The incident sent shock waves throughout rugby and beyond – but for some reason Wales’ legendary skipper was not sent off
As condolences pour in for the late Wales captain Brian Price, who passed away at the age of 86, a story has surfaced claiming that King Charles was apparently perplexed by an incident involving the Welshman that caused a stir in rugby and beyond.
Long ago, precisely in 1969, Ireland’s Noel Murphy was defeated by the legendary Wales captain Brian Price, who was regarded as the equal of Alun Wyn Jones in his day. This blow is renowned as the most famous in Five Nations history.
It materialized before Charles, younger than his years, as he sat in the stand at Cardiff Arms Park.
A few months before to being formally invested as Prince of Wales, the 20-year-old was able to
scowling.
When he first started playing rugby at Gordonstoun School, he remembered that his evil bosses had allegedly placed him in the second row so that “systematic assaults on me in the scrum went unseen.”
This offered more evidence supporting the oval-ball game’s rough-and-tumble character. Price, the second rower, hit flanker Murphy with a right hook early in the game, knocking him in front of the royal box.
“He turned towards the grandstand, his head high and dignified, befitting a prince of Irish players, as though imploring the sympathy of the young Prince of Wales seated in the royal enclosure,” the Irishman was later reported to have said.Then he dropped to the ground like a fallen oak!”The audience roared!”
Remarkably, Price was not sent off by the referee, which led BBC broadcaster and pundit David Coleman to inquire, “What do you have to do to be sent off at rugby?”
The Times thundered: “It was a deplorable act of ruffianism,” adding, more than a shade bizarrely, “it was the depth of bad manners”.
For Murphy it probably felt like more than just a case of bad manners.
Years later Price, one of Welsh rugby’s all-time great players and not a man known for punching or other acts of
on-pitch violence, acknowledged that Murphy, a great ball-killer, had been the focus of a pre-match plot.
Let’s acknowledge right now that there was a Murphy Plan, he remarked. It was fairly easy. Noel would tackle Gareth Edwards after he picked up the ball from the scrum and moved to the side. Next, we would all start stepping on Noel a little bit.
However, the intended object of Welsh attention wound up taking a blow in front of a royal. After a lineout, Price remarked, “I found some fingers around my eyes and got the ball back.” “I pivoted and unleashed a fury. The
When the late Scottish referee Doug McMahon stared at me, I knew I was going. I’m heading in front of the Prince. Fortunately, the referee saw that it was a retaliatory move, alerted me, and awarded Ireland a penalty.
Never once was the new King questioned about the uproar surrounding his first excursion to the Arms Park. However, a lot of people may still recall the match that gave rise to the title “A right royal punch-up” in the South Wales Echo’s match report.
Wales prevailed 24–11, preventing Ireland from winning the Triple Crown. McMahon, the referee, never officiated another international game.
