The Five Nations XV v Overseas Unions XV was a

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 ...

match played on Saturday, 19 April 1986 to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board. The Five Nations XV featured players from England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who had played in the

1986 Five Nations Championship The 1986 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-second series of the northern hemisphere ru ...

. The Overseas Unions XV was effectively a

World XV A World XV is a rugby union team organised on an unofficial, ''ad hoc'' basis and typically composed of invited players from various countries. Several World XVs have been arranged by various bodies, often to take part in celebration and testimoni ...

and featured players from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Overseas Unions XV won the match 32–15. Starmer-Smith, p184, image of programmeStarmer-Smith, p186 Controversially, the squad included a number of white South Africans at a time when the relationship of

rugby union and apartheid Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South African Rugb ...

was being questioned at high levels.

The match

Unlike the British Lions v World XV three days earlier in a wet

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

, this game was played in ideal conditions at Twickenham.Scrum.com match summary
/ref> At the time, there were only eight Unions affiliated to the Board, thus only players from those unions were chosen. Five Nations XV:

Serge Blanco Serge Blanco (born 31 August 1958) is a former rugby union footballer who played fullback for Biarritz Olympique and the French national side, gaining 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback. His alternative position was wing. He was generally nicknamed ...

();

Trevor Ringland Trevor Maxwell Ringland, (born 13 November 1959) is a Northern Irish solicitor, former rugby union player and politician. From June 2013 to July 2014, he served as Co-Chairman of the NI Conservatives. After attending Larne Grammar School, he rea ...

(),

Philippe Sella Philippe Sella (born 14 February 1962, in Tonneins) is French former rugby union player. He started as a rugby league junior in his home town before switching to rugby union. As a former French rugby union player, he held the record for most intern ...

(),

Mike Kiernan Michael Joseph Kiernan (born 17 January 1961) is a former international rugby union player. He had 43 caps for Ireland, from 1982 to 1991, scoring 6 tries, 40 conversions, 62 penalties and 6 drop goals, in an aggregate of 308 points. He was cal ...

(),

Rory Underwood Rory Underwood, (born 19 June 1963) is an English former rugby union player, he is 's record international try scorer with 49 tries in 85 internationals between 1984 and 1996. Underwood's principal position was wing and he played 236 games for ...

(); Malcolm Dacey (), Richard Hill (); Jeff Whitefoot (), Steve Brain (), Iain Milne (),

Jean Condom Jean Condom (born 15 August 1960 in Saint-André-de-Seignanx) is a retired France, French international rugby union player. He played as a lock. He played for Boucau, from 1980/81 to 1985/86, for Biarritz Olympique, from 1986/87 to 1995/96. His ...

(),

Donal Lenihan Donal Gerard Lenihan (born 12 September 1959) is a retired Irish rugby union player. He appears regularly as a co-commentator on TV and radio for rugby matches and writes for the Irish Examiner. He also works as a financial consultant in Cork. ...

() (''captain''),

John Jeffrey John Jeffrey (born 25 March 1959 in Kelso in the Scottish Borders) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He is an administrator for World Rugby. Rugby Union career Amateur career Jeffrey was educated at St. Mary's Schoo ...

(),

Iain Paxton Iain Angus McLeod Paxton (born 29 December 1957) is a Scottish former rugby union player. He won 36 caps for Scotland at number eight and lock between 1981 and 1988, scoring a total of five tries.Bath, p153 He also won four caps for the Brit ...

(),

Laurent Rodriguez Laurent Rodriguez (born 25 June 1960) is a retired French rugby player. He made his international debut for France on 5 July 1981 in a test against Australia. Rodriguez was called for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, where France was runners-up to New ...

() *

Jacques Fouroux Jacques Fouroux (24 July 1947 – 17 December 2005) was a French rugby union player and coach. He captained France when they won the Grand Slam in 1977, and was the manager when the side repeated the feat in 1981 and 1987. Player Fouroux, who pl ...

(''Coach'') *

Clive Rowlands Clive Rowlands OBE (born 14 May 1938) is a former Welsh rugby union footballer and later coach. Rowlands was born in Upper Cwmtwrch. As recorded in the preface for the book 'The Children of Craig-Y-Nos', Rowlands was admitted in 1947, as an ...

