Sir Gareth Edwards has described his former Wales and British and Irish Lions half-back partner Barry John as a “mercurial” player who was “a catalyst for so much success”.
John’s death at the age of 79 was announced by his family on Sunday.
He won 25 Wales caps between 1966 and 1972, and was a pivotal performer for the 1971 Test series-winning Lions team against New Zealand.
Such were the quality of his performances on that tour that he was nicknamed ‘The King’ by New Zealand journalists.
John played his club rugby for Llanelli and then Cardiff, where he struck up a half-back partnership with Edwards that went on to flourish for Wales and the Lions.
Edwards and John played together 23 times in Wales colours, plus one Lions Test against South Africa in 1968 and all four in New Zealand three years later.
They won Five Nations titles, Grand Slams and Triple Crowns together, and were dominant figures during Welsh rugby’s golden era.
“There is no doubt that the world of sport – and Welsh rugby in particular – has lost a legendary figure following the death of my great mate, Barry John,” Edwards said.
“He was one of a kind, a mercurial figure on the field, and was a catalyst for so much success for Wales and the British and Irish Lions.
“I spoke to him only last week, and he seemed in good cheer. I was devastated, as were my family and so many others to hear the news of his passing. All our thoughts are with his wife Jan and his family.”
Edwards recalled one of their early rugby meetings ahead of a Wales trial match early in 1967.
“We were both students then,” Edwards said. “He was at Trinity College, Carmarthen and I was at Cardiff Training College, and I rang him up and suggested we should meet before we played together.
“I had a car and was happy to drive from Cardiff, so we arranged to meet on a pitch in Carmarthen. When I arrived at Trinity College, Barry was nowhere to be found.
“There I was, looking immaculate in my green college tracksuit, boots in hand, ready for action, but Barry had apparently forgotten about our meeting.
“I bumped into someone I knew and he said he had seen Barry enjoying himself at a party the night before. He went off and found him, and when he eventually turned up he looked a bit scruffy and didn’t have any boots, just plimsolls.
“I was concerned about my pass, because everyone said it wasn’t very good, and so we had a bit of a throw about.
“He was slipping all over the place, and in the end he came up with the immortal line, ‘Gar, you just throw it and I’ll catch it!’. And that’s how it was for us from there on.”
They travelled the world together, thrilling crowds with their magical brand of rugby and earning global acclaim.
“Lots of people ask me to compare Barry with the other great outside-half I played with for Wales, Phil Bennett,” Edwards added.
“Phil had to have the ball in his hands before he decided what he was going to do, whereas Barry’s computer-like brain was always scanning and summing up his options before he got hold of the ball.
“Barry didn’t have the shuddering sidestep of Cliff Morgan, Dai Watkins or Phil, but he was lithe and much quicker than people gave him credit for, and he could simply glide past people.
“On top of that, he was a fantastic kicker and was never afraid to try things on the international stage that were out of the ordinary.
“What a player, team-mate, friend he was. He may be gone, but he will never, ever be forgotten.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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