My Life in Rugby: Ollie Campbell – former Ireland and Lions fly-half

Rugby is not just a sport, it’s a way of life. At nine, my Dad took me to Lansdowne Road for the first time to see Ireland play Wilson Whineray’s All Blacks on December 7, 1963. It was a defining day in my life and though Ireland lost 6-5 I was hooked on rugby from that day.
Exactly 20 years later, having read everything about New Zealand rugby I could get my hands on, I was touring the country with the ’83 Lions. The Lions stand for everything good in rugby and although we lost all four Tests that tour remains one of my career highlights. I was named one of the five Players of the Year in NZ which is something I treasure deeply and will take to the grave.
The first All Black I met in NZ shortly after we arrived was Colin Meads who played against Ireland in Lansdowne Road back in ’63. My life flashed before me at that moment.
Three years earlier I toured South Africa with Bill Beaumont’s 1980 Lions. We were unbeaten in the provincial games but lost the Test series 3-1 which remains a source of great regret as it was a series we could have won.
In the very first minute of the game against Orange Free State the one and only Ray Gravell made a head-high tackle that was so late it was posthumous. In an interview afterwards he explained it away, saying he had always been told to get his first tackle in early – even if it was late!
It’s no exaggeration to say there has hardly been a week in my life when Ireland’s famous tour to Australia in 1979 has not been brought up.
Tony Ward, a great friend to this day, had just been voted European Player of the Year for the second year in a row but to everyone’s amazement (not least mine) I was selected for the Tests.
“Ward Out, Campbell In” took precedence over the announcement that the Pope would be visiting Ireland later that year on the front page of the now defunct Irish Press.
Ever since that tour our coach Noel “Noisy” Murphy has reminded me that had we not won the series (2-0) – he would probably now be an Australian citizen! The names of Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell have been inextricably linked ever since, too.
My Mum and Dad, although they didn’t even know each other at the time, were both in Ravenhill in March 1948 when Ireland won their first Grand Slam. I was born six years later and was weaned on the exploits of that team, particularly the immortal Jackie Kyle.
Ireland also won the Triple Crown in 1949 so to be on the next Triple Crown winning team in 1982 when we beat Scotland 21-12 was a deep privilege.
That Triple Crown win was particularly cherished and appreciated by everyone involved, not least by our coach Tom Kiernan the “silver fox” who was the rock on which that success was built.
Schools rugby in Ireland is still the foundation of the Irish game. The Leinster Schools Senior Cup final played in Lansdowne Road every St Patrick’s Day is one of the Blue Riband events in the Irish sporting calendar so to have been on two successful winning teams with Belvedere College is one of the fondest – and the most fulfilling – memories of my life.
Playing for and captaining my beloved club Old Belvedere and representing Leinster during one of their golden eras are other extremely fond memories in a career that enriched my life in so many ways.
I won 22 Ireland caps in what was a relatively short amount of time even by the standards back then.
My career was prematurely ended by a chronic hamstring injury.
But the people I’ve met and lifetime friendships that I’ve made have given real and lasting meaning to my rugby career.