(''Manager'') Overseas Unions XV: Roger Gould (); John Kirwan (),

Danie Gerber Danie Gerber (born 14 April 1958 in Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player, who played for South Africa between 1980 and 1992. He played mainly at inside or outside centre, but also on the wing. His ...

(),

Warwick Taylor Warwick Thomas Taylor (born 11 March 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He won 24 caps for the All Blacks between 1983 and 1988 and played in the victorious New Zealand team at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. Since retiring from rugb ...

(),

Carel du Plessis Carel Johan du Plessis (born 24 June 1960) is a former South African rugby union coach and player. Playing career Du Plessis played for Western Province and the Springboks, his skills earning him the nickname the ''Prince of Wings''.

();

Naas Botha Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player, who played for Northern Transvaal and South Africa (the Springboks). He was voted ''Rugby Player of the Year'' in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. Bo ...

(),

Dave Loveridge David Steven Loveridge (born 22 April 1952) is an All Black of the late 1970s and early 1980s, known in his time as the greatest halfback in the world. Life and career Loveridge was born in 1952, in Stratford, New Zealand, to Horace and Margar ...

(); Enrique Rodriguez (),

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

() (''captain''),

Flippie van der Merwe Philip "Flippie" Rudolph van der Merwe (born 8 July 1957 in Dibeng, Northern Cape Province) is a South African former rugby union player who played six test matches for the South Africa national rugby union team from 1981 to 1989. Playing ca ...

(), Steve Cutler (),

Andy Haden Andrew Maxwell Haden (26 September 195029 July 2020) was a New Zealand rugby union player and All Black captain. He played at lock for Auckland and New Zealand from 1972 until 1985. He also played club rugby in the United Kingdom and Italy. Lif ...

(),

Simon Poidevin Simon Paul Poidevin (born 31 October 1958) is a former Australian rugby union player. Poidevin made his Test debut for Australia against Fiji during the 1980 tour of Fiji. He was a member of the Wallabies side that defeated New Zealand 2–1 ...

(), Steve Tuynman (), Mark Shaw () *Replacements **

Andrew Slack Andrew Gerard Slack (born 24 September 1955 in Brisbane) is an Australian former state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in 19 Test matches in between 1984 and 1987. His 133 appearances for Queensland bet ...

(not named in programme, but Wayne Smith of New Zealand was) **

Michael Lynagh Michael Patrick Thomas Lynagh, AM (born 25 October 1963) is an Australian former rugby union player who played mainly as a fly-half. Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped ...

Nick Farr-Jones Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones AM (born 18 April 1962) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. He is probably best remembered for winning the 1991 Rugby World Cup with his team against England. He now works at ...

Murray Mexted Murray Graham Mexted (born 5 September 1953) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played 34 consecutive tests for the All Blacks from 1979 to 1985. He also played 38 non-test games including 7 as captain. During his time with the All B ...

Schalk Burger Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Jr. (born 13 April 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a flanker for Saracens in the English Premiership and has won 86 caps for South Africa. He was a member of the 2007 Ru ...

(named in starting line-up in programme instead of Knight) **

Tom Lawton Thomas Anthony Lawton (born Darwin, 1 November 1962) is a former Australian rugby union player. He played as a hooker. Career Lawton comes from a known rugby union family: his grandfather, Tom Lawton, Snr was an important medic and, during his ...

Jim Webster, ''For Love Not Money - The Simon Poidevin Story'' {ABC:1 Jan 1990)() *

Brian Lochore Sir Brian James Lochore (3 September 1940 – 3 August 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach who represented and captained the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He played at number 8 and lock, as well as captaining the ...

(''Coach'') * Bob Templeton (''Manager'')

References

* Starmer-Smith, Nigel (ed) ''Rugby – A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby'' (Lennard Books, 1986 {{ISBN, 0-7126-2662-X) Six Nations Championship 1985–86 in British rugby union 1985–86 in French rugby union 1985–86 in Irish rugby union 1985–86 in Welsh rugby union 1985–86 in Scottish rugby union 1986 in Australian rugby union 1986 in New Zealand rugby union 1986 in South African rugby union World XV matches Rugby union and apartheid April 1986 sports events in the United Kingdom 1986 sports events in London

The match

See also

References