and Irish Lions Gibson toured with the British and Irish Lions five times. On the 1968 tour to South Africa, Gibson made history in the opening Test by becoming the first replacement in international rugby, and showed his stamina by playing in 11 of the final 13 matches after Welsh fly-half Barry John had been invalided out of the tour. John would return for the following tour, the now famous 1971 tour to New Zealand, where he would star at centre. Alongside captain John Dawes, Gibson formed a brilliant midfield combination, and with Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Gerald Davies, J.P.R. Williams and David Duckham, they constituted arguably the finest backline in Lions history. The 1971 tour remains to date the Lions' sole series victory over the All Blacks, and it was on this tour that Gibson won the respect of the New Zealand rugby public with his attacking flair and timing. Gibson's work commitments saw him join the 1974 Lions in South Africa as a replacement during the second half of the tour. Gibson was renowned for his humility, and demonstrated it here by willingly playing understudy to the new Test pairing of Ian McGeechan and Richard Milliken. Gibson was selected for his fifth Lions tour in 1977, equalling fellow Irishman Willie John McBride's record. However, back and hamstring problems meant that Gibson was unable to compete for a test place. Representative teams Gibson played for a combined Scotland/Ireland XV in the 1970 Centenary of RFU celebration match against a combined England/Wales XV and again in the 1972 Scottish Rugby Union Centenary match. Honours He was awarded an MBE for services to the game. When the International Rugby Hall of Fame was instituted in 1997, Gibson was one of the initial fifteen inductees. Upon his induction into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011, Gibson was quick to pay tribute to his teammates, also calling rugby the greatest team sport. In January 2012 Gibson was inducted into the Belfast Telegraph Hall of Fame. In an interview in 2011, Irish rugby great Brian O'Driscoll praised Gibson's contribution to Irish rugby: At times when Irish rugby wasn't successful Mike was always the shining light. He played international rugby for 15 years and that speaks volumes about him. He was a magnificent player and a true ambassador for the game. Professional career Since retirement, Gibson has practised as a solicitor in Belfast, where