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. Rugby fans can book British and Irish Lions Tour Tickets on our website on exclusively
discounted prices.
This structure may be in jeopardy though, as World Rugby
chairman candidate Augustin 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.
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 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.
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.
We are offering Springboks Vs British And Irish Lions
Tickets Rugby
fans can get Springboks Vs British And Irish Lions Tickets through our trusted
online ticketing market place. XchangeTickets.com is the most reliable source
to book British And Irish Lions Tour Tickets.
No comments:
Post a Comment