPR came in to fight,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54and we would stand up and be respected.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57That 99 call, I know resonated with me particularly,
0:22:57 > 0:23:02because I truly believe the way to stand up to people who bully you
0:23:02 > 0:23:04is to band together.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13'And again...these unpleasant scenes breaking out.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16'Both sides piling in.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21'And some of the most appalling scenes one could ever have witnessed
0:23:21 > 0:23:23'in a rugby Test match.'
0:23:27 > 0:23:30The silence of the crowd was deafening.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35They were really showing that Samson had had his hair cut - he's not that strong any more.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40I think that, to us, was indicative of..."Hold on, it can change."
0:23:42 > 0:23:45'McGeechan to Milliken, out to JJ Williams.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47'Williams showing a good turn of speed.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51'Flicks it back to JPR. Five yards short, to JJ Williams again!
0:23:51 > 0:23:54'He's going to score! JJ Williams!
0:23:54 > 0:23:57'The Lions leap in the air!
0:23:57 > 0:23:59'A magnificent try!
0:23:59 > 0:24:01'JPR Williams...
0:24:01 > 0:24:04'running out of defence.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07'To Milliken, and he's got JJ Williams.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10'JJ Williams chipping through. Runs past Chris Pope.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12'It's a race for the line!
0:24:12 > 0:24:14'He's got it!
0:24:14 > 0:24:17'JJ Williams has done it again!'
0:24:19 > 0:24:21What will live with me forever,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24in that 3rd Test, JJ scored in two tries.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28And I'm looking at JJ scoring two tries, and I'm looking at the blacks.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31The whole stand, in that corner, behind the posts,
0:24:31 > 0:24:36caged in, and they're doing somersaults and they're dancing and chanting,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and they're going absolutely mad.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43And whether it was right or wrong, we - a few of us and Willie John -
0:24:43 > 0:24:45went over and just went...to them.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Maybe they believed, "Let's go there and give them a smack.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52"Let's give them a taste of their own medicine."
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Whether that was true, I don't know, but that's how it felt.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Young, impressionable 16-year-old boy, that's exactly how it felt.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02The series was won 3-0,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08a simple statistic, but something more complex was stirring across South Africa.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12The impact of sport, and particularly rugby, in this instance,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15on people in this country, is profound.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17And for that team to take a drubbing,
0:25:17 > 0:25:23um, reasons are sought, and the selectors are blamed
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and the players were blamed, and whatever,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30but I think we all came to a pretty quick conclusion,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33that part of the reason was this isolation,
0:25:33 > 0:25:39that we'd fallen behind. And then the reasons of isolation must be addressed, surely.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46The Lions shook off the effects of the party to end all parties
0:25:46 > 0:25:48and carried on winning,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53all the way to the final Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57This would end in a controversial draw, 13-13.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00'To McGeechan, to Milliken, JPR Williams in the line.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03'Williams still going! Cutting his way through!
0:26:03 > 0:26:06'Five years short, to Slattery. Good score!
0:26:06 > 0:26:08'Slattery must be there!
0:26:08 > 0:26:11'They await the decision of the referee.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13'Slattery surely was over.'
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The Lions were unbeaten, a great rugby tour was over.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18But was that all?
0:26:18 > 0:26:23The tour originally was a setback
0:26:23 > 0:26:26for the oppressed people of South Africa.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28The outcome of the tour
0:26:28 > 0:26:33had unintended consequences and benefits for the people of South Africa.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It had a galvanising effect, I think,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39on what was initially a negative
0:26:39 > 0:26:42to them coming here because we wanted them to be isolationist.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47But having left, I think there was a huge amount of respect for the fact they had come here.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52A lot of those players inspired a lot of people and a lot of children
0:26:52 > 0:26:56and a lot of rugby players to emulate them in the game of rugby.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00One would become the first black coach of the national team.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03They inspired us.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08I decided to come to Wales because I adored the style they were playing rugby.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I drew some energy from what they did.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Another would have a son, one of the stars of the world game,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Brian Habana.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20They still are heroes to me, absolute heroes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24I probably feel like a lot of people feel about Brian now, I feel towards them.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28And that affinity comes from the 1974 tour.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Apartheid would not end for another 20 years.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36South Africa was only two years away from the Soweto uprising.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39The tide was turning
0:27:39 > 0:27:43and from whichever angle the tour of '74 was viewed,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46these rugby players had played a part.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53I don't think the Springboks' humiliation at the hands of the British Lions was beneficial
0:27:53 > 0:27:55cos the Lions shouldn't have been there. Except to say this:
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Why were the Springboks so weak?
0:27:57 > 0:28:01It's not just that that British Lions squad was so strong.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04The Springboks were weak because we'd stopped them touring.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The Lions weren't so snubbed now.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12There's always a little political capital in a success story for the Minister of Sport.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18It is a superb achievement these fellas have achieved.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I therefore thought it right,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23whatever my views on apartheid and how to deal with it,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27that I should acknowledge the superb sporting achievements of the British Lions.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31For the players, it had been an extraordinary experience.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I genuinely think the Lions made a difference
0:28:34 > 0:28:40because I think what South Africa saw, they weren't the superhuman race they thought they were.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Would I have still gone?
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Yes, I think I would have, is the truth. I had to go to experience it.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53Do I have any regrets? Not necessarily that I went.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56My belief is that in going,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58and with the outcome of that tour,
0:28:58 > 0:28:59I'd like to think
0:28:59 > 0:29:02that it might have made a...
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Even if it was a minute contribution
0:29:05 > 0:29:07to the breaking down of apartheid.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10# Guess I'll keep on ramblin'
0:29:10 > 0:29:12# I'm gonna
0:29:12 > 0:29:15# Sing my song
0:29:15 > 0:29:17# I've gotta find my baby
0:29:18 > 0:29:20# I'm gonna ramble on Sing my song... #
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