President's Overseas XV
Programme for the President's Overseas XV match played in 1971 |
The President's Overseas XV was a 1971 rugby union squad, chosen to celebrate the centenary of the English Rugby Football Union, the oldest national rugby organisation in existence.[1]
The players were chosen from five nations – Australia, Fiji, France, New Zealand and South Africa – and were considered to be the finest in the game at the time. Scottish, Welsh and Irish players were not in the selection, nor ones from several other major rugby playing nations, e.g. Argentina, Canada, Italy, Romania, the USSR, USA or Japan, or the other two main Pacific nations, Western Samoa, and Tonga.
The President's Overseas won 28-11.
The President's selection
The complete squad is as follows:
- Ian McCallum, South Africa
- Pierre Villepreux, France
- John Cole, Australia
- Bryan Williams, New Zealand
- Hannes Marais, South Africa
- Peter Johnson, Australia
- Roy Prosser, Australia
- Ron Urlich, New Zealand
- Jo Maso, France
- Roland Bertranne, France
- Joggie Jansen, South Africa
- Stephen Knight, Australia
- Jona Qoro, Fiji
- Colin Meads, New Zealand
- Frik du Preez, South Africa
- Ian Kirkpatrick, New Zealand
- George Barley, Fiji
- Wayne Cottrell, New Zealand
- Dawie de Villiers, South Africa
- Elie Cester, France
- Christian Carrière, France
- Greg Davis, Australia
- Brian Lochore, New Zealand (captain)
Notes
- S. M. Going named in programme as replacement.
- Carrière, Cester, Barley, Bertranne, and McCallum were not named in the programme teamsheet, but were detailed in the player profiles.
The match
The game was played at Twickenham in front of 50,000 spectators. Test caps were awarded, and Dixon and Creed earned their first caps for England in this match.[2]
April 17, 1971 |
England | 11 (3)– 28 (3) | President's Overseas XV |
---|---|---|
Try: Hiller Con: Hiller Penalty Goal: Hiller (2) |
Try: Kirkpatrick (2) Marais Williams (3) Con: Villepreux (5) Penalty Goal: None |
Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: M Titcomb (Gloucestershire) Touch judge - Air Cdre G.C.Lamb CBE AFC (RAF) Touch judge -R.F.Johnson (Kent) |
England: R Hiller (Harlequins); J Janion (Bedford); J Spencer (c) (Headingley); D Duckham (Coventry); P Glover (Bath); A Cowman (Loughborough Colleges); N Starmer-Smith (Harlequins); C Stevens (Harlequins); J Pullin (Bristol); F Cotton (Loughborough Colleges); P Larter (Northampton); C Ralston (Richmond); R Creed (Coventry); A Neary (Broughton Park); P Dixon (Harlequins); Replacements: A Johnson (Northampton); J Page (Bedford); R Webb (Coventry); I Wright (Northampton); J Broderick (Coventry); R Hannaford (Bristol)
President's Overseas XV: Pierre Villepreux, ( France); Stephen Knight, ( Australia); Jo Maso, ( France); Joggie Jansen, ( South Africa); Bryan Williams, ( New Zealand); Wayne Cottrell, ( New Zealand); Dawie de Villiers, ( South Africa); Roy Prosser, ( Australia); Peter Johnson, ( Australia); Hannes Marais, ( South Africa); Colin Meads, ( New Zealand); Frik du Preez, ( South Africa); Greg Davis, ( Australia); Brian Lochore, ( New Zealand) (captain); Ian Kirkpatrick, ( New Zealand); Unused or absent - John Cole, ( Australia); Ron Urlich, ( New Zealand); Jona Qoro, ( Fiji); George Barley, ( Fiji); Elie Cester, ( France); Christian Carrière, ( France); Ian McCallum, ( South Africa); Roland Bertranne, ( France)
References
- Starmer-Smith, Nigel (ed) Rugby - A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby (Lennard Books, 1986 ISBN 0-7126-2662-X) pp 106, 107 (including portrait of each player)
- ↑ Note- the RFU predates the split into rugby union and rugby league.
- ↑ Scrum.com match summary
See also
- World XV
- Overseas Unions rugby union team
- Rest of the World XV
- Four Home Unions XV
- Rest of Europe XV
- Northern Hemisphere XV
- Southern Hemisphere XV