Few moments in British and Irish Lions tour history are more infamous than Duncan McRae’s attack on Ronan O’Gara in 2001.
The Australian sparked an international furore when he was handed a seven-week ban for throwing 11 punches to the grounded Irishman’s head in a warm-up match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Duncan McRae was widely condemned for his moment of madness in 2001GettyAs the current crop of Lions prepare to head to Australia in June for the latest edition of the prestigious rugby test series, they will be only too aware of just how heated things can get Down Under.
And whoever Andy Farrell‘s squad face in their upcoming trip, surely no player will unleash the same level of aggression as McRae 24 years ago.
The match between the New South Wales Watarahs and the Lions in June 2001 goes down one of the most brutal rugby games of all time.
With the best talents from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland a week away from their opening Test match against the Wallabies, five yellow cards were handed out in the fiery encounter full of ugly clashes.
But it is McRae’s moment of madness which earned the battle its notoriety, who left O’Gara’s face bloodied after raining punch after punch on his opponent as he lay on the ground.
The Aussie was immediately shown a red card for his actions, while the former Ireland fly-half required eight stitches after the attack.
McRae was widely condemned for the unsavoury incident at the time, which earned him a seven-week ban and a lifetime of infamy.
And the 50-year-old later shared his version of events in a 2021 interview on the Between Two Posts show, where he revealed the clash had come about after a series of coming-togethers between the pair in the match.
He recalled: “I don’t know what I was doing near a ruck, firstly, because I was never there, but he [O’Gara] sort of came to elbow me and I’ve just caught his elbow straight in my face.
“I thought ‘f*** you’, and the same thing happened 15 minutes later. I’ve got up and seen him at the last second, [he] just elbowed me straight in the face.
GettyMcRae launched a vicious assault on Ronan O’Gara during a ruck in the infamous 2001 encounter[/caption] GettyHis actions saw him immediately sent off by referee Scott Young[/caption] GettyO’Gara’s face was streaming with blood in the immediate aftermath of the attack[/caption]“I’ve just caught him and I’ve swung him under and he sort of ended up on the ground right under me.
“I just said to him: ‘What the f*** are you going to do, champ?’ And he’s just kicked me straight in the nuts.
“So I’ve just pinned him, and the rest is history.”
McRae was at a loss to explain his unsportsmanlike behaviour when he opened up on the incident in 2012, but admitted he regretted losing his temper.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald: ”I’d love to be able to explain it, but it just sort of tipped over the edge.
”We had a bit of a running battle throughout the game and it boiled over. We were in the same place at the same time and it just sort of kicked off.
GettyO’Gara’s war wounds from the shocking incident were clear to see in the game’s aftermath[/caption] GettyMcRae played for Gloucester between 2003 and 2006, where he was reunited with O’Gara[/caption]“I’ve done a few stupid things in my life and that’s probably right up there.”
And the two men’s story didn’t finish there, with McRae signing for English side Gloucester in 2003.
Unbeknown to the Sydney native at the time, Gloucester were in the same pool as O’Gara’s club Munster in the European Champions Cup in his first season in England.
Reflecting on the coincidence back on the Between Two Posts show, he said: “My head’s like: ‘How’s your f****** luck!’ And over there there’s only four teams in your pool and you play each other home and away.
“I thought: ‘I’ve got to go to the home town of this bloke and play.'”
And McRae’s infamous actions hadn’t been forgotten over in Ireland, as he discovered a damning newspaper article prior to the match.
Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 rematchGetty Images - Getty Credit: X: @stansportauMcRae laughed as he recalled his unsavoury attack being deemed worse than Tyson’s crazy incident[/caption]He revealed a publication had ranked his brutal assault on O’Gara as the second worst on-field incident in sporting history, ahead of boxing icon Mike Tyson‘s shocking bite on Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997.
Only tennis star Monica Seles’ on-court stabbing by a crazed fan in 1993 was placed higher than McRae’s in terms of shock factor.
Laughing in disbelief, he continued: “Just before we flew over to play in his hometown, one of the boys brought in a paper, and it was the five worst incidents that have ever happened on a sporting field, ever!
“I can’t remember number five but number four was Eric Cantona karate (kung-fu) kicking the fan, number three was Mike Tyson biting an ear off.
“I was number two! Number one was Monica Seles getting stabbed on the court!
“I said: ‘Gee, they can hold a grudge, these people!'”
As Lions boss Farrell prepares to announce squad for their first visit to Australia since 2013, the current set of hopefuls will be looking to avoid any similar incidents to McRae’s loss of control in 2001.
talkSPORT will provide coverage of all matches in the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia as the audio broadcast partner of the Lions, beginning on 20 June with a warm up in Ireland and finishing on 2 August with the third Test in Sydney.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I got banned for giving rival eight stitches and got voted worse than Mike Tyson bite )
Also on site :