John Taylor (born 21 July 1945) is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and current commentator. Nicknamed " Basil Brush" thanks to his wild hair and beard, he was born in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and played as a flanker for

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

(he later became co-President with former teammate, John Dawes), and represented

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

26 times between 1967 and 1973.

Rugby career

Playing

Perhaps Taylor's most famous moment was in the Five Nations match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. The match had see-sawed backwards and forwards with each team taking the lead several times. With a few minutes to go and the score at 18-14, Wales won a line-out on the Scotland 22 metre line. The ball moved through the backs to Gerald Davies who managed to squeeze in to score a try at the right hand corner. The Scottish defence kept up the chase to prevent Davies from touching down near the posts. With the score at 18-17 and ball to be placed on the right hand side, the conversion looked almost impossible, particularly as Barry John, the usual Welsh kicker, had been concussed earlier in the match. Instead, Taylor took the conversion attempt and kicked the ball perfectly between the posts. The final score was 19-18, giving Wales the victory. One Welsh journalist called this "the greatest conversion since Saint Paul". John Taylor played for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

on the 1971 tour to New Zealand, playing in all 4 Tests.

Apartheid

He was notable for the stand he took against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

after visiting

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1968, after being selected for the 1968 British Lions tour to South Africa. Taylor was invited on the subsequent 1974 Lions tour to that country but made it clear he would follow his conscience and he refused to tour. He also refused to play against the South Africans during their 1969-1970 Tour of Britain and Ireland. It was Taylor's refusal to face the South Africans for Wales in 1970 that cost him a place with the Barbarians. After

Mervyn Davies Mervyn Davies may refer to: * Mervyn Davies, Baron Davies of Abersoch (born 1952), British businessman * Mervyn Davies (judge) (1918–2015), British judge * Mervyn Davies (rugby union), (1946–2012), Welsh rugby player {{hndis, Davies, Mervyn ...

fell ill before the classic 1973 Barbarian encounter against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, Taylor's name was suggested as a replacement. It is alleged that the club secretary for the Barbarians, Brigadier Glyn Hughes, responded negatively to the idea with the response "He's not playing. The man's a Communist!"John Taylor: Rebel with a Cause
The Independent, 30 May 2009

Activities after retiring

Since 1991, he has been the lead rugby commentator on ITV Sport, describing the World Cup final victory of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on 22 November 2003. He retired from ITV after the 2007 Rugby World Cup and commentated for TalkSport on the 2011 RWC in New Zealand. Throughout the 2015 Rugby World Cup, hosted by England in September and October but also including games at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in Wales, Taylor was the stadium announcer for matches played at Twickenham Stadium, London. He worked at every RWC through to 2015 and has worked on every Lions Tour since 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1945 births Living people British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales London Welsh RFC players Loughborough Students RUFC players People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Watford Surrey RFU players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union commentators Welsh rugby union players London Counties rugby union players