In a global profession that spanned simply six years, Barry John, who has died aged 79, received 25 caps for his nation and appeared in 5 Lions Assessments. However the fly-half made sufficient of a mark throughout his transient time as a participant to realize one thing approaching legendary standing in Wales.
He was on the zenith of his powers on the Lions tour in 1971 to New Zealand, the place his capability to ghost previous would-be tacklers as if they didn’t exist was a significant factor within the Lions successful the Take a look at sequence 2-1. Not solely did John possess the operating abilities of a basic fly-half: he was a dead-eyed place-kicker, may kick from hand with both foot, and was a rock-solid defender. These attributes helped him to 188 factors on that tour, a document for a Lions vacationer.
The feat earned him the nickname “King John”, and greater than made up for the frustration of the Lions tour to South Africa three years earlier. Then he broke a collar-bone within the first Take a look at towards the Springboks in Pretoria and performed no additional half.
Nonetheless, the soubriquet weighed closely on his shoulders. John was as relaxed as any man might be within the harsh gladiatorial area of worldwide rugby. However the adulation again house turned stifling. Rugby was an novice sport and John had turn into maybe its first celeb. He was in contrast on the time to the footballer George Finest, and in a later autobiography wrote: “I beloved taking part in rugby and George Finest beloved taking part in soccer, however in the long run we shared a standard bond, for neither of us may deal with the circus act surrounding our fame because it spiralled completely uncontrolled.”
And so the 12 months after the 1971 Lions tour, and after Wales had been denied a successive grand slam after they have been unable due to the Troubles to play Eire, John all of a sudden retired from the sport at 27. The shock in Wales was alleviated solely by the truth that the nation had a ready-made alternative fly-half in Phil Bennett, a central determine in a golden period for Welsh rugby.
Born within the village of Cefneithin, Carmarthenshire, to Vimy and William John, a miner, Barry was certainly one of six kids, and all three of his brothers, Delville, Alan and Clive performed rugby. Barry was pleased with his working-class roots, and his earliest reminiscences in a Welsh-speaking family have been of his father rising at 4.30 to get able to catch the bus to the Nice Mountain colliery at Tumble.
Although Barry failed the eleven-plus, a 12 months later he was accepted by Gwendraeth grammar faculty, and went on to coach as a trainer at Trinity School, Carmarthen.
Excelling on the sports activities area, he had joined the Cefneithin village membership earlier than transferring to the Llanelli membership as a schoolboy, making a senior debut at 19 for the Scarlets towards Moseley. John made his Wales debut towards Australia in December 1966 alongside one other West Walian, Gerald Davies, however quickly needed to stand apart for the Wales captain David Watkins. Nonetheless, when Watkins turned a rugby league skilled with a transfer to Salford in 1967, John, who by this time had left Llanelli for Cardiff, established himself within the Wales aspect.
John had come beneath the affect of Carwyn James, one other native of Cefneithin and who had received two caps for Wales himself at fly-half. James helped the younger participant survive an early snub by the Wales selectors when choosing the Wales under-15 aspect and have become a mentor. James was to educate the 1971 Lions when he made John the main determine in a tactical assault on the All Blacks.
As soon as established within the Wales aspect, John scored 90 factors in these 25 Assessments. However that comparatively modest haul doesn’t inform the total story of his Welsh and membership profession. With a swivel of his hips he would, seemingly, drift with out effort past the defensive barricades of the opposition.
A technology later the England captain Will Carling summed John up: “I hope rugby was harder for Barry than it seemed to be, in any other case us gasping, sweaty also-rans weren’t even taking part in on the identical planet.”
After his early retirement, John saved in contact with the sport as a rugby correspondent for the Each day Specific and later a commentator for Radio 5 Dwell. He was additionally the promotional figurehead on the sportswear agency Gola.
Like Bennett, John was a modest man and, like Finest, his life was typically troubled. He was banned from driving for 3 years in 2001 for drink-drive offences.
In 1969 he married Janet Davies, whom he had met whereas learning to turn into a trainer; ultimately they separated. She survives him, together with their 4 kids, Kathryn, Lucy, Anna and David, and 11 grandchildren.
