PRiDE AND TRADiTiON I - Sports · Brian O’Driscoll HISTORY PRELIMS NC_1 ... by the England Test cricketers James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. ... THE OFFICIAL

THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: THE OFFICIAL HISTORY

8


8

HISTORY PRELIMS NC_1.indd 8 19/09/2016 19:54

FOREWORD

9

It is with great pride and privilege that I welcome you to the latest edition of the The British & Irish Lions: The Official

History, a book created by a former Lion, Clem Thomas, that captures the essence of the wonderful traditions of the Lions while at the same time providing key details and records of all the tours.

The Lions are unique and incredibly special, not just to me as a former player but also to the legions of British and Irish rugby fans. It is an amazing seven-week adventure every four years and logically – in the crowded world of professional sport – it probably shouldn’t work, but it does: with excitement building and building as each tour nears.

I can remember the 1997 tour as my first real memory of the Lions and how special the tours were. The 1993 tour was not that widely covered, certainly by today’s standards, but in 1997 I remember watching the matches from South Africa as the whole tour, including the midweek matches, coincided with my exams. I was 17 at the time and was trying to study while keeping a sharp eye on the tour. The broadcasts made it easy to follow but if someone had told me I would be on the next tour to Australia in 2001 I would have laughed at them. I just had no thought at the time that could be possible, but I guess it is funny where life takes us.

When that moment came and I knew I had become a Lion I was at home in Dublin. The phone rang and it was tour manager Donal Lenihan and there it was, selection for the 2001 tour to Australia. It was a crazy moment and one I will never forget. I was very excited and so were my family. There had been a lot of speculation about the tour squad and my name had been mentioned as a possible tourist. I was honoured just to be considered but to have it confirmed by Donal was simply amazing.

I have often been asked if it is the pinnacle of a player’s career to be selected as a Lion and it is an interesting question given playing for your country is also very, very special. But the Lions are unique and further reward for your talent – you become recognised as one of the best 35 or so players in Britain and Ireland. So, yes, it is. From a playing point of view the standard is also much higher, so much so that I relished the training. You looked forward to it and enjoyed it as you were amongst the best of the best – the calibre of players around you in every position is unmatched which pushed me to excel.

PRiDE AND TRADiTiON


1010


FOREWORD

11

I was lucky to have played on four Lions tours and have some wonderful memories from all of them. Of course as a competitive athlete the rugby does stand out for me and I will never forget my first Test on the 2001 tour in Brisbane. We played at the Gabba, the famous cricket venue, and I scored a try but I felt it was my overall performance that I was most proud of, helping the team to win. And that sums up what the Lions spirit is all about, touring with fellow countrymen but also a new group of mates from Wales, Scotland and England, and wanting to do well as a group.

I will also never forget the support that day. For some reason we could not warm-up outside on the field and we had to make do with getting ready in the dressing sheds. We ran out into a wall of noise created by a red sea of Lions supporters – it was amazing and frankly felt like a home game. The Wallabies were shocked and could not believe the support the Lions enjoyed on tour.

Looking back I think the tours I took part in were better prepared each time. We definitely learned from each previous tour, especially after the wake-up call of 2005. We did things better in 2009, on and off the field, and retuned to the basics in a sense to ensure the rugby was front and centre. We shared hotel rooms and had to play more matches and front up more often – it was harder but it paid off.

Indeed we were so unlucky in 2009 not to have the series go to a third Test decider against the ’Boks, who were world champions at the time. That series was brilliant to be a part of, the rugby was fast, physical and hard. Then in 2013 the preparations improved again and I felt we were on a par with the southern hemisphere in this respect. We beat the Wallabies and the Lions won a series for the first time since 1997.

Of course my time as a player is now over and the baton has been passed to the next generation. However, I know that each and every player who pulls on the famous red shirt, just like myself, will honor the tradition and heritage that comes with it.

Here is to many, many more years of The British & Irish Lions…

Brian O’Driscoll



12

12-23 LIONS landmarks_.indd 12 19/09/2016 20:42

MILESTONES

13

MILESTONES



14

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA, 1888Principally an unsuccessful money-making exercise and not recognised by any of the Home Unions, the forerunner of future Lions tours was organised by the England Test cricketers James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. No Tests were played, with 19 club and regional fi xtures scheduled in New Zealand and 16 in Australia between April and October. They also played 19 games of Aussie Rules and a cricket match. The trip was tinged with tragedy when England international and tour captain Robert Seddon drowned in a boating accident on the Hunter River in Maitland, New South Wales.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1891Sanctioned by the RFU, a 21-man squad set sail in response to an invitation from the Western Province Rugby Football Union. Captained by Scottish three-quarter Bill Maclagan, the tourists cut a swathe through South Africa, conceding only one point as

