Club legends. Teammates. And friends. Put them both together in a room and the stories and joking around starts almost immediately. 

Ian ‘Dosser’ Smith and William ‘Dusty’ Hare made 725 appearances in a Tigers jersey between 1976 and 1991 and were both a part of the 1979 John Player Cup winning team.

‘Dosser’, an up-and-coming flanker at the time of the cup win, went on to captain, coach and develop the next generation of Tigers in throughout his career.

Back in 1979, ‘Dusty’ was already setting records as the club’s record point scorer alongside international honours for England. The full-back would go onto become the world record point scorer – a record that still stands to this day. 

LTTV sat down exclusively with the pair as part of the club’s celebrations marking 40 years since Tigers first-ever John Player Cup win. The team would go onto win it again in 1980 and 1981 kick-starting a new era of dominance for the club. 

‘Dusty’s’ kicking would be instrumental in the 1979 final, scoring 11 of Tigers 15 points on the day to beat opposition Moseley RFC 15-12 at Twickenham, including a conversion in the game’s closing moments to provide breathing space for Tigers following Steve Kenney’s 75th minute try. 

Watch the 'Dosser' and 'Dusty' talk about the day, what it meant for the club and their own memories in our video below. 

Match tickets for Tigers against Bristol Bears are available from the Tigers ticket office and online or by calling 0116 319 8888 (option 2).