"You never saw rugby like this"
Yes I did, only I know it was in 1974 and not 1973. I mean really, what kind of rugby noob would talk about the 1973 Lions instead of the 1974 Lions?
Anyway . . . there's a very interesting story about that tour (among many others . . . it really was the greatest touring team of all time) but this one is less well known.
The Springbok management were absolutely convinced that we were going to destroy the Lions in the scrums and win the series with that advantage. I was only 12 at the time but I still remember the certainty among the South African public that we were going to beat them.
To our collective horror, the Lions much smaller front row of Ian "Mighty Mouse" McLauchlan, Bobby Windsor and Fran Cotton monstered our scrum in the first test and they won comfortable in muddy conditions. The Bok selectors hit the first panic button and dropped loosehead Sakkie Sauerman (never to play another test) and replaced him with Niek Bezuidenhout, while also ditching the WP halfbacks Roy McCullum and Dawie Snyman and replacing them with Transvaal's Paul Bayvel and Gerald Bosch.
In the second test Ian McLauchlan did to Bok captain Hannes Marais what Ox Nche did to Kyle Sinckler in the 2022 RWC semi and the Lions demolished us with an absolutely scintillating display of beautiful rugby. The score was 28-9 which at that time was the heaviest Springbok defeat in their history.
Then the Bok selectors hit the second panic button. In one of the most bizarre selections ever seen, the selectors picked Free State #8 Gerrie Sonnekus as the scrumhalf. The "thinking" was that Sonnekus could add his weight to the scrum and . . . well, who really needs a scrumhalf anyway . . . so we took the field with basically an extra loose forward and no scrumhalf. Not surprisingly, the Lions ripped us yet another new one, this time smashing us 26-9 in an ill-tempered encounter in Port Elizabeth where they rolled out the 99 call. (The 99 call basically meant that every British Lions player on the field turned around and punched the closest Springbok) but safe to say, it was another embarrassing defeat for the Springboks and their "brains" trust.
Something that is not that well known is that 10 years later, Gerrie Sonnekus was again selected for the Springboks, this time in his regular position of number 8 when he played 2 tests against England and scored a try. That made him not only the Springbok who to this day holds the record for the longest gap between test matches, but also the only Springbok (to my knowledge) who has ever been selected to start a test match as a back and as a forward.
The Lions were robbed of a clear try by Fergus Slattery in the 4th and final test match of that series by a biased and bent SA ref called Max Baise which denied them a richly deserved clean sweep, but to this day they remain the greatest rugby team to ever tour this country (the 1996 All Blacks might argue with some justification).
Yes Tit, I saw that rugby series . . . the question is, did you?
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I remender some where in early 1970's when Willie John Mc Brides Lions started their first test against us in early 1973's I was just a student. It was pouring with rain at Newlands and my mate Alan had a bottle of Vat 69 to warm us. We were on the standing seats and supporting SA obviously. This Willie John MacBrides side overwhelmed us with humilitation. We soaked to the skin but Vat 69 sustained us. They won the series 3 wins to a draw. Be st rugby side ever.