THE old warriors gathered above the steep steps leading down into Llandaff Cathedral, their presence in honour of a fallen colleague evidence of how they followed him right to the very end.
John Dawes made his final journey accompanied by those who had been with him every step of the way from London Welsh in the mid-Sixties to beating the All Blacks in 1971 and all manner of Grand Slams along the way.
The two caps placed on the coffin – the red of Wales alongside the gold of the Lions – offered a glittering reminder of how Dawes changed the game and made it one of style and wit before the ...