Legend and legacy of Seddon lives on

THERE was a poignant moment at Campbell’s Hill Cemetery, just outside Newcastle, New South Wales, in the small hours of the Irish night as Lions captain Sam Warburton came face to face with the grave of the original captain, Robert Seddon.

Seddon had led the first Lions tour in 1888 but tragically never returned to his native England, losing his life in a rowing accident on the Hunter River on August 13 of that year.

He is buried in Telarah, near Maitland, and it was there Warburton, 125 years later, paid his respects alongside team-mate Manu Tuilagi, tour manager Andy Irvine, chairman of the Lions board Gerald Davies and chief executive John Feehan. Accompanied by Australian Rugby Union president David Crombie and officials of the Maitland Rugby Club, which has graciously tended Seddon’s grave since his burial, the Lions party laid a wreath before returning to the business of playing ruthless rugby.