CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS 📼 | England v Ireland 1974 |  

Fascinating to watch. Scrums formed immediately the ref blows the whistle. No line out gaps and the winger throws the ball in. After a tackle both sets of forwards just pile in. Those were the rules I remember playing under as a schoolboy.

"We might not be any good but at leaat we turn up" (John Pullin).

What a TRULY GREAT player Mike Gibson was!

When six feet four was huge.

The voice of Bill McLaren brought back so many memories.

Nice to see Parker from Thunderbirds in the crowd at 9.50

I was there. Gibson. Genius.

Beautiful real rugby union game between England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 & Ireland 🇮🇪 … both of teams were fantastic in the great entertaining exhibition of freestyle in counterattacks all the time without boring … I adored Mike Gibson the Irish best centre back for his wonderful performance in energetic all-rounded performance in attack & defence - he scored more fabulous tries by a brilliant teamwork from the awesome hard-working Irish players. I enjoyed to watch Alan Old the effective English stand-off which was fantastically scored more phenomenal goal-kicking goals in every impossible long distance so calm & optimistic. I have to say that Willie-John McBride the most legendary rugby union captain was a massive role in heroic success for leading his superb team to win a famous match at Twickenham by his inspiring communication with tactical focus on strong England at this uneasier away ground to any opposite team. Fantastic game 👍🏉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪

Mike Gibson was a monster , what a player This match showed me that England were better than their results , they simply had a selection problem buoyed by selectors who were too emotional to see a process through They got it right briefly in 1980 then in 1988 they had a settled side and game plan

It was a different game back then. This is when I started watching rugby.

It is very noticeable how much less musclebound the players are. They look positively lightweight compared with the behemoths in today's game.

17:22 "That's no place for the weak hearted" as 6 studs rake your back. Lol different but still exciting game

Fantastic match, my God this takes me back, I think its one of the first matches I ever watched on the telly aged 12., I had just started playing. What stands out: the looseness of the open play, the quick scrums, my all time rugby hero the man Fergus Slattery! ( I am English), Irish style of play still recognisable today. No gym monkeys either, some quite skinny guys on that pitch!

Ireland ahead, Astonishingly,says the bold Bill McLaren, not so astonishing these days!

Wow, no hanging around with the scrum in those days, straight in there. Forget, crouch, bind and set. 🤣🤣🤣

Such a more simple and straightforward game in those days. The highlights of individual brilliance were memories that last. That was the game I grew up to love. Now ⁉️

England v Ireland during the 70s, sounds fantastic

Love these old highlights. The ref appears to be wearing a man at C&A business shirt.

The BBC showed the whole 80 minutes of this match when a round of the 5 Nations was cancelled due to bad weather in the mid 80's. It would be great if the BBC could release the full 80 minutes of these matches on DVD!! Unfortunately I fear that the whole match might have been lost forever with it being taped over!!

Epic game! Irish all warrior balls out, English somehow cautious and tactics. Fortune always favours the brave!

Great match. England's inconsistency and amateurism, typical of the period for them, really shows here. Gibson - what class.

I had forgotten how chaotic both line-outs and scrums were. I mean, I knew they were messy, but Jeez. And then the decision to kick the penalty when 9-26 down!!!! To be fair, the word amateur does come to mind.

7:13 Was 1974 the last time a penalty was awarded for a crooked scrum feed?! :-)

Oh halcyon days when the game was played in the right spirit and by "normal" men not the oversized robots of today! I remember watching this as a 19 year old and thrilling at the performances of Gibson and co. The 5 nations (as it was then) was one of my annual sporting highlights - such a shame that money in the name of professionalism has completely ruined the modern game to the point where I don't bother watching it!

16:40 THERE'S Wally!

How the game has changed?!.No subs.5 mins for half time, stayed on the pitch, with orange slices!. Sidesteps esp Gibson. Duckham throwing into lineouts!. Lock Uttley takes a mark on a kickoff and takes penalty himself! The speed of the scrum forming, penalties for crooked feeds! The Eng no.10 puts the ball down and immediately kicks a penalty!, even from halfway!. Todays officials, take note.

❤❤❤😊

21:36 Rassie, is that you?

Great stadium, proper kits.

The Irish team visited our school that year. They were like giants. I got all their autographs but had no idea how good they were

Could never understand why England used to wear Scotland socks!

Mike Gibson could have done it in any era.

Love beaten the english 😄

Wow. No referee being the commentor. Simple.ley the players play. Crouch touch bind...use it..use it..

funny!

I know it is nearly 50 years on but Twickenham looks on a different planet now from then!

Who is the Irish fullback with the un-irish sounding name, Tony Ensa?

wot, no kicking tee?

I don't think England had a proper domestic club competition in those days

Clash of the public schoolboys.

No one going to mention the ref wearing a red dress shirt?

#10 for England, puts 5he ball down and 10 seconds later kicks. Not like that OWEN FARRELL, 5mins to take a kick

England were terrible in those days.

Sorry but I never saw Alain old tackle and while Duckham was incredible in attack, My Granny tackled better.

NO rainbow referee shirts here !!!

Tony Ensor looks all of ten stone soaking wet. He'd never be considered in our modern professional era of mostly muscle-bound freaks playing the game along with 6'5' inside centers, who'd have been stuck into the second row back in these times.