McLaren's dream Lions

rugby365.com columnist Keith Moore pays his tribute to the voice of rugby, Bill McLaren.

When I heard about Bill McLaren’s passing on the 19th of January, I pulled out an old book I had been given but had never gotten round to reading – Bill McLaren’s Dream Lions. It was a book published in 1998 detailing McLaren’s fondest memories of the British Isles’ favoured rugby sons. In it he picks his all-time greatest Lions XV. The book is predictably laden with information; little-known facts about the Lions shared by Scotland’s biggest rugby fan.

Though what struck me more than the wealth of information was the familiar vernacular that made the book unmistakably McLaren. Interspersed within the statistics were warm recollections of an era of rugby not seen by many of today’s fans – though typically of the Voice of Rugby, his descriptions of play are so colourfully apt that you feel like you watched the game yourself. Each page is full of the magic that kept McLaren watching the game, and as you read the book you get the sense that, were it not for restrictions, he could have gone on for pages more.

Here are the players that McLaren felt were the greatest ever to wear the Lions’ red jersey. Included with each selection is a passage from the book. As you read what he has written, you can’t help but imagine listening to him read the quotes out loud.

15. JPR Williams, Wales (71, 74)

“He had total grasp of the orthodox full back skills, being fearless and technically sound under mortar bomb attack, as well as a bruising tackler who put his body on the line without regard for personal safety. He was a brilliant exponent of attack intrusion as, for example, at Murrayfield in 1971, he appeared like some animated Genie to create the overlap for a Gerald Davies try that, along with John Taylor’s touch line conversion, gave Wales a one point win that proved to be a crucial step towards another Grand Slam. JPR has left an indelible imprint on the rugby union game as arguably the greatest full back ever.”

14. Gerald Davies, Wales (68, 71)

“Davies was a gifted entertainer and often the spark plug to deeds of derring-do by his colleagues in the Cardiff and London Welsh clubs and on the international scene. Certainly opposing wingers of his day would rate him the player they would least enjoy marking, because not only did he possess exceptional acceleratory pace, adhesive hands and an astute tactical sense, but also such gifts of running deception in jink, swerve and change of pace that likened him to an animated prairie dog.”

13. Mike Gibson, Ireland (66, 68, 71, 74, 77)

“Having been selected again as stand-off for the Lions’ tour to New Zealand in 1971, Gibson adjusted brilliantly to the role of centre in the Tests and formed with Barry John and John Dawes a marvellously creative midfield triangle that set problem after problem for the New Zealand defenders whilst bringing the best out of the inimitable JPR Williams, John Bevan, Gerald Davies and David Duckham. With Gareth Edwards as scrum half, that was a back division possessing all the arts and crafts, with Gibson supplying the flair, wonderful skills, clever defence lines of running and instinctive creativity for turning a half chance into a clean incision. He was the complete all-round footballer, possessed of all the skills and of a sharp rugby brain and, whilst of slim build, he nonetheless was as tough as teak and never held back in a tackle.”

12. Jeremy Guscott, England (89, 93, 97)

“Few players have entered the international realm with greater impact than Jeremy Clayton Guscott who, as a 23-year old Bath centre, strode home for three tries on his cap debut against Romania in Bucharest on 13 May 1989. He did so with that elegant, smooth acceleration, superb judgement of angle and distance, and subtle body balance in swerve and pace change, that were to decorate his career as one of the most gifted centres ever to play for England.”

11. David Duckham, England (71)

“Tall, blond, long-striding and adventurous, the archetypal Englishman became a firm favourite with his exciting runs during the 70s. Whenever Duckham had the ball in his hand there was an air of expectancy among the spectators because he enjoyed tilting his lance and was a thrilling sight when he stepped on the gas. Duckham allied his physical presence as a big man with genuine pace to the subtle arts of deception and superb balance at speed. He was a prolific try scorer.”

10. Barry John, Wales (68, 71)

“He flitted like some phantom through the cluttered confines of the opposing defences, like some waif possessed of hypnotic powers and skill – that surely is an apt description of the subtle modes of deception and wizardry that made Barry John such an extraordinary talent, not to mention his mastery of flight and distance in the placement of his punts. Like all the truly great participants, he always seemed able to manufacture time and space for himself. He also possessed superb control of sidestep, dummy and change of pace, all of which proved mystifying to his opponents who tended to be taken in by his slim build.”

9. Gareth Edwards, Wales (68, 71, 74)

“It was a clear indication not only of Gareth Owen Edwards’s durability but of his exceptional consistency in top form that he played in 53 cap internationals in a row for Wales, never once was dropped and only once was replaced because of injury. He was immensely strong, especially in the upper body, possessing the barrel-chest of a shot putter as well as powerful legs, arms and wrists. Not initially a particularly shrewd tactician, he developed a feel for what was required. From short range, ball in hand, he was unstoppable.”

