John Taylor (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
John Taylor is a Welsh
former rugby union
player and current commentator. Nicknamed "Basil Brush
" thanks to his wild hair and beard, he played as a flanker
for London Welsh (of which he is now a board member), and represented Wales
26 times between 1967 and 1973.
in 1971
. The match had see-sawed backwards and forwards with each team taking the lead several times. Finally, 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. With great presence of mind, 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, was right footed and had been concussed earlier in the match. Instead of Barry, 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
on the 1971 tour to New Zealand
. He was notable for the stand he took against apartheid after visiting South Africa
in 1968. Taylor was invited on the 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
fell ill before the classic 1973 Barbarian encounter against the All Blacks, Taylor's name was suggested as a replacement. 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!"
Since 1991, he has been the lead rugby commentator
on ITV Sport
, describing the World Cup
final victory of England
over Australia
on 22 November 2003. For the 2007 World Cup
, Taylor appeared to have been relegated to the role of third choice commentator following ITV's
recruitment of Miles Harrison
from Sky Sports
and Jon Champion
, who was previously a football commentator. 2011 was the first time ITV covered the Rugby World Cup without commentary from John Taylor, instead ITVs commentary is from former BBC commentator Nick Mullins, Simon Ward, Bob Symonds who is the only ITV veteran of all their world cup coverage and Martin Gillingham all of whom commentate on their Aviva Premiership highlights on itv4. Instead John Taylor joined talkSPORT to cover their exclusive radio commentary as their first choice commentator joining the likes of Brian Moore, David Campese, Michael Owen and talksport reporters covering the event.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
former rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player and current commentator. Nicknamed "Basil Brush
Basil Brush
Basil Brush is a fictional anthropomorphic fox raconteur, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips...
" thanks to his wild hair and beard, he played as a flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
for London Welsh (of which he is now a board member), and represented Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
26 times between 1967 and 1973.
Rugby career
Perhaps his most famous moment was in the Five Nations match against ScotlandScotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
in 1971
1971 Five Nations Championship
The 1971 Five Nations Championship was the forty-second series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-seventh series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played...
. The match had see-sawed backwards and forwards with each team taking the lead several times. Finally, with a few minutes to go and the score at 18-14, Wales won a line-out
Line-out
A line-out is the means by which, in rugby union, the ball is put back into play after it has gone into touch. It is the equivalent of the throw-in in soccer. Rugby league abolished line-outs in 1897...
on the Scotland 22 metre line. The ball moved through the backs to Gerald Davies
Gerald Davies
Thomas Gerald Reames Davies CBE is one of the acknowledged greats of Welsh rugby, playing for the side between 1966 and 1978.-Biography:...
who managed to squeeze in to score a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
at the right hand corner. With great presence of mind, 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
Barry John
Barry John 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 before switching to first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964...
, the usual Welsh kicker, was right footed and had been concussed earlier in the match. Instead of Barry, 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
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
".
John Taylor played for the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
on the 1971 tour to New Zealand
1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand
In 1971 the British Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Despite losing the first match to Queensland the tour was a great success, the Lions winning the test series against the All Blacks. They are still the only Lions side to have won a test series in New Zealand...
. He was notable for the stand he took against apartheid after visiting South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1968. Taylor was invited on the 1974 Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
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
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
. After Mervyn Davies
Mervyn Davies
Thomas Mervyn "Merv the Swerve" Davies , is a former Welsh rugby union player who won 38 caps for Wales as a No. 8.Davies was born in Swansea, where he attended Penlan County School....
fell ill before the classic 1973 Barbarian encounter against the All Blacks, Taylor's name was suggested as a replacement. The club secretary for the Barbarians, Brigadier Glyn Hughes
Hugh Llewellyn Glyn Hughes
Brigadier Hugh Llewellyn Glyn Hughes CBE, DSO & Two Bars, MC, MRCS was a British military officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps and later medical administrator, educationalist and sports administrator...
, responded negatively to the idea with the response "He's not playing. The man's a Communist!"
Since 1991, he has been the lead rugby commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
on ITV Sport
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer and brand name owned by ITV plc. It was formed from the amalgamation of Granada Sport, Carlton's sports department and ISN, the sports division of London News Network. The company produces Champions League and FA Cup Football, along with coverage of England's national...
, describing the World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
final victory of England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
over Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
on 22 November 2003. For the 2007 World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
, Taylor appeared to have been relegated to the role of third choice commentator following ITV's
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
recruitment of Miles Harrison
Miles Harrison
Miles Harrison is the principal rugby union commentator for British television network Sky Sports. After obtaining a degree in Radio studies at City University London he found work in the early 1990s working on BBC Radio, commentating on rugby union and also occasional football matches...
from Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
and Jon Champion
Jon Champion
Jon Champion is ESPN UK's number one football commentator. Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC and ITV over the past 20 years. His late father David Champion was the deputy headmaster of the independent school Bootham School, York...
, who was previously a football commentator. 2011 was the first time ITV covered the Rugby World Cup without commentary from John Taylor, instead ITVs commentary is from former BBC commentator Nick Mullins, Simon Ward, Bob Symonds who is the only ITV veteran of all their world cup coverage and Martin Gillingham all of whom commentate on their Aviva Premiership highlights on itv4. Instead John Taylor joined talkSPORT to cover their exclusive radio commentary as their first choice commentator joining the likes of Brian Moore, David Campese, Michael Owen and talksport reporters covering the event.