Jeff Whitefoot had lost his job after the miners’ strike in 1985 shortly before the Welsh Rugby Union voted against the Lions visiting South Africa the following year.
The first of the Four Home Unions to make a belated stand against apartheid, the decision led to the cancellation of the tour. For the second time in successive years, Wales’ international loosehead felt the tectonic plates shift beneath his feet.
The first convulsion left thousands of his mining brethren counting the cost of an industrial dispute which divided families and destroyed communities.
When it ended, Whitefoot ha...