Noted Lions prop dies at 77

Former Scotland and British and Irish Lions forward Sandy Carmichael, who suffered a fractured cheekbone at the infamous ‘Battle of Lancaster Park’ in 1971, has died at the age of 77.

Carmichael won 50 caps for Scotland and was selected for two Lions tours, but will forever be associated with the brutal fixture against Canterbury before the first test against the All Blacks. Photos of Carmichael after the game, showing his badly beaten face, prompted outrage among the travelling rugby reporters from the UK and Ireland.

Remarkably, Carmichael managed to finish the game against Canterbury, despite his cheekbone being fractured in five places. However, the severity of the injuries meant he played no further part in the tour.

Canterbury flanker Grizz Wyllie – who himself was punched in the face during the game – told Stuff in 2017 that the Lions’ scrummaging technique had been the catalyst for the violence in the game.

‘‘The front row were talking, and saying if it happens [again] we have to sort it out pretty quick. And I think that was probably the start of it,’’ Wyllie recalled. ‘‘I was packing on the side of the scrum that day and I remember Hoppy [Hopkinson] saying ‘get your bloody head up’ [to a Lions front rower] and it didn’t happen. And we saw the results afterwards.’’

Veteran reporter Lindsay Knightsaid ‘‘both sides were probably responsible’’.