Cardiff celebrated its centenary in season 1976/77 and did so in an appropriate style, starting with an international sevens competition on the club ground though the home team were eliminated by a Barbarians side thanks to a hat-trick of tries from Gareth Davies,who was guesting for the wandering side. Arch-rivals Newport triumphed in the final.
Matches against an Overseas International XV and Argentina on the National Stadium followed. Coached by John Dawes, the Overseas side included Ian Robinson of Rhodesia, Bryan Williams and Bill Osbourne of New Zealand, Jacques Fouroux and Jean-Pierre Romeau of France, and soon to be Cardiff favourite, Hans de Goede of Canada. In continuous heavy rain, the home side triumphed 24-15 after scoring five tries, one a 70-yard effort from Gerald Davies.
In the second match, Argentina led 22-6 at half-time. Things improved greatly in the second half with a Cardiff revival seeing them just pipped 29-25. Dramatically, towards the end of the game Cardiff first-aid man Tom Holley was called upon to give Argentinian prop Mario Carluccio the kiss of life after he had swallowed his tongue following a collapsed scrum.
The off the field celebrations were many and splendid and included a dinner at City Hall on the evening of the Overseas XV game and a banquet in a huge marquee on the green at Cardiff Castle in April, where Gerald Davies, George Burrell (manager of the 1977 Lions), and Dai Hayward all made memorable speeches before a top table of exactly 100 and several hundred other guests.
Matches against an Overseas International XV and Argentina on the National Stadium followed. Coached by John Dawes, the Overseas side included Ian Robinson of Rhodesia, Bryan Williams and Bill Osbourne of New Zealand, Jacques Fouroux and Jean-Pierre Romeau of France, and soon to be Cardiff favourite, Hans de Goede of Canada. In continuous heavy rain, the home side triumphed 24-15 after scoring five tries, one a 70-yard effort from Gerald Davies.
In the second match, Argentina led 22-6 at half-time. Things improved greatly in the second half with a Cardiff revival seeing them just pipped 29-25. Dramatically, towards the end of the game Cardiff first-aid man Tom Holley was called upon to give Argentinian prop Mario Carluccio the kiss of life after he had swallowed his tongue following a collapsed scrum.
The off the field celebrations were many and splendid and included a dinner at City Hall on the evening of the Overseas XV game and a banquet in a huge marquee on the green at Cardiff Castle in April, where Gerald Davies, George Burrell (manager of the 1977 Lions), and Dai Hayward all made memorable speeches before a top table of exactly 100 and several hundred other guests.