He knew how important it was to the white South African. And so he united the
nation in its support of the rugby team. Subsequently, it has had incredible
support from all South Africans.
You can talk about sport affecting politics and vice-versa, but what he did on
that day was stunning. I think if there was one single action that said a
country was different, that this man was special, it was that. To me that
was the power of sport at its best.
I had toured South Africa as a player with the Lions in 1974, a tour on which
we were unbeaten, winning the first three Tests, before drawing the final
Test in Johannesburg 13-13. We made a huge statement in world rugby in the
process.
And I have to say that the political situation shocked me. We were not
supposed to but, at one stage of the tour, Fran Cotton and myself did some
coaching in a Port Elizabeth township.
Afterwards, we were invited back to one of the locals’ house for a meal. We
had a great night, with all our hosts saying how much they enjoyed the Lions
coming to their country, and we stayed there till about 10.30pm talking
about rugby. But they then had to sneak us out of the township, because, of
course, there was a curfew and what we were doing was, in fact, illegal at
the time.
At the matches the segregation meant that at the worst terraced end of every
ground, always looking into the sun, were the non-whites.
They were always cheering vociferously for us, and at the end of every match
we would go to them to thank them. To a man they were Lions supporters. The
authorities at the time hated it.
But it was not until I returned in 1997 that I really understood the
significance of our visit back in 1974. I was in Cape Town, standing outside
the team hotel before the first Test, when a black South African came up to
me with a huge scrapbook stuffed full of cuttings from the 1974 tour. He had
every newspaper report, anything to do with the Lions on that trip.
He introduced me to his family and said that he just wanted to say thank you.
He said the Lions gave him something to believe in. “My family are now
free,†he said. “If ever we needed hope it was that tour.†That was very
poignant.
When we had arrived at Johannesburg airport for the start of the tour, Steve
Tshwete, the sports minister, had asked to meet Fran [the Lions manager by
then] and myself privately before the welcoming press conference.
As soon as we walked in, he said: “Fran Cotton, four Tests, prop. Ian
McGeechan, four Tests, centre, you dropped a goal in the second Test.â€
He said that he had not missed a minute of those 1974 Tests on the radio while
he was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela.
The hairs went up on the back of my neck when he said that. He knew everything
about us. I felt so humbled that he and his fellow people, who had suffered
so terribly, found such hope in the Lions.
And their hope was brought to reality by Mandela. He changed South Africa, and
he used rugby to help that change.
It’s a shame ECR did no act sooner
It now looks as if the English clubs might be looking to South Africa, with
the announcement last Thursday that they will definitely not be changing
their minds and will not be taking part in a European competition run by
European Rugby Cup Limited.
I think the options now are to look at South Africa, where the Currie Cup
sides could be considered, if not the Super 15 teams, or an Anglo-Welsh
League, with regions in such dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union. I would not
rule out America teams being involved, either.
I could understand the English clubs’ frustrations from the start. But ERC
missed an opportunity to sort out the financial imbalance in the
distribution of funds when the English and French clubs first highlighted
it. As well as the financial benefits to the Celtic teams, what you cannot
get away from is that the way the Heineken Cup is set up, it is also for the
playing benefit of those Celtic teams. Because they do not have to qualify
and it is a Union-run competition, they can manipulate when their players
play.
But that is not to say that the English clubs are not giving a huge amount
away. They will not be a part of the best club rugby tournament in the
world. Even with its weaknesses, it is still a huge tournament for TV, for
supporters, for clubs and players. There is so much right with it that you
would think that it was worth getting to a point where you do not miss out
on that.
The upside is, though, that they can now plan a better balanced and structured
season. There has to be a solid partnership between the Rugby Football Union
and Premiership Rugby Limited. The big money is still in international
rugby, so it should be a strong business as well as a rugby partnership.
The Heineken Cup has always meant so much to me. I was distraught not to be at
Northampton when they won it in 2000. The plan had been to win it within
five years. They won it in four, but it was just after I had left to return
to coach Scotland.
My wife, Judy, had been ill with an allergy and we could not work out what it
was.
But I was able to relax when we eventually won it at Wasps in 2007. Judy said
it was the greatest weight lifted off her shoulders.
Nelson Mandela: Rugby"s debt to the great South African
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