The day the Lions beat a team of tradies and teachers by 100 points
The British and Irish Lions are training at their base at Hale School in Perth, completing drills on a manicured ryegrass field in front of a large screen projecting lineout variations.
The school's biology teacher and First XV coach Rob Barugh would be more impressed by the Lions' slick operation, but for the fact he has already experienced it for real – nearly 25 years ago, Barugh played halfback for the Western Australia team that lost to the tourists by a record score of 116-10.
Barugh's teammates that day were all amateurs except for Wallabies prop Patricio Noriega and Waratahs playmaker Duncan McRae, who had been parachuted in late to strengthen the side.
Breakaway Hamish Grace did a half day of work as a roof carpenter, before packing up his tools and driving to the WACA to take on the very best players from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England.
Barugh and his teammates had been cautiously optimistic that they could be competitive against a Lions side that featured several future legends of the game including Brian O'Driscoll and Keith Wood.
However, as they lined up beside the Lions before the game, Barugh – a former Australian sevens and Randwick player – began to realise the enormity of their task.
'Just seeing them come out alongside us as we came through the chute at the WACA, that's probably when I realised how big the mismatch was,' Barugh said.
'They had physical size and prowess, and I'm weighing myself up against various backs and wondering how I'm going to go evading them.
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