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John Hopkins: 1971, the Lions in New Zealand

May 1971: Dinner a trois with Gareth Edwards and Barry John before the Lions left for New Zealand. They gelled so well on the pitch because they gelled so well off it, two sparkly-eyed, talkative West Walians, one starting a sentence and the other finishing it.

Barry John: “If you asked me to tell little Willie how I play rugger, honestly, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

Gareth Edwards: “[The Lions tour will] be a straight fight between Barry and me and the New Zealand flankers. Either I shall be quick enough to get my pass out before the flankers catch me or I won’t. It’s as simple as that.”

John Hopkins, Rugby correspondent for The Times


Memory added on February 16, 2021

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