King Charles was said to have been bemused by the incident that sent shock waves through rugby and beyond.
It was a long time ago — in 1969, to be precise, when legendary Wales captain Brian Price, the Alun Wyn Jones of his time, unleashed what was to be dubbed the most famous punch in Five Nations history, felling Ireland’s Noel Murphy.
It was smack in front of Charles, looking younger than his years, as he sat in the stand at Cardiff Arms Park.
Just months ahead of his investiture as Prince of Wales, the then 20-year-old could have been forgiven for wincing.
He had once recalled how he had been introduced to rugby at Gordonstoun School where, he reportedly said, malicious masters put him in the second row so that “systematic assaults on me in the scrum went unseen”.
Now, here was more evidence of the rough and tumble of the oval-ball game. In front of the royal box early in the match, second-row Price unleashed a right hook which decked flanker Murphy.
It was later said of the Irishman: “He turned towards the grandstand, his head high and dignified, befitting a prince of Irish players, as though imploring the sympathy of the young Prince of Wales seated in the royal enclosure, then crashed to the ground like a felled oak! How the crowd roared!"
Surprisingly, the referee opted not to dismiss Price, prompting the BBC’s presenter and commentator David Coleman to ask: “What do you have to do to be sent off at rugby?”
The Times thundered: "It was a deplorable act of ruffianism," adding, more than a shade bizarrely, "it was the depth of bad manners".
For Murphy it probably felt like more than just a case of bad manners.
Years later Price, one of Welsh rugby's all-time great players and not a man known for punching or other acts of on-pitch violence, admitted there had been a pre-match plan to target Murphy, a master of ball-killing.
“There was a Murphy Plan – let’s admit that at the start,” he said. “It was simple enough. Gareth Edwards would pick the ball up from the scrum, go round the side where Noel would tackle him. Then we’d all do a little bit of trampling on Noel.”
But it ended up with the planned focus for Welsh attention receiving a punch in front of a prince. “I got the ball back from a lineout and then found some fingers around my eyes,” Price said. “I turned round and lashed out. The referee (the late Doug McMahon of Scotland) looked at me and I was thinking: ‘I’m going. In front of the Prince, I’m going.’ Thankfully, the ref realised it was done in retaliation, warned me and gave Ireland a penalty.”
The new King was never asked for his opinion on the controversy that marked his first visit to the Arms Park. But plenty of others still remember the game that prompted the South Wales Echo to headline its match report “A right royal punch-up”.
It was won 24-11 by Wales, denying Ireland a Triple Crown. Referee McMahon never controlled another international match.
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