Openside Flanker

5.  Fergus Slattery

 

The Shamrock of Ireland has three clovers of St Patrick that the Saint used to remind the native Irish of the Holy Trinity.  Like St Patrick, Slattery had his own trinity; skill, pace and endurance.  Slattery’s ability to play the way he did for 80 minutes is testament to his near inexhaustible fitness.

 

The Dubliner debuted in 1970 against the Springboks and by 1984 Slattery had accumulated 61 test matches for Ireland and four as a British Lion.

 

The highlights for Slattery were being an integral member of the 1974 Lions team against South Africa who are known as ‘The Invincibles.’ The Lions won the spiteful series 3-0, a series that could be described as a mix between rugby and open conflict.  Slattery starred in all tests and captained the Lions twice during the tour for midweek games.  His try against Western Province was a sublime expression of ability that many wingers today could not have scored, let alone a flanker.  Slattery and the ’74 Lions set a benchmark for those who have followed.

 

Slattery possessed leadership evident during his captaincy of Ireland in Australia in 1979. At a time when Australian rugby was commencing a renaissance after defeats of Wales and New Zealand in 1978, Slattery’s men downed the Wallabies 2-0 in a series where Australia was simply outclassed.

The crowning moment for Slattery was Ireland’s Triple Crown in 1982, and was only denied a Grand Slam by the French.