they notched 20 consecutive victories – 17 in provincial games and three in the Test matches to register the Lions’ fi rst unblemished record. The opening Test in Port Elizabeth was South Africa’s inaugural international fi xture. Lightning-fast Blackheath and England centre Randolph Aston proved the tour’s star turn with 30 tries, including scores in the fi rst and third Tests.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1896The fi rst squad to boast an Irish international contingent, including fi ve players who had won the Home Nations Championship earlier in the year, the tourists were captained by English forward and 1891 tourist Johnny Hammond. The itinerary featured 17 provincial games and four Tests, the fi rst three of which the Lions won comfortably. The fourth match in Cape Town, however, went the way of the home side courtesy of a converted try from Hull-born half-back Alf Larard – a fi rst Test win for South Africa and a fi rst international defeat for the Lions.

AUSTRALIA, 1899The fourth and fi nal tour of the 19th century, the 1899 squad provided Australia with their fi rst international opposition. With players selected from all four Home Unions, the tour party was arguably the fi rst to fully justify The British & Irish Lions name, although the Antipodean press persisted in erroneously dubbing the visitors ‘the English football team’. Captained by 1896 tourist Rev. Matthew Mullineux, the team received an unexpected rude

In the words of two-time tourist Gerald Davies, an expedition with the Lions ‘is the last great rugby adventure’. Having evolved from an unsanctioned journey into the unknown dreamed up by a handful of entrepreneurs to become the pinnacle of any British or Irish player’s career, it’s little wonder that the history of the Lions’ exploits is rich, varied and endlessly fascinating…

Action from the 1891 tour of South Africa, where the tourists, captained by Scotland's Bill Maclagan, recorded an astounding 20 victories from 20 games


MILESTONES

15

awakening in the fi rst Test at Sydney, going down 13–3. They recovered to register three successive victories and take the series 3–1.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1903The Lions had lost just once in 40 matches on their two previous tours to South Africa but their third trip was to be a chastening experience as they failed to win a single Test and won only 11 of their 19 provincial fi xtures. The respective captains of England, Ireland and Scotland – Frank Stout, Alf Tedford and Mark Morrison – all made the trip but, after the fi rst two Tests were both drawn, the Springboks were 8–0 winners in Cape Town in September – the fi rst Test in which the South Africans wore their famous green jerseys – to claim their fi rst series victory over the tourists.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, 1904Establishing a template which would endure until the 1970s, the tourists scheduled Tests against both Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed contrasting fortunes either side of the Tasman Sea. The Australian leg yielded 14 wins from 14 fi xtures, including comprehensive victories in the three Tests against the Wallabies. The embryonic All Blacks, playing only their second international, provided sterner opposition and claimed a 9–3 success in Wellington. The tour was notable for the fi rst sending-off in Lions history. Oxford University and England forward Denys Dobson was ordered off the fi eld for ‘dissent’ in the match against Northern Districts in Newcastle, promoting a 20-minute delay as the Lions team walked-off the pitch in furious protest.

The 1904 tourists enjoyed stunning success in Australia but fell short against the emerging All Blacks in New Zealand, losing 9–3 courtesy of two tries from Duncan McGregor



16

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA, 1908This was a tour blighted by politics after Scotland and Ireland refused to sanction the trip which they deemed to be designed solely to stave off the

rise of rugby league down under. The ‘Anglo-Welsh’ Lions of 1908 endured a torrid time on their travels and were beaten seven times in 23 provincial fi xtures. Although they claimed a 3–3 draw against the All Blacks

in Wellington, they were hammered 32–5 in the opening Test in Dunedin and dismantled 29–0 in Auckland to surrender the series.

ARGENTINA, 1910 It was a unique year for the Lions in 1910 with two squads despatched to foreign shores. The fi rst to depart was a 22-man party captained by England’s John Raphael, which headed to Argentina in late May for a six-match tour. Billed as the ‘English Rugby Union Team’, the squad actually boasted three Scotsmen and was undefeated, beating the Pumas 28–3 in a one-off Test in Buenos Aires. It was Argentina’s maiden international match and at No. 8 for them was Barry Heatlie, the former Springbok skipper, who was facing the Lions for a record 17th time.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1910Previous differences resolved, Irish and Scottish players returned to the Lions fold in 1910 and, to cement the rapprochement, Ireland prop Tommy Smyth was appointed captain. The Newport club provided a record seven players. For the fi rst time the itinerary included a fi xture in Bulawayo against Rhodesia, a match which was won

24–11, but the tourists struggled in South Africa itself. Just as they had done seven years earlier, they lost the Test series 2–1.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1924The Lions were back in action after a 12-year hiatus precipitated by the First World War and headed to South Africa, led by England stalwart Ronald Cove-Smith. For a third successive visit, the tourists came up short in the Test series, losing 3–0 but saving a degree of face with a 3–3 draw with the Springboks in Port Elizabeth. It was the fi rst tour during which the squad were contemporaneously referred to as ‘Lions’, the name inspired by the heraldic motif on the players’ ties.

