Limerick leader leaves a legacy of bravery and commitment

COLM TUCKER played his rugby the way he lived his life. He was earnest, committed, determined and like all successful sportsmen, certainly didn’t like to lose!

But he could also see the funny side of things and was the most engaging of company, never shy to express his views from which he rarely budged unless you came up with a particularly good argument.

Looking back on a career that earned him so many plaudits and honours but a desperately meagre three Irish caps, I easily visualise a back-row forward of enormous strength, a big man of 15 stone 8 lbs and 6 ft 1 inch tall, a natural footballer endowed with all the attributes that would have made him a huge success in the modern professional game.

His greatest day, of course, arrived at Thomond Park, the arena which he adorned with an endless string of outstanding performances and which overlooks his home in nearby Thomondgate, on October 31st 1978. He was one of the powerhouses of the Munster side that pulverised an otherwise unbeaten All Blacks team by 12 points to nil. He was everywhere that afternoon and never more tellingly than when on hand to scoop up a loose ball close to the New Zealand posts in the second half and sent out the most beautiful little flick pass to Tony Ward.

Wardy in turn did the rest, chipping over his second drop goal of the game to put Munster 12-0 in front and send the packed stadium into raptures. Colm and his team mates lived happily off that day for years and years to follow. And who could blame them!

There were, of course, many other occasions on which Tucker and his countless admirers could look back with great delight. He often recounted how a hammering inflicted on his beloved Shannon by Garryowen in a Munster Cup final in 1974 left a huge imprint on himself and his club. When the opportunity to wreak revenge on their fierce Limerick rivals presented itself in 1977, they were more than equal to the task. Tucker and his back-row colleagues Eddie Price (now the club President) and Johnny Barry made life an absolute misery for the opposing out-half Tony Ward and his team mates — and repeated the dose when the sides again met at the same stage 12 months later. Tucker ended up with a haul of six Munster Cup medals.

Given all his achievements at club and provincial level, it appeared as if the then 25 year-old was on his way to a long and distinguished international career. But they were different times, a five man selection committee with two from Ulster and Leinster and one from Munster. How often did we hear the mantra … “you have to be twice as good as those from Ulster and Leinster to get on the Irish team”.

True or not, the fact that Colm earned only three caps lent at least some weight to the argument. He and Gerry McLoughlin made their debut together against France at Lansdowne Road in 1979. He was retained for the clash with Wales but his only subsequent appearance in the green was as a replacement against France in Paris the following year, an occasion memorable for the unfortunate spelling of his surname in the match programme!

At the time, Ireland rated Tucker behind John O’Driscoll and Stuart McKinney for the number 6 berth while the number 7 jersey was the property of Fergus Slattery. However, the Lions selectors for the 1980 tour of South Africa were a perceptive lot and very much aware of what he could do. He may have been a surprise selection but quickly silenced the critics with a series of outstanding performances.

A team managed and coached by Ireland’s Syd Millar and Noel Murphy didn’t get off to the best of starts, twice losing narrowly to the Springboks before Tucker was called up and played outstandingly well in the 12-10 defeat in the third Test before again proving his worth in the 17-13 victory in the fourth.

Noel Murphy’s subsequent tribute to Colm was heartfelt and spoke volumes about his qualities both as a person and sportsman.

“The basic quality of Tucker’s success was his honesty”, said Murphy. “He was a forward’s forward, that is to say he particularly excited the admiration of men who had been through the mill of hard play in first-class rugby. Because of his physical strength and pace and spectacular skill in handling and backing up, nothing was more exciting than when he set sail for the goal line. He was courteous to everyone and was extremely popular with his team mates.”

Spring pays tribute to ‘big brother’ Tucker

DONAL SPRING, a back-row colleague of Colm Tucker when Munster defeated the All Blacks at Thomond Park in October, 1978, last night joined in the chorus of tributes paid to the Limerick man who passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 59.

“When I came on the Munster scene in 1977, he was three years older than me, but from the outside he was like a big brother to me”, said Spring. “He was always encouraging me, he was like a protector, a man with a huge physical presence and a great footballer. I adored him as a player and person and loved every minute on the pitch with him. He liked nothing more than for me to take the ball away at my feet, an art at which he himself excelled. In our time, the team talk was usually given by the captain and pack leader and the rest of us were supposed to shut up. Colm didn’t always see it like that and often made his views apparent. When he spoke, you listened. He never said anything that wasn’t appropriate and he didn’t waste words.”

Donal Spring is one of those who believes Tucker was done a grave disservice in having his total of Irish caps restricted to three. “People say to me now, when they’re almost giving them away, that I got only seven caps. But my response is that Colm Tucker only got three”, said Spring. “I know there were some great back-row forwards around at the time, but I still feel he should have been given more opportunities. Teams were all too often chosen on reputation rather than form.

“Colm Tucker was a fantastic player and God only knows how many caps he would have if he was playing today. Of the 1978 team, he may have been the only one who could have fitted comfortably into the professional game. He was strong as an ox and fast and absolutely fearless. Nobody could ever question his bravery”.