The England v Wales game that 'shamed rugby' amid fears someone would be killed

It’s been labelled the most explosive 13 minutes in rugby history, the day an England versus Wales clash threatened to erupt into a ‘bloodbath’. The day Welsh flanker Paul Ringer was infamously sent off at Twickenham.

February 16, 1980. Wales had won 17 and drawn four of the previous 25 games in the greatest period of dominance in the history of the fixture. England were fed-up of being losers.

Both teams had won their opening fixtures and Wales travelled to Twickenham hoping to kick-off an assault on an unprecedented fifth successive Triple Crown. What happened over the following 80 minutes rocked the world of rugby and grabbed the sporting headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Paul Ringer became only the second Welsh player to be sent-off with the game less than 15 minutes old. He left the field with his head hung in shame, hands on hips and booed to the rafters at a passion-packed Twickenham. He became vilified in the English media, yet canonised at home.

Max Boyce wrote a song about Ringer, there were signs daubed on the Severn Bridge crossing claiming ‘Ringer is Innocent’ and badges were sold in their thousands protesting his innocence.

The Irish referee Dave Burnett said ‘enough is enough’ after Ringer had bowled over England outside half John Horton as he cleared from his 22. Yet the irony was that it was one of the most innocuous of incidents in an otherwise bloody battle.

The Daily Mirror carried the back page headline 'Someone Will Die' following the match, as the England team doctor hit out over what happened.

Wales scored two tries, England kicked three penalties to win 9-8 and it was Bill Beaumont’s chariot that went charging on to clinch a first Grand Slam in 23 years.

Welsh rugby’s image was tarnished