Baa-baas' all-stars go to town in Hong Kong

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?

Smile please chaps, it’s March 29, 1981 and the Barbarians have just won the Hong Kong Sevens. Back row from left: Peter Wheeler, Brynmor Williams, Nick Preston, Gareth Williams, Andy Ripley. Front row: Gary Pearce, Les Cusworth, Clive Woodward, Nigel Pomphrey.

What’s the story behind the picture?

The Hong Kong Sevens started up in 1976 and very quickly became a cult event, a world-wide gathering of the rugby clans and particular point of focus for the southern hemisphere giants, the Pacific Islands and indeed emerging nations everywhere. Nobody was excluded.

The old Five Nations were a bit sniffy about it. The tournament rather smacked of professionalism and was considered a bit brazen and tacky with the big tour companies piling in and making a killing as the rugby tourists voted with their wallets.

The Barbarians, though, sniffed the wind and instantly recognised that this was a party they needed to attend, and in 1981 they put together an Anglo-Welsh squad, skippered by Ripley, capable of making a splash. Uniquely for a Sevens team it had no real gas merchant but it was full of clever, sometimes inspired all-court players and a couple of Sevens specialists.

Despite Pomphrey tearing a hamstring in the final training session and the squad being reduced to eight fit members, the Barbarians blazed a trail beating USA, Western Samoa, South Korea and Sri Lanka on day one before dealing with a Hugo Porta inspired Argentina in the quarterfinals and Fiji in the semi-final.