British & Irish Lions
1989 Lions - Where are they now?
ESPN Staff
May 28, 2013
The 1989 British & Irish Lions Squad © Getty Images
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In 1989, Ian McGeechan led a British & Irish Lions party for the first time as coach and made history. They became the first Lions team to comeback from an opening Test loss to win the series and the tour proved to be a launch pad for a number of players. Nearly 25 years on, we look back at that crop of players and provide an update on what they have been up to since.

Back Row

- (left to right)

Ieuan Evans

The Welsh wing appeared in all three Tests and returned for the next two series in New Zealand and South Africa where he added another four Lions caps to his name. He also won a total of 72 Wales caps and now works as a pundit for Sky Sports.

Craig Chalmers

His greatest day in international rugby came in 1990 when his three penalties helped Scotland to the Five Nations Grand Slam and he later retired with 61 caps. He has recently moved to London to kick-start his coaching career.

Lions tourists Paul Deans, Finlay Calder, Ieuan Evans and Chris Oti relax before departing for the 1989 Lions tour to Australia. Lions Tour, Heathrow Airport, London, England, June 3, 1989
Paul Deans, Finlay Calder, Ieuan Evans and Chris Oti relax before departure from Heathrow © PA Photos
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Peter Dods

The Scottish fullback was part of the 1984 Grand Slam-winning team. He won his 23rd and final cap at the 1991 Rugby World Cup and can now be found coaching at Gala.

Gareth Chilcott

The 1989 Lions tour was 'Cooch's' last hurrah in international rugby as he had already played his last England match earlier in 1989. He now runs rugby tours and assists with a number of rugby-related charities.

Andy Robinson

Since retiring as a player has established himself as a top-level coach. He led Bath to the 1998 Heineken Cup, assisted on the 2001 Lions tour and was part of England's 2003 World Cup winning team. Mixed spells as head coach of England and Scotland followed, but is now director of rugby at Bristol.

Mike Hall

He played at centre for Wales through to their elimination from the 1995 World Cup. After retiring he qualified as a surveyor and has been involved in construction projects in Cardiff. He also works as a summariser for BBC Wales.

John Jeffrey

'The Great White Shark' was a major part of the Scotland team that won the 1990 Grand Slam, while all the time a farmer in the Borders. Following retirement he has coached at junior level, sat on the International Rugby Board and commentated for BBC Radio.

Derek White

Finlay Calder leads the Lions out for the first Test of the 1989 tour. Lions v Australia, First Test, Lions Tour, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia, July 1, 1989
The Lions run out at Sydney Football Stadium for the first Test © Getty Images
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The third part of the 1990 Scottish back-row between Jeffrey and Finlay Calder, he carried on playing until 1995. Following his retirement from the game, he has worked as a financial adviser.

Jeremy Guscott

He came of age in Australia and announced himself internationally. He twice returned as a Lion and played in all three Tests in New Zealand in 1993 and South Africa in 1997 where he scored the series-winning drop. He won the Heineken Cup with Bath and stepped down from Test rugby after the 1999 World Cup. He currently works as a television pundit.

Steve Smith

The Ulster hooker won 25 Ireland caps and featured in the 1991 World Cup before calling it a day in 1993. In retirement he wrote a book examining the relations between the Irish Rugby Football Union and London Irish.

Rob Andrew

Another player for whom the tour served as a springboard to further success, he was fly-half for the England sides that won Grand Slams in 1991, 1992 and 1995. He joined Newcastle Falcons in 1995 at the outbreak of professionalism, and helped nurture Jonny Wilkinson's early career. He later joined the RFU where he is now the professional rugby director.

Middle Row

Gary Armstrong

He was part of the Newcastle side that won the 1998 Premiership title and captained Scotland to the 1999 Five Nations title. He retired in 2004 and now lives in the Borders and runs a grain business.

Tony Clement

Fans roar on the Lions during the first Test. Lions v Australia, First Test, Lions Tour, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia, July 1, 1989
Lions fans roar on their team during the first Test © Getty Images
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He toured with the Lions for a second time, to New Zealand in 1993. Like Hall he retired at the end of the 1995 World Cup with 37 caps and went on to coach Swansea. He now coaches Wales' Under 20s team.

Dai Young

Played all three Tests, but went north to rugby league soon after returning home. He played for Leeds, Salford and Wales until 1996 when he returned to union with Cardiff. He later became director of rugby at Cardiff Blues, then became DoR at London Wasps in 2011.

Mike Teague

Player of the series, the Gloucester man helped England to the 1991 World Cup semi-finals and the 1992 Grand Slam. He also played in the second Test of the 1993 tour and retired from international rugby the same year. He now runs pubs in Gloucester and a property development company.

