The Day My Uncle Marked a Welsh Wizard (And Got Smashed)

Springboks vs Wales kicks off today at King's Park in Durban — which happens to be the exact stadium where I spent half my childhood on the terraces, hero-worshipping my uncle Roger Seymour like he was the Beatles in shorts.

Roger was Natal's fly half — and sometimes fullback — through the early and mid '70s. How he got there is a good story in itself. Called up for national service in 1965, he was dragged into an army inter-regimental game purely to dodge a work shift — and walked off to find Springbok legend Frik du Preez waiting to recruit him for the Defence rugby club. From there it was Northern Transvaal colours, flights to Rhodesia to play the Rhodesian forces (with an intro to Ian Smith thrown in), and eventually the Natal #10 jersey — vacated by an actual Springbok, Keith Oxlee, who'd been kind enough to retire.

Roger went on to face the '68 Lions (including Gareth Edwards and Barry John, no less), the Barbarians, and the 1970 All Blacks — lining up against Colin Meads, Brian Lochore and Sid Going, with two Kiwis oddly turning out for Natal itself: fullback Terry Mehrtens, whose son Andrew would later become an All Black legend in his own right. He was invited to the Springbok trials on the back of his performances in those games, but sadly never got to wear the green and gold.

Marking the Welsh Wizard

But the story I really want to tell today: 1980, the British Lions are touring, and Roger — long retired, playing socially for Natal's "Old Crocks" — agrees to turn out against what he assumes is a team of beer-soaked Lions supporters having a laugh. A teammate pulls him aside beforehand: "Roger, sit down before we tell you this... you're marking Phil Bennett today."

Phil Bennett. The Welsh Wizard. Two Five Nations grand slams, an OBE, scorer of the greatest try in Welsh history, future World Rugby Hall of Famer — turning out for a "social" fixture like he'd wandered in off the street looking for a car guard to embarrass.

Roger's verdict: "We got smashed," he laughs. He'll be watching the Springbok vs Wales test today, from his home in Somerset West in the Cape, happy to have hung up his boots, from an era where payment of a couple of after-match beers is in stark contrast to the massive payments and contracts in this professional era.

#ForeverGreenForeverGold #NationsChampionship #StrongerTogether

— This is an edited extract from 'A Monkey's Wedding' by Stuart Lloyd Chapter 19: "Rucks, Mauls, and Religion." Available on Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, and Barnes&Noble.