It was described in the immediate aftermath as “the most vicious assault we have seen in a game of rugby since it went professional". Those were the words of Lions team manager Donal Lenihan, and he wasn't wrong.
When Waratahs player Duncan McRae violently assaulted Lions outside-half Ronan O'Gara at the Sydney Football Stadium on June 23, 2001, viewers looked on in astonishment and disgust. They still do to this day.
Around 2 million people have watched the famous clip in its various guises on social media and YouTube over the years, with the ferocity of what happened still jarring. There, lying pinned to the ground as punches rain down on his face, O'Gara can do nothing but take a beating.
