1978 New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland

1978 New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
Manager Russell Thomas
Tour captain(s) Graham Mourie
Summary
P W D L
Total
18 17 00 01
Test match
04 04 00 00
Opponent
P W D L
 Ireland
1 1 0 0
 Wales
1 1 0 0
 England
1 1 0 0
 Scotland
1 1 0 0

In 1978 the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks, toured Britain and Ireland. They were the eighth All Black team to undertake a full tour of the countries and became the first to achieve a Grand Slam in beating the national teams of Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland. The previous seven touring parties had either lost or drawn at least one international, or had not played all four nations.

The tourists played eighteen matches, winning seventeen and losing one. Their sole defeat was by Munster at Thomond Park, Limerick. This was the first time that an All Black team had been beaten in Ireland and it remained the All Blacks' only defeat by any Irish team until they lost to the Ireland national team in 2016. The Munster victory inspired a subsequent stage play, Alone it Stands.

Although the All Blacks won their four internationals, three of the matches remained undecided until close to the end. The match against Ireland was level 6–6 at the end of normal time and was settled by Andy Dalton's try in injury time. Against Wales, a 78th-minute penalty goal by replacement full-back Brian McKechnie turned a 12–10 deficit into a 13–12 win. In the Scotland game the All Blacks led 12–9 going into injury time and a drop goal attempt by Ian McGeechan, which would have tied the scores if successful, was charged down and led to a breakaway try for New Zealand by Bruce Robertson.

Matches

Scores and results list New Zealand's points tally first.
Opposing TeamForAgainstDateVenueStatus
Cambridge University321218 October 1978Grange Road, CambridgeTour match
Cardiff17721 October 1978Cardiff Arms Park, CardiffTour match
West Wales XV23725 October 1978St Helen's, SwanseaTour match
London Counties371228 October 1978Twickenham, LondonTour match
Munster01231 October 1978Thomond Park, LimerickTour match
IRELAND1064 November 1978Lansdowne Road, DublinTest match
Ulster2377 November 1978Ravenhill, BelfastTour match
WALES131211 November 1978Cardiff Arms Park, CardiffTest match
South and South-West Counties20015 November 1978Memorial Ground, BristolTour match
Midland Counties201518 November 1978Welford Road, LeicesterTour match
Combined Services34621 November 1978Aldershot Military Stadium, AldershotTour match
ENGLAND16625 November 1978Twickenham, LondonTest match
Monmouthshire26929 November 1978Rodney Parade, NewportTour match
North of England962 December 1978Birkenhead Park, BirkenheadTour match
North and Midlands 3135 December 1978Linksfield Stadium, AberdeenTour match
SCOTLAND1899 December 1978Murrayfield, EdinburghTest match
Bridgend17613 December 1978Brewery Field, BridgendTour match
Barbarians181616 December 1978Cardiff Arms Park, CardiffTour match

Test matches

Ireland

4 November 1978
Ireland  6–10  New Zealand
(6 – 2pg) Ward (6 – 2dg) Bruce
(4 – 1t) Dalton
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Clive Norling (WRU)

The All Blacks opened the scoring with a dropped goal by Bruce, with Ward's penalty making the score 3–3 at half-time. Bruce put the visitors ahead again with a further dropped goal before Ward levelled again with another penalty. The score remained at 6–6 as the game went into injury time but an unconverted try by Dalton after Donaldson's break from a line-out gave New Zealand a 10–6 victory. Rothmans Yearbook called it a "tense, if unspectacular, struggle in perfect playing conditions" and asserted that the All Blacks "deserved their narrow victory" after winning 31 of the 40 line-outs in the game.[1]

NEW ZEALAND: Clive Currie, Stu Wilson, Bill Osborne, Mark Taylor, Brian Ford (rep Bryan Williams), Doug Bruce, Mark Donaldson, Billy Bush, Andy Dalton, Brad Johnstone, Andy Haden, Frank Oliver, Graham Mourie (c), Leicester Rutledge, Gary Seear.

IRELAND: Lawrence Moloney, Terry Kennedy, Mike Gibson, Alistair McKibbin, Freddie McLennan, Tony Ward, Colin Patterson, Ned Byrne, Pa Whelan, Phil Orr, Moss Keane, Donal Spring, Fergus Slattery, Shay Deering (c), Willie Duggan

Touring party

  • Manager: Russell Thomas
  • Assistant Manager: Jack Gleeson
  • Captain: Graham Mourie
  • Physiotherapist: Brian McKenzie

Full back

Clive Currie, Brian McKechnie, Richard Wilson

Three-quarters

Stu Wilson, Robert Kururangi, Brian Ford, Bryan Williams, Bruce Robertson, Lyn Jaffray, Mark Taylor, Bill Osborne

Half-backs

Doug Bruce, Eddie Dunn, Dave Loveridge, Mark Donaldson

Forwards

Brad Johnstone, John Ashworth, John McEldowney, Gary Knight, Andy Dalton, John Black, Billy Bush, John Fleming, John Loveday, Andy Haden, Frank Oliver, Barry Ashworth, Leicester Rutledge, Graham Mourie, Wayne Graham, Gary Seear, Ash McGregor

References

  1. ↑ Rothmans p25-26

Sources

  • Vivian Jenkins, ed. (1980). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1979–80. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0354090879.
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