HISTORY HAS shown us that “even” years don’t afford Ireland much of a shot at a Grand Slam.
It’s been 40 years since Ireland won in both Paris and London, only for Scotland and Wales to then not travel and thereby deny the 1972 vintage their shot at history.
A remodelled Irish side had ended a 20-year drought in Paris with a 14-9 win at Stade Colombes and backed that up with a dramatic 16-12 win in Twickenham. Before that game, there had been rumours that Scotland and Wales were not going to travel because of the political unrest in Ireland at the time, and so it came to pass.
Fergus Slattery, for one, has always been convinced that the 1972 Irish team was good enough to win a Grand Slam and ditto Kevin Flynn, the match-winner in Twickenham, but Ronnie Dawson, then in his third and final season as Ireland’s first head coach, has a more considered view.
“You never knew from one international to another. It’s more predictable now. I think we definitely would have beaten Scotland but it would have been a very good win to beat Wales, even at home. They had won the Grand Slam the year before and that was a Welsh team with JPR Williams and Terry Davies,” he says, listing off other stellar names.
Indeed, Wales had won 12-6 in Twickenham and beaten Scotland 36-12 in Cardiff in ’72, and given they would subsequently beat France 20-6, there’s every chance the Ireland-Wales game would have been a Grand Slam shoot-out with, admittedly, the Welsh as favourites.
Thus, it’s worth noting that the Welsh were also denied a tilt at another Slam.
The team that travelled to Paris was a mixture of seasoned campaigners and newcomers.
Along with Tom Kiernan, who had sustained a knee injury at home to France a year previously, Flynn had been in the international wilderness since an 11-6 defeat in Stade Colombes six years previously when recalled at the age of 32.
“Ronnie had been a very good player so he was really bringing his own experience to it and he was a good man manager as well. He was pretty special,” says Flynn of the then coach. “I knew Ronnie because I’d played with him at Wanderers and he was a great help to me. I was fairly nervous. It was almost like a new cap for me.”
Flynn also owed a debt to the then Leinster coach Roly Meates who had rung Flynn earlier that season inquiring as to whether he was still interested in playing for his province. Flynn told him he’d never not been interested and Leinster won the interpros.
Flynn, Mike Gibson and other stalwarts such as Ray McLaughlin, Ken Kennedy and Willie John McBride had over 200 caps between them, along with five debutants in wingers Tom Grace and Wallace McMaster, scrumhalf John Moloney, lock Con Feighery and flanker Stewart McKinney.
“Paris was always a graveyard,” recalls Flynn. “It wasn’t a very attractive game but we tied them up and kept it tight. We didn’t spin the ball particularly but even internationals in those days weren’t as attractive as Heineken Cup matches are today.”
“The pack had become pretty strong at that stage,” recalls Dawson, “an excellent frontrow and backrow, sound locks and a very good backline. They were mentally well prepared for the season and were playing very good rugby.”
As for Flynn’s midfield partner? “None better,” he says of Gibson.
“He had a calmness about him and a great vision. He was a quiet fella really; he wasn’t very emotive. He scanned the field very well, not unlike O’Driscoll. It’s a totally different game nowadays but he was the best I played with.”
The remodelled team was unchanged for the ensuing visit to Twickenham a fortnight later.
“Tom Grace scored an excellent try,” recalls Dawson “and it was Tom Kiernan’s 50th appearance and everybody was pulling very hard in all the matches.”
Nevertheless, entering the last five minutes of the game England led by 12-7 before a Barry McGann drop-goal gave Ireland hope.
“Probably the best outhalf I ever played with,” says Flynn. “He got 10 yards faster when he put on the green jersey. A superb kicker. He straightened the line, so you straightened and you were able to run on to the ball and that gave players like me an option to go inside or outside.
“He was an immaculate passer of the ball; always put the ball in front of you. I communicated with him on a yes and no basis. If I said long I really meant short, and vice versa, and I knew Barry would do that.”
