Sporting Greats TV - Rab C Nesbitt TV - Hall of Fame TV - Tony Underwood - Mike Catt - Rob Andrew - Colin Meads - Sean Fitzpatrick - Sporting Heroes TV & Will Carlin - Spitting Image TV - Brian O'Driscoll - Jonny Wilkinson - Joe Theismann - Junior Seau - Slogans & Bumper Stickers - Oscar Wilde - Victor Cahn - Johan le Roux - Helen Kirk - P G Wodehouse - Bill Beaumont - John Hopkins - Robert Norster - Nigel Starmer-Smith - Mark Reason - Gareth Davies - Adrian Hadley - Jean-Pierre Rives - Phil Kearns - The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard From Johannesburg? TV - South African TV - James Joyce - Head On: Rugby, Dementia & Me TV - Storyville: Wheelchair Rugby's Fiercest Rivalry TV -
The All Blacks: they are one of the most distinctive, formidable teams in the sporting world. Sporting Greats: Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick’s international career spanned eleven years and bridged the amateur and professional eras. ibid.
Sean’s father Brian played twenty-two times for the All Blacks. ibid.
One of the greatest players to wear the All Black jersey. ibid.
June 20th 1987: the inaugural Rugby World Cup final New Zealand vs France. ibid.
A centre in Australia’s team of the century he was a juggernaut, a human wrecking ball. Sporting Greats: Mal Meninga
More than 400 first class matches. ibid.
A very exciting time for Welsh rugby. Sporting Greats: Gareth Edwards
We played with a freedom because we had no fear. ibid.
The complete rugby player. ibid. Willie John McBride
Just a nice guy. Sporting Greats: Jonah Lomu, fellow player
Far too good. ibid.
Phenomenal. ibid.
‘It is the ultimate team sport.’ Sporting Greats: Brian O’Driscoll
Ireland’s greatest ever rugby player. ibid.
Dan Carter lined up for the Crusaders in the 2003 Super 12. Sporting Greats: Dan Carter
Carter starred for his country. ibid.
‘The best individual performance I’ve seen from any rugby player.’ ibid. Sean Fitzpatrick, re game against Lions
The highest scorer of all time in test rugby. ibid.
England rugby team – Look, I’ve got nothing against the England rugby team. All I’m saying is, it beats me how a bunch of middle-class public schoolboys can choose a Negro spiritual as their anthem, you know. I mean, what’s all that about – all that swing-lo carry on? I mean d’ya suppose barefoot surfs in Alabama give it the Eton Boating Song when you’re bailing cotton? I think not. Rab C Nesbitt s6e3: Growth, Rab at bar, BBC 1997
So when the visiting British Lions arrived in New Zealand in the tour of 1971 survival and pride were their true objectives ... Despite the All Blacks’ dominance the final score was 9-3 to the Lions. Hall of Fame: Dream Team
The All Blacks won convincingly 22-12. ibid.
The Lions won 13-3. Leading 2-1 in the series they were guaranteed at least a draw ... With five minutes to go they were level at 14-14. The Lions managed to hang on for a 14-14 draw. ibid.
The Springboks were on a high ... Some impressive kicking by Gavin Jenkins gave the Lions a lead ... Dawson’s try put the Lions into the lead 20-16, and another by Tate gave the Lions a comfortable 25-16 victory. ibid.
Jeremy Guscott provided a moment of brilliance. The result was an incredible victory for the Lions. South Africa won the third test ... A true dream team. ibid.
When the two enemies faced each other in the 1991 World Cup Final at England’s home ground Twickenham the stakes couldn’t have been higher ... But running the ball was a game Australia knew how to play as well. England continued to use their backs. Hall of Fame: Clash of the Titans
The 1993 Lions were different. This Lions side had a genuine chance of winning ... The third Test in Auckland would be the decider ... New Zealand gradually became dominant. Hall of Fame: The Deciders
England v Australia, World Cup 2003: First blood went to Australia [Lote Tuqiri try]. But England fought back. The boot of Jonny Wilkinson helped open up a 9-5 lead. England began to dominate the game. Suddenly England fashioned a chance [Ben Kay drops ball]. England’s golden chance had gone, but they soon managed to create another. Half-time came around. England were leading 14-5. But it could have been so much more ... The Australians had drawn level in the very last minute. The match went into extra time ... After nearly a hundred minutes of rugby the scores were level again. With just twenty-one seconds on the clock Wilkinson had won the game and the World Cup for England. Hall of Fame: Rugby World Cup 2003
One rollercoaster match in the mid-nineties stands out as a classic: England v Australia ... At half time ... England were leading 13-6. But Australia came out with renewed energy. England were stunned, and just two minutes into the second half Australia were level again ... Yet another penalty from Michael Lynagh ... England had brought themselves some breathing space 22-22 ... Rob Andrew seemingly from nowhere had hit an enormous drop-goal. Hall of Fame: Rollercoasters
Sometimes in sport one person is so much better than the opposition that it almost doesn’t fair for him to be on the same pitch. In 1995 New Zealand started the Rugby World Cup with one such player: a secret weapon called Jonah Lomu. Hall of Fame: Jonah Lomu & Hall of Fame: In a League of Their Own
The England players took to the pitch to face Jonah for a place in the World Cup Final. The match was barely two minutes old when Lomu received the ball on the left ... Absurdly, number eight Zinzane Brooke added a drop-kick from the half-way line. Lomu struck again to give New Zealand a 25-0 lead inside half an hour. At the start of the second half Lomu added a third try and England were all but finished ... New Zealand were rampant. In the 71st minute Lomu added a fourth to complete one of the most dominant individual performances the Rugby world had ever seen. And launching a star in the process. ibid.
He’s [Lomu] just one of their weapons. Tony Underwood, pre-match interview
He’s [Lomu] nothing really. Mike Catt, pre-match interview
When he [Lomu] ran over Catty I think that’s when we realised that this is probably going to be quite tough. Rob Andrew
I’ve seen a lot people like him [Lomu], but they weren't playing on the wing. Colin Meads, 1995
45-29: I definitely wouldn’t like to tackle him [Lomu]. Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand captain
The country was in mourning. Sean Fitzpatrick, re World Cup loss to France
The first global superstar of Rugby Union [Lomu]. Some say he was a freak, others though now acknowledge he was amongst the very best of his generation. Sporting Heroes: Jonah Lomu, Sky Sports 2015
‘Lomu is a freak and the sooner he goes away the better.’ ibid. Will Carling
Clean As A Whistle Volume 1. Spitting Image s2e2, Mary Whitehouse promotes volume of clean Rugby songs
Rugby gave me a confidence. I was quite shy and relatively timid, but it gave me the confidence to be a little bit more out-going and back myself a bit more. Brian O’Driscoll
I never ever believed that I would be able to give up on this dream which has driven me to live, breathe, love and embrace the game of rugby from the earliest days that I can remember. Jonny Wilkinson