My Life in Rugby: Jon Renwick – Former Hawick, Harlequins, Scotland and Lions centre
There were empty spaces on the terraces at Murrayfield when I made my debut against France in 1972 but a few years later a record crowd of 104,000 turned up for the Wales game in the Five Nations.
They reckon it was more like 118,000 because the people who couldn’t get in charged the gates. It was big time playing in front of a crowd like that. I think the arrival of colour TV and Bill McLaren’s wonderful commentaries played a big part in the surge in popularity and also the fact rugby was played in the ‘right way’.
Coaching wasn’t the be-all and end-all and the increase in points awarded for a try from three to four helped, too.
Going from junior rugby with Hawick Harlequins to being a capped international happened quickly. I remember as a 16-year-old heading off to Wales on my first away trip and watching Ian Robertson play stand-off for Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park. I couldn’t have imagined then that I’d be back at the ground a few years later as a player myself.
That was the game where Gareth Edwards beat me in a foot race to the ball, after it had bounced the wrong way, and we both got covered head-to-toe in mud in the corner by the old dog track. The try was replayed time and again at the start of Grandstand and I used to get a load of stick.
I remember Bill, who coached me at school, saying in his commentary that it would be a miracle if he scored, so I just said to the boys: “How can you stop a miracle?” Wales were definitely the team to beat back then.
Unfortunately I wasn’t involved in the 1984 Grand Slam, having been injured in the Langholm Sevens. But David Johnston and Keith Robertson did a fantastic job so you’ll get nay complaints from me. I got back in for the Romania tour and won my 52nd cap to beat Andy Irvine’s record and become Scotland’s most capped player. I think that stood until the World Cup.
Romania was a poor place to tour as it was at the time of the Ceausescu regime. Politically there was a lot going on, but not much in the way of things to do. The shops were sparse and we were surrounded by starving kids at training, who we dished Mars Bars out to.
The match was at night but it was absolutely scorching and the boys struggled. Still, Romania deserved to win it, 28-22.
I count myself fortunate to have played for 12 seasons from 1972-84. The pros are lucky if they play ten because the sport is so much more physical now. I was about 12st 4lb when I made my debut, although I had decent upper body strength from my days as a junior South of Scotland swimmer.
My son Neil, who plays full-back for Hawick, says rugby was ‘Mickey Mouse’ in my day whereas I always claim it was better back then. I think players are more selfish now, they just try and bang their way out of trouble and it becomes a bit repetitive, whereas we were always brought up to give the ball to someone in a better position.
While I was obviously very proud to play for my country, Hawick was what it was all about for me. A good group of players had come along at the same time and we had a great sense of comradeship. Derrick Grant, our coach, worked us hard and had us well organised and it was a very successful period for the club.
I can say I was the first person to kick a penalty at Mansfield Park this century the family went to the ground in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2000, switched on the floodlights, got out a ball and took it in turns to kick for goal. I couldn’t think of a better way of starting the Millennium.
*As told to Jon Newcombe
