British and Irish Lions
Categories: British and Irish Lions | International rugby union teams
The British and Irish Lions (formerly British Isles and then the British Lions; commonly the Lions) is a Rugby Union side comprising a pick of the best players from the Home nation unions in Great Britain and Ireland.
Members thus are chosen from
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Naming and symbols
The team has historically used the name 'British Isles'. On their 1950 tour of New Zealand and Australia they also adopted the name 'British Lions' after the lion emblem on their jerseys. Since the 2001 tour of Australia they have become known as the 'British and Irish Lions'. The new name was adopted to take account of the sensitivities of some people in both the Republic of Ireland and within the nationalist community in Northern Ireland who object to any implication that they are in some way "British". Some have criticised this change as exhibiting unnecessary political correctness, as they felt that the geographic term British Isles carried no political overtones. Most rugby unions fans simply refer to the team as the 'Lions'.
The Lions do not represent a nation state, and as such they do not relate to any national flag or other national symbols, and they do not have a national anthem. For the 2005 tour to New Zealand the Lions directorate specially commissioned a song, "The Power of Four", although it met with little support amongst Lions fans at the matches, and even the players seemed not to know the words. The status of the song on future tours remains uncertain.
History
Combined Rugby Union sides from the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland toured in the Southern Hemisphere from 1888 onwards. The first tour took place as a commercial venture, made without official backing, but the six subsequent visits that took place prior to the 1910 South Africa tour (the first selected by a committee from the then four Home Unions) enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities, although only one of these included representatives of all four nations.
The 1950s proved a golden age for Lions rugby, although only in the 1970s did style begin to match the substance of victory in New Zealand and South Africa.
Post-War Lions tours
The following table lists all Lions tours since World War II:
| Year | To | Captain | Head coach | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | New Zealand & Australia | Karl Mullen - Ireland | Lost
Won | 3-0 (New Zealand - with 1 draw)
2-0 (Australia) | |
| 1955 | South Africa | Robin Thompson - Ireland | Draw | 2-2 | |
| 1959 | Australia & New Zealand | Ronnie Dawson - Ireland | Won
Lost | 2-0 (Australia)
1-3 (New Zealand) | |
| 1962 | South Africa | Arthur Smith - Scotland | Lost | 3-0 (with 1 draw) | |
| 1966 | Australia, New Zealand & Canada | Mike Campbell-Lamerton - Scotland | Won
Lost | 2-0 (Australia)
0-4 (New Zealand) | |
| 1968 | South Africa | Tom Kiernan - Ireland | Lost | 3-0 (with 1 draw) | |
| 1971 | New Zealand | John Dawes - Wales | Carwyn James - Wales | Won | 2-1 (with 1 draw) |
| 1974 | South Africa | Willie John McBride - Ireland | Syd Millar - Ireland | Won | 3-0 (with 1 draw) |
| 1977 | New Zealand | Phil Bennett - Wales | John Dawes - Wales | Lost | 3-1 |
| 1980 | South Africa | Bill Beaumont - England | Noel Murphy - Ireland | Lost | 3-1 |
| 1983 | New Zealand | Ciaran Fitzgerald - Ireland | Jim Telfer - Scotland | Lost | 4-0 |
| 1989 | Australia | Finlay Calder- Scotland | Ian McGeechan - Scotland | Won | 2-1 |
| 1993 | New Zealand | Gavin Hastings - Scotland | Ian McGeechan - Scotland | Lost | 2-1 |
| 1997 | South Africa | Martin Johnson - England | Ian McGeechan - Scotland | Won | 2-1 |
| 2001 | Australia | Martin Johnson - England | Graham Henry - New Zealand | Lost | 2-1 |
| 2005 | New Zealand | Brian O'Driscoll - Ireland | Sir Clive Woodward - England | Lost | 3-0 |
Lions tours
The Lions comprise a touring team which currently plays three southern-hemisphere teams:
They also routinely toured in Argentina before World War II.
Tours currently take place every four years, the most recent one, the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, taking place in 2005. The next planned tour will visit South Africa in 2009.
In a break with tradition, a first 'home' fixture against Argentina took place at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on May 23, 2005, before the Lions went to New Zealand. It finished in a 25-all draw.
On tour, mid-week games take place against local provinces or clubs as well as the weekend full tests against the host's national team. Tension normally exists between those selected for the tests and those who turn out only for the mid-week games. During the 2005 Lions tour, the visitors won all the provincial matches; the All Blacks won the test matches; and the New Zealand Maori won their game.
Future of The Lions
In the past British and Irish rugby-union players have considered playing for the Lions a high honour in the game - for many higher even than playing for their national side. Those who play against the Lions have also regarded it as a huge occasion. However, some players, the media and some administrators have increasingly raised questions about the future of The Lions following the team's poor showing in their last two tours when first Australia (2001) and then New Zealand (2005) outplayed them. Some see the Lions as an anachronism in the highly professional world of modern international rugby union. Others see the Lions as representing a great rugby union tradition and will fight hard to preserve its traditions (such as the awarding of official caps for Lions matches). Some rugby union supporters would like to see the Lions retained as a touring side but to have the status of the team made more analogous with other scratch rugby union sides like the Barbarians - playing for the joy of rugby union rather than having any pretensions to international status.
Famous Lions
Commercial Sponsorship
See also
- England national team
- Ireland national team
- Scotland national team
- Wales national team
- The Power of Four