| Born | William James McBride (1940-06-06)6 June 1940 (age 85) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
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William James McBride, better known asWillie John McBride (born 6 June 1940), is a formerrugby union footballer fromNorthern Ireland who played as alock forIreland and theBritish and Irish Lions. He made 63appearances for Ireland, including eleven as captain, and toured with the Lions five times; a record that earned him 17 Lions Test caps and 71 appearances in the red jersey. He also captained one of the most successful Lions sides, which returned undefeated fromSouth Africa in 1974. McBride, inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2009, is regarded as one of the most influential figures ever to play the game.[2]
McBride is opposed to the use of a 23-man bench, "absolute nonsense" he considers unfair and increasing the risk of injury.[3]
McBride was born inMoneyglass nearToomebridge,County Antrim, one of four boys; one died at a young age in a drowning accident.[4][5] Owing to his father's death when he was four years old,[6] he spent most of his spare time helping out on his family farm.[7] Because of his commitments on the farm, he did not start playing rugby until he was 17. He was educated atBallymena Academy and played for the school's First XV and the Ulster Schools' team. After he left he joinedBallymena and was playing for the first team within a year. McBride was primarily into athletics at school, winning the Ulster School pole-vault championship in 1956 and 1957.[5] He attributed the strength gained on the farm for never having to come off injured in a playing career that covered four decades, even playing 20 minutes with a broken leg at one stage.[5]
In 1962 McBride was selected to play forIreland. His first Test on 10 February 1962 was againstEngland atTwickenham. Later that year he was selected to tour South Africa with theBritish and Irish Lions.
McBride continued to play for Ireland throughout the 1960s and played for Ireland when they first defeatedSouth Africa (theSpringboks) in 1965, and when Ireland defeatedAustralia in Sydney — the first time aHome Nations team had defeated a major southern hemisphere team in their own country. He was again selected for the Lions in 1966, this time touring New Zealand and Australia. He toured South Africa with the Lions again in 1968.
He was selected to play for the Lions in their 1971 tour of New Zealand. McBride was madepack leader and helped the Lions to a Test series win overNew Zealand; their first and last series win over New Zealand. He received anMBE in 1971 for services to rugby football.[8]
McBride's leadership qualities led to his appointment as captain of theBritish and Irish Lions in their1974 tour to South Africa. The Test series was won 3–0, with one match drawn; the first Lions series ever won in South Africa. It was one of the most controversial and physical Test match series ever played. The management of the Lions concluded that the Springboks dominated their opponents with physical aggression and so they decided to match fire with fire.[9] Willie John McBride instigated a policy of "one in, all in": that is, when one Lion retaliated, all other Lions were expected to join in the melee or hit the nearestSpringbok.[10]
At that time there were only substitutions if a doctor agreed that a player was physically unable to continue and there were no video cameras and sideline officials to keep the punching, kicking and head butting to a minimum. If the South Africans were to resort to foul play then the Lions decided "to get their retaliation in first." The signal for this was tocall "99" (a shortened version of the emergency number in Ireland and in the United Kingdom: 999). This was a signal for the Lions to clobber their nearest rival players.
In 1975 as his international career was ending he played his last game for Ireland atLansdowne Road. The game was against France, and near the end of the match he scored his first testtry. It was the crowning moment of a great playing career. His last international game was against Wales on Saturday 15 March 1975.[11] McBride played 63 times for Ireland, won 17 Lions Test caps and wore the Lions jersey 71 times.[5]
After retiring from playing, McBride coached the Irish team and was manager of the unsuccessful1983 Lions tour to New Zealand, when all four Tests were lost. In 1997 he was an inaugural inductee into theInternational Rugby Hall of Fame. He lives inBallyclare. He has been asked to present Test jerseys and give motivational speeches to Lions players prior to matches. In 2004 he was named in Rugby World magazine as "Rugby Personality of the Century". He is a major supporter of theWooden Spoon Society.[12]
McBride was awarded aCBE in the2019 New Year Honours list for services to Rugby Union.[13]
| Preceded by | Irish national rugby coach 1983–84 | Succeeded by |
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