ARGENTINA, 1927An expanded itinerary featuring four Tests awaited the tourists 17 years after their fi rst journey to South America. The Lions proved too strong for their hosts, scoring 298 points and conceding just nine. The Tests were all played at the Estadio GEBA in Buenos Aires, the tourists opening up with a comprehensive 37–0 triumph to set what was a one-sided tone for the series. England centre Ernie Hammett top scored for the Lions in their four international victories, amassing 40 points as the Pumas were overpowered and outclassed.

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA, 1930For the Lions’ fi rst Australasian adventure for 22 years, the selectors approached more than 100 players before enough accepted their invitation. England forward Doug Prentice eventually led a 29-man tour party. A 6–3 victory in the fi rst Test in Dunedin against the All Blacks, who were in fact playing in white to avoid a clash with the navy blue-shirted Lions, boded well but the team were beaten in their

A ticket to the public welcome for the 'British Rugby Team' in 1908 – which also doubled as a farewell event for the Wallabies side departing to tour the UK – at Sydney Town Hall


MILESTONES

17

subsequent three internationals in New Zealand. They also fell short in the standalone Test against the Wallabies, losing 6–5 in Sydney in late August.

ARGENTINA, 1936The third and to date fi nal Lions tour of Argentina, the 1936 tourists were led by stylish England half-back Bernard Gadney and marched imperiously through Argentina with 10 victories in 10 outings which included a 23–0 success in the only Test against the Pumas. So dominant were the tourists they averaged 40 points per

fi xture and conceded one solitary try, which came in the game against the side from Belgrano Athletic Club in Buenos Aires.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1938The fi nal tour of the pre-war era, the Springboks were fresh from series victories against New Zealand and Australia the previous year and were world champions in all but name. The fi rst Test at Ellis Park went the way of the hosts with a 26–12 victory, while the second in Port Elizabeth, dubbed the ‘Tropical Test’ because of the stifl ing heat, also saw a South African victory. The Lions however rallied for the climax of the series and, with a record eight Irish players in the starting XV, they claimed a 21–16 win at Newlands, their fi rst Test victory in South Africa in 28 years.

The menu from the New Zealand Rugby Union dinner held to celebrate the 1930 Lions

The 1936 trip to Argentina was wildly successful both on and off the pitch and saw the tourists rack up huge scores while enjoying incredible hospitality



18

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA, 1950Sporting their now iconic red shirt to avoid a repeat of the kit clash of 1930, the Lions kicked off the Test series against the All Blacks with a morale-boosting 9–9 draw in Dunedin. Narrow losses in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland followed but solace was on hand during the Australian leg of the tour in the shape of a 19–6 win over the Wallabies in Brisbane and a 24–3 triumph in Sydney. Wales and Llanelli full-back Lewis Jones made history when he was called up as a mid-tour replacement, becoming the fi rst ever Lion to fl y to his destination.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1955 One of the most entertaining tours of any era, the 1955 Lions, led by Ireland’s Robin Thompson, gave the Springboks an almighty scare but ultimately had to settle for a share of the Test series. A dramatic 23–22 victory in the fi rst game in Johannesburg was followed by defeat in Cape Town but the tourists edged

ahead again with a 9–6 win in Pretoria. The hosts had not lost a series on home soil for 59 years and preserved their proud record with a 22–8 success in the fourth and fi nal Test in Port Elizabeth. Teenage Ireland wing Tony O'Reilly was the standout performer for the Lions with 16 tries.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & CANADA, 1959A fourth successive tour to feature an Irish skipper in the shape of Leinster hooker Ronnie Dawson, the squad played an incredible 33 fi xtures in three different countries. The Australian leg of the tour resulted in a 2–0 triumph for the Lions in the Test series but they went down 3–1 in New Zealand against the All Blacks. Their 9–6 win in Auckland was, however, the side’s fi rst success against

A postcard depicting the 1950 Lions arriving in New Zealand to ecstatic greetings from the locals