Opposing Flynn in the English midfield was David Duckham, whom Flynn had played against in annual Wanderers-Coventry matches. Earlier in the game Flynn had gone inside Duckham off a lineout and though it didn’t amount to much it had left its mark on the English centre. Cue the last play of the game.
“I looked him straight in the eye and said ‘short ball Barry on the burst’, and I didn’t even look at Barry. He just put the ball in front of me and I kicked off my right foot and Duckham had gone for me on the inside.”
Flynn’s arcing outside break to score by the posts remains a career highlight, along with a winning debut against France in 1959.
To put the events around the matches in context, a march in protest at the events of Bloody Sunday had resulted in the British Embassy in Dublin being burned.
Two days before the Twickenham game, the four Home Unions had resolved that the Ireland-Scotland game at Lansdowne Road a fortnight later should go ahead. But two days after the Twickenham game, the Scottish Union declared that they intended not to travel.
In response, a six-strong IRFU delegation travelled to Edinburgh to persuade the Scots to reconsider, amongst them Dawson.
“We tried to point out the realities of the situation, but of course times were very, very difficult. Personally I wasn’t that positive just from the discussions we had. I just felt there was too much uncertainty. They did reconsider but it was always a very, very doubtful call.”
A further meeting of the Scottish Union on February 17th confirmed their decision not to travel out of consideration for the safety of their players and their supporters.
“The Scots had made the point that some of their players were in the services and they had a bad feeling about things,” says Dawson. There were also reports of threatening letters to Welsh and Scottish players, purportedly from the IRA, although Dawson says: “I cannot recall that being stated.”
Ten days later the Welsh followed suit, once more prompting the same six-man delegation to fly to Cardiff, and despite their subsequent offer to play the game at the Arms Park, the IRFU declined.
“Some of the Welsh committee were split on the issue – my memory of that is clear enough – but once the Scots had pulled out the Welsh were always likely to follow,” says Dawson.
Save for the second World War, Ireland have played their Celtic rivals every year since the late 19th century without failure apart from 1972.
“We were devastated,” admits Flynn. “I’d been on a team seeking a Triple Crown in Cardiff in 1965 when we should have won, but I really felt we were up for it this time.”
But he harboured no resentment toward is fellow Celts, for he has no idea how he might have felt in their position.
France travelled to Dublin for a friendly in late April, Flynn scoring his fifth test try in a 24-14 win. The All Blacks also completed all four Irish games on their 1972-’73 tour, including a win against Ulster in Ravenhill, with Flynn winning his 22nd and last cap in the 10-all draw at Lansdowne Road.
The core of that Irish side would play on for many years, but never come so close again.“Why would I feel cheated?” says Flynn. “I was lucky to get back and lucky to get a try. I was happy. I think we could have won a Triple Crown and a Grand Slam alright but so be it.”
“There’ll always be ‘what ifs’,” admits Dawson. “I was very disappointed for Irish rugby and for the team, because they had worked hard and had already achieved quite a lot.
“It was a poor rugby decision and I think that was emphasised even more by the John Pullin (English) team in ’72-’73 when they received that extraordinary welcome.”
The one that got away.
IF YOU DIDN�T KNOW, YOU DO NOW . . .
ALL 14 matches in the 2012 Six Nations Championship will be shown live on RTÉ BBC television. The tournament will be broadcast in HD.
On radio, all of Ireland’s matches will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1, FM, LW, DAB and online.
On RTÉ television, Tom McGurk will be joined by panellists George Hook, Brent Pope, Conor O’Shea, Donal Lenihan Shane Horgan, with Clare MacNamara reporting from the Irish camp.
The commentary team consists of Ryle Nugent, Tony Ward, George Hamilton, Hugh Cahill, Ralph Keyes and Frankie Sheahan.
BBC’s television team includes John Inverdale, Gabby Logan, Jeremy Guscott Andy Nicol, Andrew Cotter Brian Moore.
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