And every Welsh man and woman remembers exactly what happened on Saturday, 26 June, 1999 – Wales beat the Springboks for the first time in 91 years.
Teichmann was captain of the South African side that day as well and, quite understandably, has erased much of the historic 29-19 defeat from his memory. Not that losing in Wales left too many scars because a few years later he returned to play for Newport.
“I recall that the stadium wasn’t completely finished, but there was a typically passionate Welsh crowd at the ground. The Springboks had become used to playing at a packed Cardiff Arms Park, so it was certainly different to usual,” recalled Teichmann.
“On the day, I guess, Wales were the better side and it was an enjoyable experience – apart from losing. I came back to Wales to play for Newport after that and had a great time there.
“It has been nice to see Welsh rugby coming along so well since those days. I’ve seen them win the Six Nations a couple of times in recent years and this Lions squad is dominated by Welsh players.”
As regards the Lions tour, Teichmann was in Durban last weekend to see the Boks win the first Test 26-21. Now he expects them to go on and win the series and erase the memory of when he led his country in that 2-1 series defeat against Martin Johsnon’s 1997 Lions.
“I don’t think that series defeat is ever going to leave me – it will be on my back forever. But if John Smit’s side can win this series it will help to blur the memory a little,” added Teichmann.
WALES 29, SOUTH AFRICA 19
Saturday, 26 June, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (4.00pm kick-off)
Attendance: 27,683
Scorers: Wales: Tries: Mark Taylor, Gareth Thomas; Cons: Neil Jenkins 2; Pens: Neil Jenkins 5
South Africa: Tries: Percy Montgomery, Werner Swanepoel; Pens: Braam van Straaten 2, Gaffie du Toit
Wales: Shane Howarth; Gareth Thomas, Mark Taylor, Allan Bateman, Dafydd James; Neil Jenkins, Rob Howley (captain); Peter Rogers (Andre Lewis), Garin Jenkins (Jon Humphreys), Dai Young, Craig Quinnell (Mike Voyle), Chris Wyatt, Colin Charvis, Brett Sinkinson, Scott Quinnell
Unused Replacements: Leigh Davies, Stephen Jones, David Llewellyn, Ben Evans
South Africa: Percy Montgomery; Stefan Terblanche, Pieter Muller, Japie Mulder, Pieter Rossouw; Braam van Straaten (Gaffie du Toit), Werner Swanepoel (Dave von Hoesslin); Robbie Kempson (Ollie le Roux), Naka Drotske, Cobus Visagie, Selborne Boome (Andre Venter), Kryanauw Otto, Corne Krige, Rassie Erasmus, Gary Teichmann (captain)
Unused Replacements: Breyton Paulse, Andre Vos, Charl Marais
Referee: Ed Morrison (England)
