With so much excitement in the World Cup already during the first round of games, it's hard to imagine a time when it didn't exist. However, back in 1991, the tournament was only celebrating its second edition.
At the time, George was working as the coach at London Irish, and he spoke about the players from his team that were headed to the tournament, and that he went to the opening game in Twickenham
While the rugby world was amazed by Japan's win over South Africa last weekend, Western Samoa beating Wales was the big shock of that tournament, a result that has lived long in the memory since, as George looks back on a truly remarkable moment that lead to the Welsh side asking "what would have happened if we'd played the whole of Samoa?".
Scotland and Ireland faced off in the Pool stages in a game that, as it turns out, would have a big impact on how the Boys in Green progress, and George was particularly emotionally involved given his London Irish connection. Early on in the game, Finlay Calder caught Jim Staples with a huge hit, and even though George notes that he was the bravest full back he's ever seen, he wasn't the same for the rest of the game, and Ireland lost to a talented Scotland side.
As runners up in the Pool, that meant that another tough draw awaited Ireland, who had to face Australia in the quarter-finals. Despite looking as though they were home and hosed, a kick that failed to find touch at the end of the game meant that Australia got in position and went over the line, once again proving the importance of finishing as winners in the group stage.
You can listen to George look back at the whole tournament from 1991 in this week's History of the World Cup podcast below:
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