Cameron Michael Henderson Gibson

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 3 December 1942) is a former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

at international level. Gibson is regarded as one of the greatest rugby union players; upon his induction into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

in May 2011, former teammate and fellow Hall of Fame inductee Syd Millar said about Gibson that:

''... ewas one of the finest players of his generation, one of the finest players ever to represent Ireland and the British & Irish Lions and a man who epitomised the very ethos of the Game and its values.''

Early life

Gibson was educated at

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

in Belfast, and went on to study law at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

Club career

Gibson played the bulk of his career for North of Ireland F.C. ("North") While studying, Gibson played for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In February 1966 he played for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

against St Mary's Hospital. He continued playing club rugby until 42.

International career

Ireland

Gibson's distinguished career began with

in 1964, and he earned his 69th and final

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in the second and final test win against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in Sydney in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

at age 36. A versatile player, he represented his country in four different positions. Gibson had a distinguished international career; the Irish solicitor's all-round talent marked him out as arguably the greatest centre of any era, and certainly, prior to his transfer to centre, the finest fly half of any era. Gibson's brilliance lay in the perception and timing of his attacking play, the focus and anticipation of his defence, and the rare dedication and commitment with which he applied himself across a 15-year international career in which he appeared in a then-world record 81 Tests. Famed as much for his great hands and line-breaking ability as his tactical skills and rapier boot, Gibson scored 112 Test points (9 tries, 16 penalties, 7 conversions and 6 drop goals) for Ireland in a career that also saw him tour five times with the British & Irish Lions. Gibson's record Ireland caps haul of 69 was overtaken by lock

Malcolm O'Kelly Malcolm O'Kelly (born 19 July 1974) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a lock for Ireland and Leinster. O'Kelly was born in Chelmsford, England, and attended Templeogue College secondary school in Dublin, Ireland. He has played ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in February 2005. The mark had lasted for 26 years. His record of 56 appearances in the Five Nations (now Six Nations) was not equalled until countryman

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

reached the mark in Ireland's final match of the

2011 Six Nations The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby un ...

British and Irish Lions

Gibson toured with the

five times. On the 1968 tour to South Africa, Gibson made history in the opening Test by becoming the first replacement in international rugby, and showed his stamina by playing in 11 of the final 13 matches after Welsh fly-half

Barry John Barry John (born 6 January 1945) is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s, and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC befor ...

had been invalided out of the tour. John would return for the following tour, the now famous 1971 tour to New Zealand, where he would star at centre. Alongside captain

John Dawes Sydney John Dawes (29 June 194016 April 2021) was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the 1971 British Lions and the Barbarians. He is credited with being a major influence in th ...

, Gibson formed a brilliant midfield combination, and with

Gareth Edwards Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey". In 2003, in a poll of international ru ...

Gerald Davies Thomas Gerald Reames Davies CBE DL (born 7 February 1945 in Llansaint) is a Welsh former rugby union wing who played international rugby for Wales between 1966 and 1978. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams ...

, J.P.R. Williams and

David Duckham David John Duckham MBE (28 June 1946 – 9 January 2023) was an English rugby union player. He played 36 games for England (scoring 10 tries), in three tests on the 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and for Barbarians F.C. in their 1973 ...

, they constituted arguably the finest backline in Lions history. The 1971 tour remains to date the Lions' sole series victory over the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

, and it was on this tour that Gibson won the respect of the New Zealand rugby public with his attacking flair and timing. Gibson's work commitments saw him join the 1974 Lions in South Africa as a replacement during the second half of the tour. Gibson was renowned for his humility, and demonstrated it here by willingly playing understudy to the new Test pairing of

Ian McGeechan Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through hi ...

and Richard Milliken. Gibson was selected for his fifth Lions tour in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, equalling fellow Irishman

Willie John McBride William James McBride, CBE, better known as Willie John McBride (born 6 June 1940) is a former rugby union footballer who played as a lock for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He played 63 Tests for Ireland including eleven as captain, ...

's record. However, back and hamstring problems meant that Gibson was unable to compete for a test place.

Representative teams

Gibson played for a combined Scotland/Ireland XV in the 1970 Centenary of RFU celebration match against a combined England/Wales XV and again in the 1972 Scottish Rugby Union Centenary match.

Honours

He was awarded an MBE for services to the game. When the

International Rugby Hall of Fame The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF) was a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF acc ...

was instituted in 1997, Gibson was one of the initial fifteen inductees. Upon his induction into the

in 2011, Gibson was quick to pay tribute to his teammates, also calling rugby the greatest team sport. In January 2012 Gibson was inducted into the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'' Hall of Fame. In an interview in 2011, Irish rugby great

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

praised Gibson's contribution to Irish rugby:

''At times when Irish rugby wasn't successful Mike was always the shining light. He played international rugby for 15 years and that speaks volumes about him. He was a magnificent player and a true ambassador for the game.''

Professional career

Since retirement, Gibson has practised as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in Belfast, where he continues to play an active role in the rugby community. Fellow Irish international David Humphreys trained as a solicitor in Gibson's firm.

References

External links

Mike Gibson at sporting-heroes.netBarbarians Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Mike Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Lansdowne Football Club players Wanderers F.C. (rugby union) players London Irish players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Belfast Solicitors from Northern Ireland World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players North of Ireland F.C. players People educated at Campbell College British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Barbarian F.C. players 1942 births Living people Ireland international rugby sevens players Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge