18-07-2025
Jason Robinson recreates iconic try at Gabba … leaving me in a heap
I am standing opposite Jason Robinson, out on the field at the Gabba, pretending to be Chris Latham, the Australian full back who 'Billy Whizz' danced around to score one of the great British & Irish Lions Test tries back in 2001.
The issue is, even now he is 50 years old (he doesn't look it, does he?), Robinson is too fast for me to get near enough to him with a flailing tackle, or for our Times photographer Marc Aspland to track his run as we recreate the try in the Brisbane sunshine.
'Can you do it slower?' Marc asks. 'I don't do anything slow,' Robinson replies with a smile.
As he did 24 years ago, Robinson jinks around his man with a hot-step, leaving him to eat the turf. He then finishes in the left corner, lets out a roar and punches the air.
This was the moment he announced himself as a rugby union star on his first Test start, which came seven months after his debut in the code for Sale Sharks, having left Wigan, and after only three substitute appearances for England in the 2001 Six Nations.
Was he nervous before the game that made him in union? Not a bit of it.
'I didn't even know all my England team-mates' names, then three months after that I'm on a Lions tour,' Robinson says. 'What people don't really digest is the fact I came into it not knowing bloody what to do.
'So going round Latham — I never put it across in an arrogant way, but I didn't know who he was. I didn't know a lot of the stuff that was going on, but I realised you just need to be good at something, and I was completely different from everybody else on the pitch.
'I'd scored nearly 200 tries before I came into union. My style of play, not too dissimilar to a Shane Williams — tight space is our thing. We've got great feet, we've got explosive power, and we've got confidence.
'He probably didn't expect me to go around the outside. You've got to do what naturally comes to you, and that came naturally; 2½ minutes into the game, we scored and were on the front foot. I remember punching the air after the try, and the atmosphere in here was bloody electric.
'Before we came out of the changing rooms, Johnno [the captain Martin Johnson] said, 'You're not going to believe what's out there' with all the red shirts. What is unique about the Lions is the travelling fans, the four nations coming together and supporting that one shirt. That's why it's so special. It's just great to be back out here.
'Thinking back 24 years, you shouldn't be able to go into a sport you've no clue about, and in three months play for your country, and then three months after that be on a Lions tour.'
Only the special ones do something like that. Maybe another league convert, Australia's centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, can be the one to light up this year's series.
'Making that switch, there's a lot of pressure and a lot of people that you come up against want to prove you wrong,' Robinson says.
'He has great footwork, great hands, is great in the air and can create something out of nothing. He is a huge star, but you've got to back it up. It's a great stage for him and when you get there it is about proving what you're all about every week. There's no better place for him to prove himself than against the Lions.'
A moment to ignite the series within three minutes, Robinson's try was followed by Brian O'Driscoll waltzing through the middle of the Wallabies, and a 29-13 win for the Lions in the opening Test. However, they ended up losing the series 2-1, and Robinson still regrets it. He hopes the Lions of 2025 grasp their moment.
'We should have won that series, there's no doubt about it. It was a one that got away, but it just makes you realise what an opportunity the guys have this time round,' adds Robinson, an ambassador for Howden, the Lions' sponsors.
'It's a very strong team, a great time to take on Australia. They've not been as good as we've known, so this is a great opportunity. If you can come away from this 3-0, that's massive. That's something that they'll look back and think, as Lions tours go, this could be a great one.
'I'm looking forward to seeing who steps up, as in 2001 lots of players stepped up. You've got an opportunity to create history and respect amongst your peers, which is one of the key things when you come on a Lions tour.
'The team now have a great opportunity to keep that shirt for the next three Tests. It's up to them to prove they're worthy of it.'
Clearly, I am not worthy of sharing a field with the great Jason Robinson, but it was an honour to do so — even if it was so he could take the mickey out of me. It happened to far better men.
