This week’s Unseen guest photographer is David Rogers of Getty Images, who has been covering rugby union since 1979.
He covered his first British & Irish Lions tour in 1980, in South Africa, and has just completed his 12th. Rogers has covered every men’s Rugby World Cup since its inauguration in 1987, every European Rugby Cup final since 1996 and has photographed 41 England captains.
Clive Woodward of the British & Irish Lions makes a break with team-mates Ray Gravell and Bruce Hay in support. This was the second test in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1980. The pitches on the highveld in those days were rock hard. Woodward would go on to be a legend of England rugby when his team lifted the World Cup in Sydney 23 years later.
Equipment used: Nikon F2 using a 400mm lens. 1/1000 at f4 with Kodak tri -x film.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
My first Lions tour was to South Africa in 1980. On that trip both the players and media stayed in the same hotels. At one of them, the Elangeni, on the oceanfront in Durban, two Zulu people, standing outside the entrance, would welcome guests. One day after training, they picked up Peter Morgan, the Llanelli and Wales full back/wing onto their shoulders.
Equipment used: Nikon F2 using Kodak Tri-X film
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
On that same tour, the Lions were playing a match against the Proteas in Stellenbosch. Fran Cotton, the Lions prop, clutched his chest and was helped off the pitch by medics. The initial diagnosis of a mild heart attack was thankfully incorrect but the viral pericarditis he did suffer ruled him out for the rest of the tour. Thankfully he would return to South Africa in 1997 as the manager of the victorious Lions team.
Equipment used: Nikon F2 using 400mm 1/1000ths sec at f3.5 taken Kodak Tri-X film.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Bradley Ormesher writes This image is of Dave’s friend Peter Wheeler, the Leicester Tigers hooker during their match with Northampton Saints. Dave got a smile from him as he was preparing to take a lineout throw on a cold Winter’s day.
Equipment used: Nikon F2 Kodak Tri-X.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
The All Blacks’ Jonah Lomu was a one-man wrecking crew; here he dived over for one of his four tries that knocked England out at the semi-final stage of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in Newlands, Cape Town.
Equipment used: Canon EOS Fuji film 1/ 1000th sec at f.4
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Lomu takes a break on Coogee Beach after training for the Tri Nations match against Australia in Sydney in July 1995. I was with then Rugby World editor, later Times rugby journalist Alison Kervin and we were told that there was no way we would get access to Lomu.
We sat around in the hotel reception and waited for the team to come back from training and, the great man he was, he said no problem at all. Most of the interview though was taken up talking about trainers and hamburgers!
Equipment used: Canon EOS 1 using 35mm lens. 1/500th at f5.6
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
John Bentley, as the entertainment “officer” for the squad, was the life and soul of the 1997 British & Irish Lions tour. This tackle on Pieter Rossouw is the hardest, and fairest I’ve ever seen. I still wince when I look at it. It all happened so fast, but it sent a clear message out to the Springboks that the Lions were here to win, and they did exactly that.
Equipment used: Canon Fujifilm using 180mm lens. 1/1000th sec at f2.8
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
On that 1997 tour Jeremy Guscott, the England centre, kicked the series-winning drop-goal. The expression on his face as he celebrates with the head coach, Ian McGeechan, makes me smile every time I see it. A great day and, take it from me, a great party afterwards.
Equipment used: Canon Fujicolor film using 24mm lens. 1/60th sec at f5.6.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
It was chaos in the final minutes of the 2003 World Cup final for me and other photographers. We had been moved from our positions at the end of the field that Jonny Wilkinson kicked his famous drop-goal to make way for post-match TV interview.
Working down on the touchline there were so many people in front of us — TV cameramen, ballboys, medics and of course the touch judge. Obviously, I didn’t know exactly where the drop-goal would be kicked from but I did know it was coming. I remember saying to myself, “Wilko, please don’t kick it now I can’t see you”.
Then two pieces of good fortune, firstly a gap appeared between the camera operator and a ballboy, and I could see, plus Jonny caught the ball and kicked with his right leg, not his favoured left, so he was facing my way when the boot struck the ball.
Equipment used: Canon EO-1D using 400mm lens. 1/1000th f2.8. ISO 1000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Martin Johnson, the England captain, raises the Webb Ellis Cup in Sydney. It was a privilege, as an Englishman, to be there.
Equipment used: Canon EOS 1D using 14mm lens. 1/640 at f2.8. ISO 1000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
The celebrations continued on the pitch but I decided to follow the trophy, as it was carried back to the changing room in the dependable hands of England’s head coach, Woodward. I’d known Clive since the 1980 Lions tour, and it was he who allowed me to be the RFU’s photographer — and as such, I had access to the dressing room to photograph the celebrations there.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1D using 14mm lens. 1/320 at f3.2 ISO 500.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Marc Aspland writes This falls into the category of “I wish I was able to take that”. Getty Images had organised for Dave to take team pictures of the players wearing their club kits. It was taken two days after the 2003 World Cup final on a beach near the team hotel in Manly.
Equipment used: EOS-IDS using 24mm lens. 1/500th sec f8.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
They say practice makes perfect. Wilkinson, the hero of the hour for England in the World Cup final is the most dedicated of players. The time and effort he puts into training is awe-inspiring. I’ve known Jonny for years and he agreed for me to come up to Newcastle to photograph a feature with him, obviously after his training session.
