Erica decides to give her assets an outing

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

What’s happening here?

It’s January 2, 1982 and Bill Beaumont’s England are playing Australia at Twickenham. It’s halftime and a young lady by the name of Erica Roe decides it’s time to get her kit off, or at least some of it, and go for a streak around the famous ground to liven things up.

The home of rugby had seen male streakers before, not least in 1974 when Aussie Michael O’Brien felt an irresistible urge to disrobe himself, but a women streaker was entirely new territory.

Ken Baily, who for years was the unofficial England mascot at most sporting occasions, is on hand and thoughtfully uses his Union Jack to cover Roe’s 40 inch bosom while an unidentified steward is stripping off his white fluorescent jacket with the same thought in mind.

What’s the story behind the picture?

Impromptu high spirits. On a whim Roe, then 24, decided to attend the game with a sister and a few friends, walking up to buy tickets on the day. They were in party mood. Her birthday had been on December 30, followed by a New Year’s Eve shindig. A big day at Twickenham seemed like a decent way to finish off festivities. A former trainee nurse, Roe was working as a bookshop assistant in Petersfield at the time.

She was born in Suffolk but the family moved to Tanzania when she was six to run a tea plantation, before returning to Britain in the mid-70s.

Roe had no particular plans at Twickenham that day until the pre-match booze started kicking in and she got chatting with a striking blonde woman, Sarah Bennett, in the crowd. The devil got in them, both had the same thought. “We had literally met that weekend and I’ve never seen her since,” recalls Roe. “The atmosphere was electric, and we’d all had some beer. It was much more relaxed in those days. We hatched our plan and moved towards the touchline at halftime.

“Then we said, ‘Ready, steady, go!’ Sarah was a bit bloody late. Or I was too fast, so all anyone saw was me.

Sarah had a much more lush figure than me. I was a lolloping old elephant. But there we go, the Brits are very into big boobs.”

What happened next?

A roar of approval from the Twickenham faithful as Roe strutted her stuff before Baily intervened with his wellplaced Union Jack. Baily was an eccentric former journalist, long distance runner and something of a celebrity in his hometown Bournemouth.

Roe and Bennett were taken to Twickenham police station but there was no appetite to press charges, no public outcry, and they were soon released, going their separate ways. Roe headed back into the fray and spent the rest of the night partying with a group of squaddies on leave from their tour of duty in Northern Ireland. A quiet night was not had.

The following morning she thought that her antics might warrant “a small mention on the sports pages” and was staggered to be plastered all over the front and back pages.

Why is the picture iconic?

This is pure British music hall with a nod also to those saucy postcards our grandparents sent home from the seaside. Harmless, amusing, and warm hearted. Part Benny Hill Show, part Carry On with Barbara Windsor and the crew.

Snapper Chris Smith has captured all of the above. Everything seems perfectly choreographed despite the fact that Erica’s streak was unplanned, and Baily could have had no idea how events would unfold.

There are more, shall we say, brazen and revealing shots of Roe exhibiting her natural assets but I’ve always preferred this picture due to its selfeffacing humour.

Roe didn’t mean to shock, she just sought to brighten up a slightly stuffy Twickenham day out. I love the cigarette hanging nonchalantly out of her mouth, the jaunty walk and smile and the incongruous silk neck tie, contrasting with her scruffy boots and jeans. The concentration on Baily’s face is also priceless as he desperately tries to make sure his very sharp tip of his flagstick doesn’t bury itself in naked flesh.

Footnote: Roe became a celebrity. There were marriage proposals and TV appearances but eventually she disappeared from the spotlight and spent 17 years running a sweet potato farm with her then husband in Portugal. More recently she was a popular contestant in series 3 of the Island with Bear Grylls. Following the death from breast cancer of younger sister, Jessie, she posed for a tasteful nude calendar to raise money for charity.