British & Irish Lions legend reveals he had a stroke, his recovery was incredible
Rugby NewsWednesday, 15 May 2024 at 10:33
Willie John McBride, the revered British & Irish Lions rugby icon, recently shared his harrowing experience with a stroke, yet remarkably regained mobility within a mere three days.
Reflecting on his illustrious career, which includes five Lions tours and 17 caps, McBride attributed his recovery to the indomitable spirit synonymous with the Lions.
Recalling the pivotal moment on July 14, 2020, McBride vividly described awakening wedged between his bed and the bedroom wall, his left side rendered immobile by the stroke.
In his own words, he told The Telegraph, "I had suffered a stroke and it had left me literally a vegetable."
Despite his inability to speak, McBride managed to rouse his sleeping wife Penny using his right hand, initiating the urgent call for medical assistance. Describing the ordeal, he recounted, "I tried to call out to my wife Penny, but I couldn’t speak, and she was still asleep. My left side had completely gone."
While Penny promptly contacted emergency services, it was his son Paul who arrived first on the scene. Describing his son's efforts, McBride recounted, "Paul is as big as me and strong, but he couldn’t lift me. I was wedged between the bed and the wall."
With the timely arrival of paramedics, McBride was carefully manoeuvred into a specialised chair for transport to Antrim hospital. Reflecting on the swift and expert assistance he received, he expressed gratitude, stating, "Two really big guys turned up and I have never seen anything like it. They were just brilliant."
He added: "I was very lucky,"
For a more comprehensive account of McBride's experience, readers are encouraged to explore his detailed interview with The Telegraph.
LIST: 50 best British & Irish Lions of all-time named and ranked
In an exclusive release by the Guardian a few years back, Gareth Edwards clinched the title of the greatest Lion of all time, as revealed in a comprehensive list of the top 50 British and Irish Lions.
A distinguished panel consisting of 12 experts, among them former Lions captains Bill Beaumont, Phil Bennett, and Finlay Calder, were tasked with nominating players based on their skill and individual impact on the Lions.
Contributors from both the Guardian and the Observer, including correspondents, editors, and other knowledgeable figures, also had a hand in shaping the final rankings.
Check out the full list below:
50 best British & Irish Lions of all-time
50. Robert Jones (Wales) - Scrum-half - 1989 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 73
49. Tom Smith (Scotland) - Prop - 1997, 2001 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 75
48. Matt Dawson (England) - Scrum-half - 1997, 2001, 2005 - P7 W2 D0 L5 - 76
47. David Sole (Scotland) - Prop - 1989 - P3 W2 L1 - 90
46. Rhys Williams (Wales) - Lock - 1955, 1959 - P10 W5 L5 - 94
45. Neil Jenkins (Wales) - Fly-half - 1997, 2001 - P4 W2 D0 L2 - 99
44. Jason Robinson (England) - Fullback/Wing - 2001, 2005 - P5 W1 D0 L4 - 105
43. Roger Uttley (England) - Back row - 1974 - P4 W3 D1 L0 - 107
42. Bobby Windsor (Wales) - Hooker - 1974, 1977 - P5 W3 D1 L1 - 109
41. Jonny Wilkinson (England) - Fly-half - 2001, 2005 - P6 W1 D1 L4 - 110
40. Rob Andrew (England) - Fly-half - 1989, 1993 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 110
39. Paul O'Connell (Ireland) - Lock - 2005, 2009 - P6 W1 D0 L5 - 114
38. Peter Wheeler (England) - Hooker - 1977, 1980 - P7 W2 L5 - 119
37. David Duckham (England) - Centre - 1971 - P3 W1 D1 L1 - 128
36. Jack Kyle (Ireland) - Fly-half - 1950 - P6 W2 D1 L3 - 147
35. Finlay Calder (Scotland) - Back row - 1989 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 149
34. Dean Richards (England) - No. 8 - 1989, 1993 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 174
33. Dickie Jeeps (England) - Scrum-half - 1955, 1959, 1962 - P13 W4 D1 L8 - 191
32. Bill Beaumont (England) - Lock - 1977, 1980 - P7 W2 D0 L5 - 191
31. Graham Price (Wales) - Prop - 1977, 1980, 1983 - P12 W2 D0 L10 - 204
30. Jim Telfer (Scotland) - No. 8 - 1996, 1968 - P8 W2 D1 L5 - 204
29. Syd Millar (Ireland) - Prop - 1959, 1962, 1968 - P9 W2 D2 L5 - 219
28. Lawrence Dallaglio (England) - No. 8 - 1997 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 219
27. Fergus Slattery (Ireland) - Flanker - 1971, 1974 - P4 W3 D1 L0 - 232
26. Mike Teague (England) - Flanker - 1989, 1993 - P3 W3 D0 L0 - 238
25. Ieuan Evans (Wales) - Wing - 1989, 1993, 1997 - P7 W4 D0 L3 - 258
24. John Dawes (Wales) - Centre - 1971 - P4 W2 D1 L1 - 258
23 Cliff Morgan (Wales) - Fly-half - 1955 - P4 W2 D0 L2 - 272
