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Rugby lives rarely come longer or more varied than that of Tom Holley, who died in January aged 99.He was one of the unlucky generation which lost its best years to the Second World War. A product of the St Peters club, he had not long broken into the Cardiff XV as a back row when war broke out in 1939, and was over 30 by the time peace-time rugby resumed in September 1946.While he had the rare distinction of playing for Cardiff either side of the war, his first team career amounted to no more than 10 matches. There were, though, a further 62 for Cardiffs renowned second team, the Rags and victories, more than a decade apart, in the Cardiff and District Rugby Unions Mallett Cup.And he did play once for Wales -- or at least for a team of that name against England in a charity match played between servicemen stationed in Palestine in 1942. His dummy created the decisive score for Wales in a 5-3 victory.But he lives on vividly in Cardiffs annals as their trainer and masseur for decades after the war, also serving the national team. The award of an MBE for services to sport in 1985 -- matching the BEM won in 1943 by his father, also Tom, for heroism in the bombing of the Cardiff docks -- reflected that contribution to rugby, service as secretary of the International Baseball Board (governing body for the distinctive code played in Cardiff and Liverpool) and his cool, live-saving response to an on-field incident 40 years ago this week, on October 2 1976.He was on duty as usual at a Cardiff match, though it was hardly a routine contest. Argentina, visiting Wales for the first time, were the opposition at the National Stadium.The match was part of Cardiffs centenary season and came only a week after they had played, and beaten 24-13, an Overseas International XV featuring players from nine countries, the match decided by a 70 yard interception try from their captain, Gerald Davies.On the Wednesday in between they had lost to Waless other centenarians of that season, Aberavon. The Argentinians, meanwhile, had been warning anyone taking notice of their prowess, scoring four tries to one in beating a powerful East Wales team 25-22 at a rain-sodden Rodney Parade. They had dominated the scrums in spite of the presence of the legendary Pontypool front row among the opposition, hooker Bobby Windsor conceding: Lets face it, they took us to the cleaners.Prominent in that powerful scrum, packing down opposite the venerable but feared Charlie Faulkner, was Mario Carluccio, a product of the Deportiva Francesa club in Buenos Aires. True to Argentinian tradition, he could play either side of the scrum and on the Saturday switched across to face the scarcely less formidable Mike Knill.Cardiff were unchanged from the previous Saturday, while Argentina fielded 12 of the team which had triumphed at Newport, the only changes coming in the front row and because of injury to tour captain Arturo Rodriguez Jurado. And on a bright sunny day, the tourists showed themselves equally equipped for those conditions.Former Wales full-back Vivian Jenkins quipped in his match report that some Cardiff forwards played as though they, rather than their club, were 100 years old. Gareth Edwards made one of his few recorded errors, throwing out a wild pass which led to an Argentinian try.Again the Pumas scored four tries, but where three at Newport came from forwards, all of these were touched down by outside backs. Wing Jorge Gauweloose crossed twice, with the others coming from full-back Martin Sansot and wing Daniel Becca Varela, as the tourists ran up a 29-6 lead.Cardiffs response came from their pack. The Welsh Brewers Rugby Annual for Wales reported that props Nelmes and Knill burrowed low under their opponents and destroyed their scrum drive, and Cardiff became tigers in attack. The Pumas did not know which way to turn as the pressure built on their overstretched defence. No.8 Bob Dudley-Jones, also a Glamorgan county cricketer, crossed twice with lock Peter Rawlins claiming a third try as Cardiff fought back to 29-25.Fifteen minutes from time a scrum collapsed, leaving Carluccio motionless. It was, it is worth remembering, only a few months since Wales captain Mervyn Davies had come close to dying during a match on the ground next door.Summoned from the sidelines, Holley gave the Argentinian the kiss-of-life, reporting later that Marios tongue had relaxed about two inches or more down the back of his throat. He was conscious, but was getting hardly any air.Mervyn Davies would never play again, but Carluccios mishap had a happier ending. Taken to hospital, he later appeared at the after-match dinner suffering only from a bruised jaw. He was well enough to play 10 days later against West Wales at Stradey Park, and against the All Blacks back in Argentina a month later.His international career ended in July 1977 with Argentinas historic 18-18 draw against the touring French. Chosen for the South American championship tournament in October 1977, he was one of a group of players who withdrew when the Argentinian Rugby Union vetoed the choice of Rodriguez Jurado as captain and were suspended as a punishment. His subsequent contribution to the game has included spells of coaching with the Deportiva Francesa club and at the rugby outpost of San Martin de los Andes.Tom Holleys finest hour was also arguably the moment at which British rugby became fully aware of Argentinian rugbys potential. The South Africans had known about them since the 1960s but Britain, in spite of historic links, was slower to catch on. The Pumas 1973 tour to Ireland and Scotland was more remembered for their propensity for dangerous tackling than holding a full-strength Scottish team to 12-11.Victories over powerful Welsh teams -- the Pumas hung on to their 29-25 lead, with Gerald Davies conceding that To an extent they beat themselves -- were harder to dismiss. And any doubts were ended two weeks later back at the National Stadium.Wales were reigning Grand Slam champions, and would not lose to any European opponent other than France between 