Owing to his father's death when he was five years old, Willie spent most of his spare time helping out on his family farm and did not start playing rugby until he was 17. However, he picked the game up fast, playing for the Ballymena Academy rugby team’s first XV and going on to join Ballymena R.F.C.
In 1962 Willie was selected to play for Ireland – his first Test in February 1962 was against England at Twickenham, and later that year he was selected to tour South Africa with the British and Irish Lions.
McBride continued to play for Ireland throughout the 1960s and played for the team that first defeated South Africa in 1965. He was also part of the team that defeated mighty Australia in Sydney — the first time a Home Nations team had defeated a major southern hemisphere team in their own country. It was with the Lions, however, that Willie made his name, taking part in a total of five Lions tours, with the most famous coming in 1974 when he instigated the "99 call" to counteract the well-known Springbok foul play.
Retiring from international rugby in 1975, in one of his last games for Ireland at Lansdowne Road, he scored his first test try for his country - a fairytale ending to an extraordinary professional career. Since retiring as a player, McBride has coached the national Irish team and was manager of the 1983 Lions tour to New Zealand. Despite some mediocre results, morale within the team was high, a testament to his qualities as a team player and as a leader.
McBride was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997 and in 2004 he was named in Rugby World magazine as Rugby Personality of the Century. His latest accolade, in 2019, saw him awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list for services to Rugby Union.
Such is his credibility and authority as a rugby speaker, McBride was asked to give motivational speeches to Lions players prior to matches. An ideal personality for both sporting and business events, Willie can mix question and answer sessions with presentations as a rugby speaker, ensuring all audience members gain a wonderful insight into a golden era of the sport.
