Llanelli 9–3 New Zealand
Date31 October 1972
VenueStradey Park, Llanelli
RefereeMike Titcomb (England)
Attendance22,000

As part of their 1972–73 tour of the Northern Hemisphere, the New Zealand national rugby union team's fourth match saw them take on Llanelli RFC of Wales at Stradey Park, Llanelli, on 31 October 1972. In one of the most famous results in rugby union history, Llanelli won the match 9–3 in front of 20,000 spectators. Llanelli centre Roy Bergiers scored the only try of the game, charging down a clearance by All Blacks scrum-half Lin Colling after a penalty from Phil Bennett rebounded back into play off the crossbar. New Zealand full-back Joe Karam scored a penalty to give them their only points of the game, before Llanelli wing Andy Hill hit a penalty to secure victory for the Scarlets.[1] The result was immortalised by Welsh entertainer Max Boyce, whose poem 9–3 appears as the opening track on his Live at Treorchy album.[2]

Background

As part of their 1972–73 tour of the Northern Hemisphere, the New Zealand national rugby union team played 32 matches, of which their visit to Stradey Park to play Llanelli RFC was the fourth. In North America, they had already beaten sides representing British Columbia (31–3) on 19 October 1972 and New York Metropolitan (41–9) on 21 October, followed by a 39–12 win over a Western Counties side in Gloucester on their arrival in England a week later. They were unbeaten since the British Lions had visited New Zealand in July 1971, a run of 16 matches without defeat.

Match details

31 October 1972
Llanelli9–3 New Zealand
Try: Bergiers c
Con: Bennett
Pen: Hill
ReportPen: Karam
Stradey Park, Llanelli
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Mike Titcomb (England)
FB15Roger Davies
RW14J. J. Williams
OC13Roy Bergiers
IC12Ray Gravell
LW11Andy Hill
FH10Phil Bennett
SH9Chico Hopkins
N88Hefin Jenkins
OF7Gareth Jenkins
BF6Tommy David
RL5Derek Quinnell
LL4Delme Thomas (c)
TP3Barry Llewelyn
HK2Roy Thomas
LP1Tony Crocker
Replacements:
SH16Selwyn Williams
FL17Alan James
PR18Chris Charles
LK19Brian Llewellyn
FH20Gwyn Ashby
HK21Meirion Davies
Coach:
Wales Carwyn James
FB15Joe Karam
RW14Bryan Williamsdownward-facing red arrow
OC13Bruce Robertson
IC12Mark Sayers
LW11Duncan Hales
FH10Bob Burgess
SH9Lin Colling
N88Alan Sutherland
OF7Ian Kirkpatrick (c)
BF6Alistair Scown
RL5Peter Whiting
LL4Andy Haden
TP3Graham Whiting
HK2Ron Urlich
LP1Keith Murdoch
Replacements:
WG16Grant Battyupward-facing green arrow
Coach:
New Zealand Bob Duff

Touch judges:
J Kelleher (Wales)
D G Watts (Wales)

References

  1. Pope, Bruce (31 October 2002). "Day the pubs ran dry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. Thomas, Simon (24 October 2008). "The day the All Blacks were humbled at Stradey". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.