22. Richard Hill (England) - Back row - 1997, 2001, 2005 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 286
21. Tony O'Reilly (Ireland) - Wing - 1955, 1959 - P10 W5 D0 L5 - 287
20. JJ Williams (Wales) - Wing - 1974, 1977 - P7 W4 D1 L2 - 300
19. Scott Gibbs (Wales) - Centre - 1993, 1997 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 305
18. Ian McGeechan (Scotland) - Centre - 1974, 1977 - P8 W4 D1 L3 - 315
17. Keith Wood (Ireland) - Hooker - 1997, 2001 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 325
16. Gavin Hastings (Scotland) - Fullback - 1989, 1993 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 337
15. Gordon Brown (Scotland) - Lock - 1971, 1974, 1977 - P8 W5 D1 L2 - 346
14. Andy Irvine (Scotland) - Fullback/Wing - 1974, 1977, 1980 - P9 W3 D1 L5 - 346
13. Jeremy Guscott (England) - Centre - 1989, 1993, 1997 - P8 W5 D0 L3 - 362
12. Fran Cotton (England) - Prop - 1974, 1977 - P7 W4 D1 L2 - 375
11. Ian McLauchlan (Scotland) - Prop - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 382
10. Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) - Centre - 2001, 2005, 2009 - P6 W1 D0 L5 - 399
9. Phil Bennett (Wales) - Fly-half - 1974, 1977 - P8 W4 D1 L3 - 411
8. Mervyn Davies (Wales) - No. 8 - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 448
7. Mike Gibson (Ireland) - Centre - 1966, 1968, 1971 - P12 W2 D2 L8 - 489
6. Gerald Davies (Wales) - Wing - 1968, 1971 - P5 W2 D1 L2 - 495
5. Barry John (Wales) - Fly-half - 1968, 1971 - P5 W2 D1 L2 - 501
4. JPR Williams (Wales) - Fullback - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 529
3. Martin Johnson (England) - Lock - 1993, 1997, 2001 - P8 W4 D0 L4 - 535
2. Willie John McBride (Ireland) - Lock - 1962, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974 - P17 W5 D3 L9 - 546
1. Gareth Edwards (Wales) - Scrum-half - 1968, 1971, 1974 - P10 W5 D3 L2 - 574
The latest odds for the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour Captain - by BonusCodeBets
1/1 - James Ryan (50%)
4/1 - Maro Itoje (20%)
5/1 - Jac Morgan (16.7%)
10/1 -Jamie Ritchie (9.1%)
16/1 - Owen Farrell (5.9%)
20/1 - Peter O'Mahony (4.76%)
The current 36-man British & Irish Lions squad for 2025, according to the bookies
Andy Farrell faces numerous challenging decisions leading up to finalising his Lions squad, yet bookmakers appear confident in predicting the players destined for Australia next summer.
We found it intriguing to project a smaller squad based on the favored contenders according to bookmakers' odds as of April19, 2024.
The Lions will play a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV as part of their nine-match tour down under in 2025.
The historic fixture in Adelaide will precede Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
A sell-out at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would smash records for a Lions Test match.
The series finale will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans in Sydney's Olympic Park.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The bolded players in our proposed Lions squad represent the starting XV, according to current odds.
2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD (36)
BACK-THREE (6)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) - 1/16
- James Lowe (Ireland) - 1/8
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) - 1/5
- Tommy Freeman (England) - 4/9
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England) - 8/11
- Mack Hansen (Ireland) - 2/1
CENTRE (4)
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) - 1/5
- Ollie Lawrence (England) - 1/4
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) - 2/7
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) - 8/11
FLY-HALVES (3)
- George Ford (England) - 1/10
- Marcus Smith (England) - 8/15
- Finn Russell (Scotland) - 8/11
SCRUM-HALVES (3)
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland) - 8/11
- Alex Mitchell (England) - 11/10
- Ben White (Scotland) - 11/10
PROP (3)
- Tadhg Furlong (Ireland) - 1/8
- Andrew Porter (Ireland) - 1/7
- Zander Fagerson (Scotland) - 4/11
- Ellis Genge (England) - 4/6
- Joe Marler (England) - 5/6
- Pierre Schoeman (Scotland) - 5/4
HOOKER (3)
- Dan Sheehan (Ireland) - 1/10
- Jamie George (England) - 8/15
- Elliot Dee (Wales) - 6/5
LOCK (5)
- Maro Itoje (England) - 1/33
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) - 1/10
- Joe McCarthy (Ireland) - 4/6
- Ollie Chessum (England) - 8/11
- George Martin (England) - 11/10
BACK-ROW (6)
- Caelan Doris (Ireland) - 1/5
- Ben Earl (England) - 1/5
- Josh van der Flier (Ireland) - 1/3
- Courtney Lawes (England) - 8/15
- Tommy Reffell (Wales) - 4/6
- Rory Darge (Scotland) - 6/4
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