8. Mervyn Davies, Wales (71, 74)

“When he first burst upon the international scene he was virtually unknown and given little chance of an international career because he was a long, skinny lad who appeared in need of a good meal! But the doubters were wrong, for Thomas Mervyn Davies, later known to the Welsh following as ‘Merv the Swerve’ developed into one of the most gifted number eight forwards. Davies had a gangling look about him but he was athletic with it, a very well-equipped footballer with adhesive hands, a thumping tackle, splendid timing and technique as a number six line-out ball winner, and with a long, loping stride that made him awkward to torpedo.”

7. Fergus Slattery, Ireland (71, 74)

“His pace about the paddock and to the break down, his ferocious tackling and his fitness, hardness and ball winning capability made him highly respected and feared. Sundry stand-off halves have had their confidence and rhythm ruined by that hunting-dog-type hounding of a Slattery who saw it as a main part of his function to disrupt opposing moves by placing instant pressure upon their ball carrier, be he back or forward.”

6. Mike Teague, England (89, 93)

“AS a self-employed builder he was naturally strong and he allied this physical hardness to typical West Country commitment and aggression and wholehearted application, not least to the less glamorous chores. He had sound technique and determination as well as a strong, low body position in the drive as time and again committing opponents over the gain line and so providing more fertile conditions for his backs to prosper.”

5. Gordon Brown, Scotland (71, 74, 77)

“Brown had the build of a bison, revelled in scrummaging and was an artful specialist in all the line-out roles and ruses, developing during the 1974 tour the same resolve to meet fire with fire as demonstrated by his captain and boilerhouse partner, Willie John McBride. He was second in Scotland’s list of most capped locks with 30 to Alastair McHarg’s 32. Although they made an unlikely pairing, Brown the workhorse, McHarg in his amalgam of tight and very loose play, they yet formed Scotland’s stokeroom on a record 22 occasions and so contributed to what many regarded as the strongest-ever Scottish packs during a period in the seventies when Scotland, under the guidance of the inimitable Bill Dickinson of Jordanhill College, enjoyed one of their most successful spells.”

4. Willie John McBride (c), Ireland (62, 66, 68, 71, 74)

“Arguably the British Lion commanding most respect from friend and foe alike all over the world has been Willie John McBride, the legendary Irishman, spawned by the Ballymena club. It was mostly attributable to the McBride approach that his famous New Zealand adversary, Colin Meads, once made the rueful comment that ‘those Lions no longer believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden’ and that the 1974 Lions in South Africa simply refused to be intimidated. The vast majority of his contemporaries as players would happily concede that the one colleague they would want to have alongside them when shrapnel was flying would be Willie John.”

3. Gareth Price, Wales (77, 70, 83)

“As an engineer he was naturally strong and so developed his scrummage prowess and his ball sense as to become a rounded forward of much skill, although the scrummage grinding process to which he subjected his opposite numbers was a Price hallmark. A quiet, modest personality, Price refused to be provoked into indiscipline even when his jaw was broken in the Wales versus Australia international in 1988 or when his eye was damaged in a French match. The Welshman simply let his quality as a hard-grafting prop do the talking for him and thus became the most respected tight-head in the world game.”

2. Peter Wheeler, England (77, 80)

“Over the years England has produced a line of tough bulldog type hookers who have made a huge impact on the game at all levels – among them Bert Toft, Eric Evans, Sam Hodgson, John Pullin and Brian Moore. Undoubtedly one who would be rated by many as the most successful of all has been that devoted Tiger from Welford Road, Peter John Wheeler, who lies 12th in the list of most capped Englishmen with 41. Wheeler was a tough, talented technician, disinclined to take a backward step even in the physically demanding environs of the front row and even against the hardest of rivals. His basics were secure and he revelled in the unglamorous chores whilst asserting himself to advantage in broken play exchanges.”

1. Fran Cotton, England (74, 77, 80)

“Some reckoned that at six feet two inches and with the build of a water buffalo, Francis Edward Cotton was just too big for the front row and especially for the loose-head berth. But the big man from Wigan proved them all wrong by developing into a mighty scrummager on both loose- and tight-head, and that at the very highest level of play, with the British Lions. There was, of course, much more to Cotton than that. That he was no slouch when he stepped on the accelerator and was also possessed of high grade handling skills was underlined at the first World Sevens tournament held as part of the SRU Centenary season on 7 April 1973. Cotton captained the England Seven who carried all before them in beating Ireland in the final by 22-18.”

Reading the book took me back to listening to McLaren’s rich Scottish drawl as he described a match unfolding. Rugby was lucky to have had him for as long as we did. As a schoolmaster, his Saturday afternoon commentary came off the back of a working week in his beloved Hawick. We appreciate the trips he made to commentate in all the matches throughout his career. We appreciate it even more because we know how much he hated leaving home – in his own words, “A day spent away from Hawick is a day wasted.”