Tony Ward has never forgotten his first impression of apartheid South Africa. The images are as clear and every bit as offensive today as when he saw them at Jan Smuts airport exactly 40 years ago today. On May 24, 1980, Ireland’s fly-half touched down to be greeted by Lions manager Syd Millar, a battery of photographers and some public notices that would leave him ‘emotionally scarred’. The writing was on the wall from the very start.
“I looked around and saw a sign above the toilet: ‘Whites Only’,” he said. “Then I saw another si...