A vintage souvenir pin badge celebrating the 'British Isles Rugby Union Team'


MILESTONES

19

the Kiwis since 1930. The squad stopped off in Canada on the way home, playing sides representing British Columbia and Eastern Canada, while Tony O’Reilly scored a remarkable 22 tries, taking his total Lions tally to a record-breaking 38.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1962The Lions fought fi re with fi re in 1962 and dispatched a massive pack to South Africa to arm wrestle the Springboks. The tactic earned the tourists a 3–3 draw in the fi rst Test at Ellis Park but narrow defeats in the next two matches were followed by a bludgeoning loss in Bloemfontein in the climax of the series. The tour began with fi xtures in Rhodesia and ended in East Africa and in the squad’s 21 provincial matches they were only beaten by Northern and Eastern Transvaal.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & CANADA, 1966What was to ultimately be a tour to forget began encouragingly enough with a two-Test win over the Wallabies but the Kiwi instalment of the trip – the fi rst to include a dedicated coach in the party – was marred by foul play and bad blood and the Governor General of New Zealand was asked to mediate between the two captains. The intervention did the Lions little good and for the fi rst time they were whitewashed by the All Blacks. The sense of gloom was only compounded when they suffered an embarrassing defeat to British Columbia en route back to the UK.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1968The record books testify that the Lions lost the Test series 3–0 against the Springboks, the second game in Port Elizabeth, fi nishing 6–6, but it was nonetheless a tour of note. Cardiff prop John O’Shea became the fi rst Lion to be

sent off for foul play after throwing a punch against Eastern Transvaal, while Mike Gibson became international rugby’s fi rst substitute when he replaced Barry John in the Test in Pretoria. Ireland full-back Tom Kiernan scored 35 points in the Tests, the only other Lion to trouble the scorers being Willie John McBride with a try.

NEW ZEALAND, 1971Billed as standalone visit to New Zealand, the tour actually began with two provincial games in Australia, the fi rst of which was lost to Queensland. But it was across the Tasman Sea that the tourists, led by John Dawes and coached by Carwyn James, achieved immortality. Beaten 4–0 by the All Blacks just fi ve years earlier, they won the fi rst Test 9–3 in Dunedin and the third 13–3 in Wellington before clinging on for dear life in Auckland to secure a 14–14 draw which sealed the series 2–1. After 67 years and seven tours, the Lions had fi nally toppled the All Blacks. It remains their only triumph to date in New Zealand.

Fly-half Barry John was the standout player during the Lions' 1971 triumph over the All Blacks. So superlative were his performances that the New Zealand press dubbed him 'The King'



20

SOUTH AFRICA, 1974Famed for Willie John McBride’s legendary ‘99’ call, a rallying tactic to dissuade the South Africans from trying to intimidate his squad, the tourists were unbeaten in all 22 games. In winning the Test series 3–0 they became the fi rst side in the 20th century to scalp the Springboks in their own backyard. The fi rst three Tests all went to the visitors, but they were controversially denied a series and tour clean sweep in Johannesburg when the referee allegedly signalled time four minutes early and the game prematurely fi nished deadlocked at 13–13.

NEW ZEALAND, 1977The All Blacks had waited six years for the chance to exact revenge for their 1971 series defeat and although the two sides were closely matched, it

was the Kiwis who restored national pride. Beaten 16–12 in Wellington in the opener, Phil Bennett’s side kept the series alive with a 13–9 success in Christchurch. The last two Tests were bridges too far and New Zealand ended 3–1 winners. The Lions broke new ground at the end of the tour with a Test against Fiji, surprisingly losing 25–21 in Suva.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1980Captained by England’s Grand Slam-winning skipper Bill Beaumont, this was the fi rst of the modern, curtailed tours with only 18 matches. It went ahead despite opposition from the British Government and the sporting boycott of the apartheid era in South Africa. The Lions won all 14 of their provincial fi xtures, but injuries took their toll and they were outmuscled in the opening

Despite the best efforts of New Zealand's Bevan Wilson, Dougie Morgan touches down for a try during the fourth Test of the 1977 tour, although it wasn't enough to stop the Lions from slipping to a 10–9 defeat


MILESTONES

21

three Tests. Pride was salvaged with a 17–13 win over the Springboks in Pretoria in the fi nal game.

NEW ZEALAND, 1983There was little to redeem the 1983 tour from a British and Irish perspective as the Lions found themselves out of their depth in New Zealand. All four Tests were lost – as were the provincial fi xtures against Auckland and Canterbury – and the sombre mood of the trip was encapsulated in the fi nal match, the tourists leaking six unanswered tries at Auckland’s Eden Park as the All Blacks recorded a comprehensive 38–6 win. It remains the Lions’ heaviest defeat in any fi xture.