Equipment used: EOS-1DS using 28mm lens. 1/3200th sec at f6.3. ISO 200.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Tête-à-tête. Andrew Sheridan, the England prop, who had totally outplayed and out-scrummaged his opposite prop, Matt Dunning of Australia, in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Marseille in 2007. Tempers flared and both props took each other on, head-to-head. A few years later, I played a game of golf with Matt and he asked: Did you take that photo of me with Sheridan? Apprehensively I said yes, I was expecting to be thumped at any minute.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1D Mark III using 200mm lens 1/1000th @f3.5.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Bradley Ormesher writes This picture captures the sunset over Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester during the Barbarians v Ireland match in 2008. This wasn’t an important match but Dave will drive anywhere in the country for a rugby match.
Equipment used: Canon EOS 1D mark III 1/640 @f5.6 28mm lens.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Probably my most published photograph. The incident is forever known as “Bloodgate”. It was the Heineken Cup quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster in April 2009.
A “blood” injury to Tom Williams meant Harlequins could bring their first choice fly half, Nick Evans, previously substituted, back on for a possible late drop-goal or penalty. The only flaw in the plan was that it wasn’t a real blood injury: Willliams had bitten into a fake blood capsule, from a local joke shop, hidden in his sock. The “blood” looked so fake, it was obviously suspicious.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1D MK III. Using a 400mm lens 1/1000th sec f3.5. ISO 1000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
We all know Chris Ashton liked to swallow dive on his way to scoring a try. The England team were having a few days R&R in Queenstown (I’ll say no more) during the World Cup in 2011. A few of the players decided they would love to have a go at a bungee jump.
After his first jump, which didn’t photograph well, I asked him to do it again but this time to look over his left shoulder directly at me. Top man that he is, he did exactly that… how he and the other guys jumped into that gorge I’ll never know.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1D MK IV using 18mm lens. 1/800th sec f5.6 ISO 800.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
England were training behind supposedly “closed doors” at a rugby club just outside Umhlanga, near Durban in 2012. As Jonathan Joseph passed the ball a crocodile of school children wandered over the training area, totally oblivious to the fact that it was the England team in full training mode.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1DX using 70-200mm lens (set at 200mm) 1/3200 sec f4. ISO 200.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Chris Robshaw, the England captain, had just led his team to victory over the mighty All Blacks in 2012. I got access to the dressing room at Twickenham a bit later than I normally do. I thought the moment of celebrations had gone, but no, Chris let me photograph him with the Sir Edmund Hillary Shield as he sat in an ice bath.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1DX using 16-35mm lens (set at 23mm) 1/60th at f4. ISO 800.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Lions tours are always special occasions. The pressure had been building up between the Wallabies and Lions in the lead up to the first Test in Brisbane in 2013. George North, the Lions wing, picks up the ball and races past the Wallaby scrum half, Will Genia, taunting him as he did so. North was later to apologise to Genia for the disrespect he showed to him.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1DX using 560mm lens (400mm with a 1.4 teleconverter.) 1/1000 th sec @ f4. ISO 4000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
The bravery of players sometimes beggars belief, as shown here. Paula Fitzpatrick and Ailis Egan of Ireland, both suffering with what looks like broken noses, take on England during the Women’s Six Nations at Twickenham in 2016.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1DX using 400mm lens. 1/2000th sec f3.5 ISO 3200.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Chris Ashton does it again, this time in a match not at the end of a bungee. Ashton, ever the entertainer, scored this first try for Saracens in the 2017 European Champions Cup final at Murrayfield against Clermont Auvergne. Saracens went on to win the game 28-17.
Equipment used: Canon EOS-1DX MK II using 70-200mm lens (set at 135mm) 1/2000th sec f2.8. ISO 800.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
My title for this photograph is the “Clout on the Snout”. Corny I know. It was in the first half of a Six Nations match at Murrayfield in 2020. Scotland were putting pressure on the French defence, but not as much pressure as French prop, Mohamed Haouas put on the nose of Scotland’s Jamie Ritchie.
It all happened so fast. Looking through the viewfinder, I could see Haouas holding onto Ritchie’s sleeve, then suddenly his fist flew forward. I didn’t realise at the time that the punch had connected with such force. It’s one of those old photographers’ sayings, “if you see it, you missed it”.
Equipment used: Canon EOS IDX MKII using 400mm lens. 1/2000th sec at f4.5. ISO 2000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Maro Itoje, captain of the 2025 Lions, celebrates with fans during the third Test against Australia in Sydney after completing a 2-1 series victory. This was probably my final Lions tour after covering the past 12 tours over 45 years.
Equipment used: Canon EOS R1 using RF5-35mm lens (set at 18mm) 1/1300th sec f4.5, ISO 5000.
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
Marc Aspland writes Another “I wish I had taken that” photograph. I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Dave throughout the decades but after England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup in September I wandered off to find a different view when captain Zoe Aldcroft (now Stratford) lept ballerina-like across her celebrating team-mates with the trophy.
Equipment used: Canon EOS R1 using RF24-70mm lens (set at 58mm). 1/1,300th sec f7.1. ISO 4000.
