The Transvaal side that beat the British & Irish Lions 41 years ago hosted a special reunion on the eve of today’s clash between the 2009 tourists and the Golden Lions.
The Golden Lions is the latest name of the Transvaal province and they will be hoping to notch a first victory over the tourists since that game on 18 June, 1968.
And one of the special guests at that gathering at the old Ellis Park, now Coca Cola Park, was one of the Lions’ starting XV that day, Gerald Davies.
The current tour manager of the 2009 tourists, Gerald was on his first Lions tour and joined Ireland’s Barry Bresnihan in the centre.
The Lions led 6-3 at half-time, but failed to score in a second half which saw the home side notch 11 points for victory.
Although he couldn’t recall much about the game, Gerald admitted it was a great thrill to play at Ellis Park, a venue he had first become aware of when the 1955 Lions won the first Test against Springboks there by a single point.
It was that amazing series, drawn 2-2, that inspired Gerald to want to become a Lion. He toured South Africa in 1968 and then Australia and New Zealand in 1971.
For the record, here are the teams from that day in 1968.
Transvaal 14, British Lions 6
HT: 3-6
Transvaal: P Steyn, T du Toit, J van der Schyff, S Nomis, O Nortje, J Barnard, D de Vos, P Bosman, R Barnard, B Strydom, T Dannhauser [capt], S de Klerk, J Claassen, C Maartens, H Nel
Scorers: Try – R Barnard; Conversion – T du Toit; Penalty – P Steyn, T du Toit, T Dannhauser
British & Irish Lions: T Kiernan [capt]; K Savage, B Bresnihan, TGR Davies, Keri Jones; M Gibson, R Young; T Horton, J Pullin, S Millar, D Thomas, P Larter, B Taylor, M Doyle, J Telfer
Scorers: Try – M Gibson; Penalty – T Kiernan
Referee: J Stander (South Africa)
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