BARRY JOHN was The King, rugby’s Elvis. The sport’s first megastar, he was the Welsh icon who went global after guiding the Lions to what remains to this day their only series win in New Zealand, in 1971.
He scored 180 points on that tour, including a pivotal try in the third Test, setting a record for a British & Irish Lions tour which will never be broken.
His death at the age of 79 struck a chord with many too young to have ever seen him play. For those who shared the same stage, it triggered an avalanche of memories.
“We shared a room together quite a lot on that ‘71 Lions tour and became good friends,” says England centre John Spencer. “He was a member of the Sunday School – that was the boys who enjoyed a few pints on that tour. Most of the Welsh boys were in there.
“He was a really nice guy, really easy to get to know. Quite quiet, not a typical rugby extrovert, but what a wonderful player – he was the best distributor of a ball I ever played with.
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