David Ferguson: Lions great Davies like cat that got the cream

Published on Friday 12 December 2008 21:34

THE searing pace and silky deft sidestep might have gone, but the moustache provides a swift reminder of the Gerald Davies held in high esteem still by rugby supporters around the globe.

When the British and Irish Lions committee went in search of men to restore the battered lustre of the Lions ethos, after a demoralising 2005 tour to New Zealand that provoked arguments over the worth of the side in the modern game, Davies was a popular first starting point.

The Welshman's first taste of the Lions as a player was a very painful experience, in South Africa in 1968, but his second was sweet. A key member of John Dawes' triumphant Lions that defeated New Zealand, he played in all four Tests in 1971 and scored three tries. One of the world's great rugby wings, his playing pedigree alone commands respect, but it is also Davies' joie de vivre and humble, warm defence of the traditions of the Lions that have made him a good choice as tour manager.

He and head coach Ian McGeechan have quickly gelled and, in Edinburgh this week to meet the Scottish media, Davies admitted, six months on from their appointment, that he still felt fortunate and hugely honoured to have been asked to help lead the 2009 squad back to South Africa.

He has many ideas too on what kind of squad he and McGeechan need to assemble to overcome a Springbok side still smarting from the last time they faced the Lions: the McGeechan and Jim Telfer-inspired Test series victory in 1997.

Davies has visited South Africa with McGeechan twice this year, and he said: "The atmosphere out there is immense; the expectation is immense. The expectation is great in this country too because the Lions is the biggest brand in rugby football. It crosses borders. It won't be just people in the UK and Ireland watching, the world will be looking on the Lions playing in South Africa in 2009.

"We are quite clear about what needs to be done. We know what the opposition is going to be like and we know the environment we're going to enter into. It is a beautiful country, but a tough country and that will be reflected in the way they play.

"There were disappointments (for home nations teams] in the autumn internationals, but that should inspire us to do better next time, and whilst the teams may have failed there were individual players who made their mark, who struck us as being very good and talented players.

"There is a long way to go with matches in the Six Nations and afterwards right up until the moment we finally make our minds up on who the players should be, but we're really looking forward to that."

For Davies, from Llansaint, a small village overlooking Carmarthen Bay, interest in Lions rugby was sparked in Llanelli's Regal Cinema, at the age of ten.

"One of the great memories I have of growing up was the 1955 Lions tour to South Africa," he enthused.

"In those days there wasn't television coverage of a tour, but if you went to the cinema between the B feature, usually an hour-long film or something, and the A feature, the main film, there would be Pathe news and at the end of that, if you were lucky, there would be some sport.

"When the Lions were playing in 1955, in Wales we used to pack into the cinema to catch a glimpse of something from South Africa. And what I saw I thought was coming from another world.

"I was used to watching rugby in Llanelli on wet, dark nights; that was all I knew of rugby. And here was players I knew from watching at Stradey Park like Cliff Morgan, Bryn Meredith and Rhys Williams, as well as the great Tony O'Reilly, Cecil Pedlow and Jeff Butterfield all playing rugby in the sunshine, on pitches that were yellow, not muddy grey like ours, and with palm trees around them.

"It seemed exotic. I didn't know rugby could be played in places like that and I was captivated by it."

It was a good time to become acquainted with the Lions as the 1955 "Buccaneers", captained by Irishman Robin Thompson and featuring six Scots, played an entertaining brand of rugby with bold running back play and, in the first tour to South Africa in 17 years, drew the Test series 2-2.

Just 13 years later, he was part of it. An ankle injury and dislocated elbow ruined the 1968 Lions experience for Davies, and after the 1971 success he could have been part of the glorious unbeaten 1974 tour to South Africa, but chose not to go. It was a combination, he explained, of having changed jobs when the Lions call came and not wanting to let down his new employer, struggling to find a home for him and his wife in Cardiff, and a discomfort with apartheid.

That stemmed from his friendship with a Cape Coloured South African at Loughborough College, who he could not meet openly due to apartheid when he toured the Republic in 1967 with Wales and in 1968 with the Lions.

"I purposefully did not make a stand (against apartheid]," Davies insisted this week. "There were several reasons why I couldn't go in 1974, to do with family and employment, and that lingering doubt about apartheid.

"It was a fantastic tour, but there is no point in looking over your shoulder and regretting a decision. You start regretting things like that, it's where madness lies. That was a wonderful tour, the most successful Lions tour, but there are no regrets."

He added: "It is hugely appealing to be going back now, special to be going this time as manager, and a privilege to be part of a Lions team, the Lions concept, on tour.

"Those who have been on tour with the Lions cherish it and talk about it; those who have won enjoy it on every midnight stroke; those who haven't yet long to be chosen for a Lions team. We know that tens of thousands of people are expected to follow the Lions in 2009 – this means a lot to a lot of people and we want to get it right."