In an international career that spanned just six years, Barry John, who has died aged 79, won 25 caps for his country and appeared in five Lions Tests. But the fly-half made enough of a mark during his brief time as a player to achieve something approaching mythical status in Wales.
He was at the zenith of his powers on the Lions tour in 1971 to New Zealand, where his ability to ghost past would-be tacklers as if they did not exist was a major factor in the Lions winning the Test series 2-1. Not only did John possess the running skills of a classic fly-half: he was a dead-eyed place-kicker, could kick from hand with either foot, and was a rock-solid defender. Those attributes helped him to 188 points on that tour, a record for a Lions tourist.
