View
comments
Matt Dawson winds back to a couple of minutes in 1997. To a hospital pass he never wanted to receive and an inside ball he never intended to give.
'You can't plan for something like that,' says the former scrum-half.
The uninviting gift came courtesy of Lions No 8 and good friend Tim Rodber. 'He gave me a look as if to say, 'You have a go Daws… it's your turn'.'
Matt Dawson (centwas part of the Lions squad that won a historic series against South Africa in 1997
Towards the end of a punishing first Test against South Africa in Cape Town, Plan A had run its course.
'We knew their scrum was world class,' Dawson explains. 'It had to be about bending the rules. We worked on our body height and tried to get lower than they could handle.' That led to a formula: 'Me putting the ball in, Keith Wood hooking it, Tim Rodber scooping the ball up.' The only snag? 'Rodber would get absolutely smashed by the South Africa back row as soon as he picked it up.'
Eventually he'd had enough. So, with seven minutes left and the Lions trailing by a point, responsibility fell to a 24-year-old with the contest's smallest shoulders. 'I'm going to get absolutely marmalised,' Dawson thought.
So he scarpered right from behind the scrum and evaded one tackle. Four more defenders swarmed. The isolated No 9 feigned to flick the ball over his right shoulder.