|
Centre Jamie Salmon had the distinction of being a dual international, appearing for both New Zealand and England between 1981 and 1987. He first appeared for the All Blacks on their 1981 European tour in a victory over Romania in Bucharest, and also played in both tests of 2-0 series victory against France. When Jamie next took the field in an international four years later it was against the All Blacks, for he was now wearing the white shirt of England.
The first test was a close run affair won by New Zealand 18-12 thanks to Kieran Crowley's six penalties, but in the next test the All Blacks cut loose to win 42-15. The 1986 season saw Salmon make his Five Nations debut in a victory over Wales, England's first against their old enemy since 1982. However, England were put to the sword by Scotland in their next match and lost 33-6. The year of 1987 was probably Jamie's best and he played in a total of eight matches, including four in the World Cup.
The Five Nations campaign ended in victory over Scotland, but afterwards Salmon was spotted by the RFU's Don Rutherford leaving the referee's changing room. When challenged, Jamie replied with tongue firmly in cheek 'I told him that if he blew up two minutes early I would swap jerseys with him!'. England started their World Cup match with Australia reasonably enough, but their hopes were dashed when David Campese was awarded a try without grounding the ball.
After losing that one 19-6, England recovered to beat the USA and Japan, against whom Jamie scored his only international try. England lost their quarter-final match to Wales 16-3, leading to taunts from the Welsh fans along the lines of 'Cardiff, Twickenham, Brisbane - we'll go anywhere to beat you!'. The Welsh defeat was Jamie's last cap for England, but he continued to play for Harlequins where his tries were traditionally greeted by a tannoy announcement of 'The Eagle Has Landed!' (Jon Collins)
|