Every country the Lions have faced outside of 'The Big Three'
Over the past 30 years, the British and Irish Lions have had a consistent diary, whereby they tour one of South Africa, Australia or New Zealand every four years.
This structure may be in jeopardy though, as World Rugby chairman candidate Agustín Pichot seeks to expand the Lions tour from ‘The Big Three’ to a worldwide scale.
This is a reasonable desire of his given the growth and development of the game in other parts of the world, such as Argentina, as well as Japan, who have never played the historic team before. A potential fixture between the Lions and the Brave Blossoms has been discussed recently, which could take place before the 2021 tour to South Africa.
It seems inevitable that the schedule of the Lions will change again in the coming the years, as, after all, even the concept of a tour of Australia was once far less frequent than to South Africa or New Zealand. The Lions have only played the Wallabies 23 times (losing six and winning 17), including only one test in over 40 years in the first half of the 20th century. In contrast the Lions have played the Springboks 46 times (losing 23, winning 17 and drawing six) and the All Blacks 41 times (losing 30, winning seven and drawing six).
This does not mean that the Lions have not played any other countries throughout their illustrious history, which began in 1888 with a tour of New Zealand and Australia, and saw them play their first ever Test match in 1891 against South Africa. In fact there are some surprising names the Lions have faced along the way, and here they are:
Argentina
Under the name ‘British Combined’ in May and June 1910, a team of 16 Englishmen and three Scots toured Argentina, playing the national side and beating them 28-3. Bizarrely, this coincided with another Lions tour of southern Africa.
The Lions returned to Argentina in 1927, and participated in a longer tour which consisted of nine matches, including four Tests. Unfortunately for the home side, this was a series to be forgotten, as they fell to a combined score 160-3 across those four matches.
The Lions returned nine years later in 1936, where they would play ten matches, including ones against Argentina A and B sides, but only one Test in which they won 23-0 in Buenos Aires.
It would be 79 more years before the two sides met again, when Sir Clive Woodward’s side hosted the Pumas at the Millennium Stadium in 2005 ahead of the ill-fated tour of New Zealand. The game finished in a 25-25 draw, which was one of the signs during that period that Argentina deserved to compete against the best. However, that remains the last time the two sides played each other.
Zimbabwe
Between 1910 and 1974, the Lions played Zimbabwe (although named Southern Rhodesia or Rhodesia during that period) nine times, sandwiched in tours of South Africa, winning all encounters.
The first was in 1910 in Bulawayo, where the Lions won 24-11 before losing a Test series against South Africa.
The two sides met again in 1924 at the Salisbury Sports Ground, amid a 21-match tour which also saw the Lions lose to South Africa in a four-match series.
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A 24-match tour in 1938, where the Lions lost 2-1 to the Springboks, saw them play Zimbabwe twice, which they also did in 1955 during a 25-match tour of Africa, which finished with a 2-2 series draw against South Africa.
Only three more contests would be played between the two, during the 1962 and 1968 tours, in which South Africa were victorious, and the 1974 tour, which was won by the Lions.
Sri Lanka
The Lions have played Sri Lanka twice in their history, although named Ceylon at the time, winning both.
The first match came en route the journey home after a 28-match tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1930, where the visitors lost the series 3-1 to the former and 1-0 to the latter. The tour ended on a positive note though, with a 45-0 win over Sri Lanka at the Colombo Racecourse.
The same venue played host to their second clash 20 years later in 1950. This was once again after a 29-match tour of New Zealand and Australia, where the Lions were slightly more successful this time, losing three matches against the All Blacks, but winning both matches they had with Australia. Their match with Sri Lanka on the journey home had a similar scoreline to their first meeting, with the Lions winning 44-6.
Namibia South West Africa
Just as Zimbabwe were, contests with Namibia (known as South West Africa when they faced the Lions) were added to the itinerary for the Lions during their tours of South Africa in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
The Lions faced Namibia on four occasions, in 1955, 1962, 1968 and 1974, with every match played in Windhoek, and the Lions coming out victorious in each one of them.
East Africa
Fixtures against East Africa were also part of the schedule during the 1955 and 1962 Lions tours of Africa. This team was comprised of players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and both contests were played at the Ngong Road Ground in Nairobi, Kenya, with the Lions winning the first in 1955 39-12 and the second in 1962 50-0.
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Wales
A few months after the Lions’ tour of Africa in 1955, they faced Wales at Cardiff Arms Park, although it did not have some of the players that featured in the tour earlier that year. The Lions were victorious nonetheless, winning the match 20-17.
Canada
While it has been seen that the Lions would return home from Australia and New Zealand via Sri Lanka, they opted for North America in 1959 and 1966.
Following a 31-match tour of Australia and New Zealand, in which they won the series against the Wallabies and lost to the All Blacks, the Lions played two further matches in Canada. Although they did not play the national team, they played British Columbia and Eastern Canada, winning both.
They returned in 1966 after a 33-match tour of Australia and New Zealand, where they lost to British Columbia but beat the national team 19-8 in Toronto.
Fiji
The Lions capped off their tour of New Zealand in 1977 with a match against Fiji at Buckhurst Park, now the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
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After losing the series 3-1 against the All Blacks, the Lions fortunes’ did not improve in the Pacific, as they fell 25-21. Fiji therefore remain the only national side the Lions have played but never beaten.
France
Three months after the Lions’ hugely successful 1989 tour of Australia, where Sir Ian McGeechan’s side won eleven of their twelve matches, including a 2-1 series win over the Wallabies, they faced France at the Parc de Princes.
The Lions edged Les Bleus on that occasion 29-27, and this remains the only time the two teams have crossed paths.
Barbarians
Though not strictly a Test match, the Barbarians are still a recognised team in rugby outside of the ‘Big Three’ that the Lions usually play.
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The first fixture between the two took place at Twickenham in September 1977, a month after the tour of New Zealand and Fiji, to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The Lions won that match 23-14.
The teams played again 36 years later, when Warren Gatland’s Lions took a pitstop in Hong Kong ahead of the tour of Australia in 2013. The Lions comfortably won that match 59-8 before a series win down under.
Rest of the World XV
Played between the 1983 tour of New Zealand and the 1989 tour of Australia, the Lions faced a formidable Rest of the World XV, called ‘The Rest’, in 1986 at Cardiff Arms Park, losing 15-7.
This was recognised as a Test, and the players were awarded caps in 2018.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments