John Vivian Pullin (1 November 1941 – 5 February 2021[1]) was an England international rugby union player.
South Africa were beaten at home 18–9 at Ellis Park in 1972, Australia defeated by 20 points to 3 at Twickenham, and then New Zealand 16–10 in Auckland.
Of the 18–9 defeat suffered at the hands of the Irish, he later said, to great acclaim at a post-match dinner – "We're not much good but at least we turned up".
[2] Pullin's speech has become part of rugby folklore, and features as the title of the film The Team That Turned Up.
[3] He is the first of four England captains to lead and beat all of the "Big Three" Southern Hemisphere sides: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.