'It wasn't meant to be a tea party...'

DOUG Smith, team manager of the 1971 Lions and therefore a rugby man of substance, was blunt in his assessment of his opponents on that famous tour: “They were bastards, the New Zealanders,” he was not talking of anyone in particular, possibly because there was too much choice, but one name remains synonymous with the darker, rougher side of events on that trip.

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Step forward Alex “Grizz” Wyllie, above, the ultra-formidable All Black flanker and coach who passed away last week, deep in his 81st year. His achievements were manifold, but up here in the north, it was his part in the “Battle of Canterbury” – less of a détente by far at his fellow provincial forwards to soften-up the tourists ahead of the Test series as to break them in body and spirit – that set him apa