After months upon months of preparation, all it takes is one split second of inspiration or ingenuity to make or break a British & Irish Lions Tour.
And there is no finer example of that than what happened 19 years ago to this very day – a move enshrined in Lions canon as simply ‘the Dummy’.
THE BUILD-UP
Amid all the established icons present on the 1997 Tour to South Africa – Martin Johnson, Neil Jenkins et al – Matt Dawson, ostensibly the third-choice scrum-half before a ball had been kicked, was hardly the name on everyone’s lips.
He had not played a Test match for England in 15 months due to competition from a strong cluster of Red Rose No.9s that included fellow 1997 Lion Austin Healey, while Wales wizard Rob Howley was the presumptive starter against the Springboks.
But after Howley dislocated his shoulder in a warm-up match against Natal, a lively cameo from Dawson convinced Sir Ian McGeechan and his coaching staff to place the responsibility on the 24-year-old’s shoulders.
And it was a twist of fate that Dawson believes caught South Africa completely unawares.
“It was always going to be close between myself and Austin as to who started on the bench,” recalled Dawson.
“It was obvious Rob Howley was going to be first choice but the coaches had a decision to make on who they were going to put on the bench.
“Austin’s versatility and probably my goal kicking, as well as the scrum-half play, was going to be a factor.
“But I happened to be on the bench for the Natal game when Rob came off and I had a good game, that probably cemented my selection at the time.
“In a way, as much as I’d like to still think that the Lions would have won that series if Rob Howley was playing – because he was such a world class player – I’m still convinced that the South Africans didn’t really do any homework on me.
“They thought ‘Rob Howley’s out, that’s a relief, we don’t need to worry about the scrum halves’ and they sort of took their eye off the ball a little bit.”
TELFER’S PRE-MATCH SPEECH
Only the forwards were present in the meeting room for Jim Telfer’s pre-match speech – the Everest speech as it has now become known in popular parlance.
But Dawson admits the influence of Telfer’s words stretched far beyond the pack who were present for the forwards coach's perfectly-prepared piece.
“There was a forwards meeting and a backs meeting,” he said.
“The backs probably played a bit of pool and darts. As we walked past the meeting room, we could see Jim setting it all up, wandering and pacing around the room, rehearsing his lines and knowing what he needed to do.
“Even then I don’t think we fully understood the power of that speech until you sort of watch the video or you’re with the boys afterwards.
