Rugby world mourns loss of Lion-hearted Tucker
He had been in poor health and his death at the age of 59 will occasion widespread regret throughout therugby world.
Colm first made his mark with St Mary’s before moving on to Shannon and came to national prominence as a member of outstanding teams in the mid to late 70s. He was a member of the sides that defeated Garryowen in memorable back-to-back MunsterSenior Cup finals of 1977 and ‘78 when his team mates included Gerry McLoughlin and Brendan Foley.
All three were key members of the Munster pack that played the All Blacks off the Thomond Park pitch in October 1978 and earned for themselves an undying place in the history of the game in this country. Tucker was blessed with the ideal physique for a blindside wing-forward, tipping the scales at 15st 8lbs and standing 6ft 1in in height. As a ball carrier, he had few rivals while his bone-crushing tackles and innate footballing brain enabled him to read any given situation to perfection, marking him out as invaluable at any level of the game.
The quality of Irish back-row forward play in the country at the time was of the highest quality but the fact that he represented his country on only three occasions was a source of both considerable surprise and majorcontroversy in his native Limerick and especially in the Shannon club.However, his qualities weren’t lost on those selecting the Lions touring squad to South Africa in 1980.
His inclusion originally came as a surprise but as the tour progressed, he became a more and more meaningful figure on and off the pitch until he was called up for the starting team in two Tests, using his strength and skills to score a try in the second of those.
“I have so many memories of Colm,” said Tony Ward, who played against Tucker in several big club games and also with him for Munster and, of course, was his team-mate on the fateful day in 1978 when the All Blacks were humbled at Thomond.
“He was a dyed-in-the-wool Shannon man and was forever telling you about the injustices that were done to the club,” said Ward last night. “And maybe he was right in that for I always believed he never got the reward in the way of Irish caps to which he was entitled.
“In his younger days, he was a very good soccer player and he brought those talents to the rugby pitch. The foot rush was in vogue at the time and he had amazing control of the ball on the ground and I always felt sorry for out-halves and those who had to deal with Colm Tucker coming at them with malice aforethought. I know, I was one of those. It is hard to believe that he has died while still a young man.”
Tucker remained one of the mostinfluential players for Shannon and Munster throughout the 1980s and finished his career by winning yetanother Munster Senior Cup medal with the club in 1988 before being elected club president in 1999/2000.
On retirement, he coached Munster teams with considerable distinction while his ready wit and ability to give and take in the repartee that was very much part of the game in the amateur era endeared Colm Tucker to team-mates and opponents alike.
He is survived by wife Gerardine, sons Colm and Richard and daughter Rachel.
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