1975 and 1979. The All Blacks would be the only team to beat them at Cardiff between 1968 and 1982. Nobody came closer to truncating that home run than the Pumas. Facing a full-strength Wales XV, with only Mervyn Davies, lock Allan Martin and centre Steve Fenwick missing from the Grand Slam team, they fought back from a 17-6 deficit to lead 19-17 five minutes into injury time.As Wales pressed desperately, JPR Williams broke in midfield and was confronted by 6ft 4in centre Adolfo Travaglini, described in the Welsh Brewers as a granite-like defender who stretched enormous arms to engulf any who tried to pass him.Travaglini tackled hard and high, JPR went down and Scottish referee Norman Sansom blew for the 40-yard penalty which Waless new captain Phil Bennett landed unerringly to salvage a 20-19 victory.Not many observers, though, could disagree with the view of Pumas manager Carlos Contepomi -- a year later to become the father of famed twin sons -- when he said that: The way we came back in the second half, I thought that we deserved to win.The 1976 tour inaugurated a period in which every year brought a breakthrough for the Pumas. They returned home from Wales to entertain the All Blacks for the first time. The draw with France followed in 1977, then a 13-13 draw with an almost-full-strength England XV at Twickenham in 1978 and a 24-13 defeat of Australia in 1979.The Welsh Brewers had no doubts: The Pumas are no longer an emerging rugby power -- they have ARRIVED.Yet Wales did not award caps for the match, even though its own team and the opposition were of unquestionable international quality. One might also think that such impressive tourists would earn an early return invitation, but not so. The Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982 did not help, but that the Pumas were not invited back to play Wales for a further 22 years -- their World Cup clash of 1991 came from the tournament draw, not a WRU invitation -- shows that there is nothing new in short-sightedness towards the games developing nations. Wade Davis Jersey . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- A three-person International Olympic Committee panel will make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Games.The IOCs ruling executive board, meeting Saturday for the final time before the opening of the games next Friday, said the panel will decide on the entry of Russian athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. We want to make it absolutely clear that we are the ones making the final call.The move comes amid a doping scandal that has led to the exclusion of more than 100 Russian athletes connected to state-sponsored cheating. More than 250 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete by the federations.The panel will have to make its ruling before the opening ceremony, just six days away.Were working on a very, very tight timeline, Adams said. It has to be finished by Friday at the very latest.The panel will consist of three executive board members: Turkeys Ugur Erdener, chairman of the IOC medical commission; Germanys Claudia Bokel, head of the athletes commission; and Spains Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., a vice president of the modern pentathlon federation.Adams said the panel will review every athlete cleared by the federations, but would not reopen the cases of those who have been barred. An arbitrator from the Court of Arbitration for Sport will make an initial ruling before the final decision goes to the IOC panel.This review board panel will look at every single decision, every single athlete, to make sure the IOC is happy with the decision thats been taken, Adams said. Its very important that the IOC makes the final decision based on independent advice.Saturdays meeting came less than a week after the IOC board decided not to ban Russias entire team from the games because of state-sponsored doping. Rejecting calls by more than a dozen anti-doping agencies for a complete ban on Russia, the IOC left it to the federations to vet which athletes could compete or not.ddddddddddddThe Russians banned so far include the 67 track and field athletes barred as a whole by the IAAF, and more than 30 others rejected under new IOC eligibility criteria. Russias eight-member weightlifting team was kicked out of the games on Friday for what the international federation called extremely shocking doping results that brought the sport into disrepute.The IOC has been roundly criticized by anti-doping bodies, athletes groups and Western media for not imposing a total ban on Russia. Pressure for the full sanction followed a World Anti-Doping Agency report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren that accused Russias sports ministry of overseeing a vast doping conspiracy involving the countrys summer and winter sports athletes.Bach has defended the decision as one that protects individual athletes who have not been implicated in doping.Rios preparations, meanwhile, remain clouded on several fronts, including budget cuts, water pollution, slow ticket sales, and concerns over crime and the Zika virus. The games come with the suspended president awaiting an impeachment trial and the country gripped by a severe recession.But Bach and the IOC board remained upbeat following a final progress report by organizing committee chief Carlos Nuzman, including details of the opening ceremony at the Maracana stadium.We cant reveal any secrets but the organizing committee tell us that the ceremony will have Brazilian soul and enchant the world, Adams said.Bach gave the organizers a final pep talk ahead of the first games in South America.He thinks its going to be a great games, Adams said. He made that very, very clear. He gave a very rousing thank you to the team and said, `Now you must concentrate on delivery, delivery, delivery.Also Saturday, the IOC board granted full recognition to the International Ski Mountaineering Federation. It had received provisional recognition in 2014. Saturdays decision marks another step toward potential future inclusion in the Winter Games. ' ' '