Guscott becomes pride of the Lions in Brisbane

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

- Brendan Gallagher

What's happening here?

Its July 8, 1989 and in a quiet corner of the changing rooms at Ballymore Brisbane a slightly shell-shocked and disbelieving Jerry Guscott is taking in the enormity of the Lions 19-12 win over Australia in the second Test. It was his Lions Test debut and after getting thumped 30-12 in the first Test in Sydney the series had been on the line. The Lions needed to respond. And they did.

What’s the story behind the picture?

There are a couple of narratives going on here, one personal, one collective. Bath supporters had been beating the drum about Guscott for some time both as a wing – where he started out – and as a centre of exquisite promise. England, though, had been a little slow on the uptake but in May 1989 they had finally given him a debut against Romania in Bucharest, and he obliged with a hat-trick as the England backs ran riot.

Guscott had been spoken about as a Lions bolter but had missed out in the initial selection only for England skipper Will Carling to drop out with a shin splints injury. Guscott was on the plane after all.

Mike Hall and Brendan Mullin were preferred at centre for the first Test and the Lions got taken to the cleaners, losing 30-12, outscored four tries to nil. The ‘failure’ was collective – the forwards lost out physically to a psyched up Aussie pack and the backs were anonymous behind a struggling pack.