Paul Ackford

The Germany-born London copper retired after the 1991 World Cup with 25 caps. He became a respected journalist and has recently retired from his post with the Sunday Telegraph.

Wade Dooley

'The Blackpool Tower' was one of three police officers in the squad and another to help England to Grand Slam success in 1991 and 1992 and the 1991 World Cup final. He played the first Test for the 1993 Lions but was not allowed to re-join the tour having been forced to return home for family reasons. He retired from the police in 2007 and became an RFU citing officer a year later.

Bob Norster

Ian McGeechan looks on ahead of the first Test. Lions v Australia, 1989 Lions tour, First Test, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia, June 1, 1989
For Ian McGeechan it was the first of four tours as head coach © Getty Images
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The first Test was his final international outing and he retired with three Lions caps having played twice against New Zealand in 1983. He also won 34 caps for Wales and served as Cardiff Blues' chief executive from 2001 until 2011.

Scott Hastings

Another hero of Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam, the younger of the Hastings brothers was also a Lion in 1993. He finished his Scotland career with 67 caps in 1997 and now runs his own marketing and events company.

Mike Griffiths

Griffiths played for Bridgend, Wasps, Cardiff and Pontypridd and won 35 Welsh caps, the final one against South Africa in 1998. He stayed on at Pontypridd after retiring where he used his know-how of the dark arts as their scrum coach.

Brendan Mullin

The classy Ireland centre, who started the first Test against the Wallabies in 1989, retired following the 1995 World Cup with 56 Test caps. Since hanging up his boots he has worked in financial services.

Gavin Hastings

The Scot enjoyed a rich vein of form in the early-90s that included the 1990 Grand Slam and leading the 1993 Lions to New Zealand, but he and McGeechan were unable to repeat their success on the other side of the Tasman Sea. He was chaired off after his final Test against New Zealand at the 1995 World Cup and went on to briefly play American Football for the Scottish Claymores. He now works with his brother and as a summariser for BBC Scotland.

Front Row

Brian Moore

A mainstay of the England team of the early-90s, he also played two Tests for the Lions in 1993. The trained solicitor became a journalist after retiring and forms part of the BBC's commentary team, pens articles for The Daily Telegraph and won the 2010 William Hill Sports Book of the Year for his autobiography.

Lions flanker Mike Teague prepares to release the ball from a maul. Lions v Australia, First Test, Lions tour, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia, July 1, 1989
Mike Teague prepares to release the ball from a maul during the first Test © Getty Images
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Rory Underwood

The RAF pilot was another to return for the 1993 series where he added another three Lions caps. He retired from England duty after the 1996 Five Nations with a record 49 England tries. He currently runs a management teamwork building company and is on the board at Leicester.

David Sole

Scotland's captain when they won the 1990 Grand Slam, he played his final Test against Australia in 1992 and retired with a total of 47. He now works for BBC Scotland in their rugby coverage.

Donal Lenihan

Captained 'Donal's Donuts', the midweek team, in 1989 and returned to Australia with the Lions in 2001 as tour manager. He won 52 Ireland caps and later was team manager from 1998 to 2000. He now works in the Irish media and works as a financial consultant.

British and Irish Lions captain Finlay Calder arrives at Heathrow Airport following a 2-1 victory in the Test series against Australia. Lons Tour, Heathrow Airport, London, England, July 25, 1989
Tour captain Finlay Calder is all smiles as he arrives back at Heathrow Airport © PA Photos
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Finlay Calder

The tour captain retired from international rugby after the 1991 World Cup with a total of 34 Scotland caps and three for the Lions. Since stepping down from competitive rugby he has run for the presidency of the SRU and called for 'Flower of Scotland' to be dropped as Scotland's anthem.

Dean Richards

The third English bobby in the squad, he was a force of nature for England and Leicester Tigers in the 1990s. Richards later coached Leicester to two Heineken Cups before being sacked. He reinvented himself at Harlequins before he was banned for three years following the Bloodgate scandal. He is now in charge of Newcastle Falcons and poised to take them back to the Premiership.

Robert Jones

The Swansea scrum-half also went on the 1993 tour and appeared at both the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. He retired from international rugby after Wales' elimination from the 1995 tournament but played on for Swansea and then Bristol until 2000. Since then he has worked as a pundit for the BBC and been an assistant coach at the Scarlets.

Paul Dean

The Ireland fly-half had already won the last of his 32 international caps by the time he left for Australia. He is now an honorary member of St Mary's RFC, plays golf off scratch and is a sportswear distributor.

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