Captain Nick Far Jones at the World Cup ranked the pain of not winning a series with the British and Ireland’s Lions as perhaps the biggest regret of his famous career, urging the Wallabies to seize the moment in Saturday’s first Test in Brisbane.
The Far Jones believes that even 36 years after leading Australia to a 2-1 series defeat to the Lions, he still misses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer the best of the British and Irish people.
“Yeah, that’s sh-me,” Far Jones told AAP. “When the Lions come down, they get one dice, only once every 12 years. And if the game is too regretful about looking back, that’s what we didn’t beat BA.”
After crushing tourists 30-12 in the first test in 1989, the Wallabies lost the infamous “Barrymore” 19-12 as the Lions leveled the series by storming them in Brisbane.
Despite falling into just a 7-point loss, it was the way Wallabies succumbed in the brutal second Test that gives to the Far Jones nightmare.
The Lions hatched plans to monster Australian halfbacks and captains.
“And that worked for the treat,” he admitted.
The Far Jones said it was a big mistake to kiss and kiss the Lions hooker Brian Moore early in the game.
“He then tore me and all the other forwards tore me,” he said.
“They had a pack that included three officers, three Bobbies, (Wade) Dooley, (Paul) Ackford, (Dean) Richards-Finlay Calder, and “Mad Dog” Moore.
“I think the only non-fighter plane in that pack was David Saul, a Scottish prop.
“You had Mickey Skinner. It was tough and hard packed, and they would have sat two weeks before the first and second tests, and they said, ‘What are we going to do?’
“Let’s beat their crap, and start with the captain.
“He’s a little guy. We can beat crap from him. His game burst, the team unraveled around him and that kind of happened.
“So I admire them for tactics.”
The Far Jones point out that things like Wallabies legends Tim Horan and Phil Kerns, who have won two World Cups, never cracked the Lions, and hope that 2025 in Joe Schmidt’s class will make the opportunity before them a reality.
As the 1989 side still regretted not taking a chance with the loss of the third Test to determine a 2-1 series in Sydney, the decisive moment of the 19-18 near miss remains a wild pass from David Campes to Greg Martin in the Australian goal area that led to the Lions’ victory.
“So, looking back, the crack in the ceiling would be wider at 3am, as we should have won that series. There’s no doubt about that, we slaughtered it,” recalls Far Jones.
“And I’m not talking about the Campo incident or what you have. I had 79 minutes to win that game.
“We shouldn’t have lost it because you woke up and passed in the World Cup, so we got our second roll of dice.”
He helped the Wallabies complete the legendary Grand Slam Tour in 1984 with victory in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The disappointment of another career loss to the Lions wasn’t that he saw his great friend and teammate Tim Gavin miss the ’91 World Cup through injury, winning the freshman premiere in 14 seasons at Sydney University.