AUSTRALIA, 1989The fi rst visit to Australia alone since 1899, the tour down under was

condensed to 12 fi xtures and climaxed with Finlay Calder’s side making history when they became the fi rst squad to lose the opening Test and go on to win the series. Beaten 30–12 in Sydney, the tourists bounced back seven days later to edge it 19–12 in Brisbane. They went on to clinch a 2–1 triumph in Sydney, dramatically carving out a 19–18 victory courtesy of a Ieuan Evans try which famously came after a mistake from David Campese.

NEW ZEALAND, 1993Ian McGeechan became the fi rst man to coach the Lions twice when he took up the reins four years after masterminding victory over the Wallabies. England supplied a record 17 of the fi nal 34-man squad and had 11 players in the starting XV when the Lions levelled the Test series at one apiece with a muscular

The 1989 Test series against Australia was particularly fractious and saw tempers fl are on both sides on several occasions



22

20–7 win in Wellington. The All Blacks recovered their accustomed composure in time for the tour denouement, however, and emerged 30–13 winners at Eden Park to take their ninth series against the visitors.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1997The fi rst tour of the professional era and also the fi rst in post-apartheid South Africa. The Lions selected six former rugby league players and named England lock Martin Johnson as captain to take on the reigning World Cup champions. The opening Test at Newlands was clinched 25–16 thanks to tries from Alan Tait and Matt Dawson. It took a heroic defensive effort, and Jeremy Guscott’s iconic drop goal, to secure a nerve-jangling 18–15 triumph in Durban a week later to clinch a fi rst series win in Africa for 23 years. The tourists were demolished in the third Test, but it scarcely seemed to matter to the delighted fans who had fl ocked to every game.

AUSTRALIA, 2001The advent of the 21st century saw the Lions turn to a foreign head coach for the fi rst time when they appointed the then Wales coach, Graham Henry. The Kiwi’s tenure began brightly with a record 116–10 demolition of Western Australia. The three-Test series kicked-off with a 29–13 win for the visitors at the Gabba, but tensions within a disparate squad grew as the tour unfolded and the next two international matches were lost. It was the fi rst time the Wallabies had defeated the tourists in a series.

NEW ZEALAND, 2005Sir Clive Woodward took a record 44-player squad, plus a 26-strong management team, to New Zealand, but not before the Lions had played their fi rst true international on ‘home’ soil against Argentina at the Millennium Stadium. Sadly, the Lions’ unprecedented numbers failed to overwhelm the All Blacks. They lost

Alan Tait, Matt Dawson and Neil Jenkins celebrate the Lions' victory in the fi rst Test of the 1997 tour of South Africa


MILESTONES

23

their captain, Brian O’Driscoll, to a spear tackle a mere two minutes into the fi rst Test in Christchurch and lost the match 21–3. It was the closest they got to the Kiwis and heavy defeats in Wellington (48–18) and Auckland (38–19) followed to send a chastened group home with the dubious distinction of being the fi rst squad in 22 years to have lost all their Tests on tour.

SOUTH AFRICA, 2009The Springboks were once again world champions and made no secret of the fact they were still smarting from their experiences in 1997. Even the fabled tactical acumen of Ian McGeechan, coaching the tourists for an unprecedented fourth time, could not prevent them exacting their revenge. The ’Boks took the fi rst Test in Durban, but the Lions seemed to have kept their hopes alive in Pretoria with the match

level at 25–25 as it moved into injury time. Then up stepped Morne Steyn to knock over a monster penalty to win the match and the series. The Lions had some consolation as they won the third Test 28–9 in Johannesburg.

AUSTRALIA, 2013For the second time in Lions history a New Zealander took charge of the team. After a ground-breaking opening game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, Warren Gatland took his 37-man squad down under in search of a fi rst series success in 16 years. They narrowly edged the fi rst Test 23–21, lost in Melbourne by a single point seven days later, but saved their best performance of the tour for the third game to demolish the Wallabies 41–16 in Sydney. Full-back Leigh Halfpenny kicked 21 points in the ANZ Stadium to take his tour tally to 114.

Leigh Halfpenny makes it 11 successful kicks out of 11 in the match against Western Force in 2013. The Welshman was in imperious form throughout the tour and was named player of the series


Documents

PRiDE AND TRADiTiON I - Sports · Brian O’Driscoll HISTORY PRELIMS NC_1 ... by the England Test cricketers James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. ... THE OFFICIAL