Meet the Springbok whose great-grandfather played for the British and Irish Lions

The British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa next year will be a very special one for a member of the 2019 Springboks Rugby World Cup-winning team. Rugby enthusiasts can book British lions 2021 tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

Jesse Kriel revealed on Twitter that his great-grandfather, John Hodgson, played in the famous red jersey against the All Blacks and Wallabies 90 years ago. Hodgson, a loose forward who played his English rugby club for North Northumbria, was involved in the 6-3 win over New Zealand in Dunedin and the 15-10 loss to the All Blacks in Auckland in 1930.

In all, the Gosforth-born winger made 15 appearances for the British & Irish Lions, scoring nine points. He also represented England from 1932-1936, winning seven international matches, including the England team that played against the 1932 Springboks in London on January 2, 1932.

"I think it's very special, really, to know that he played for the Lions," Kriel told the official Springbok website.

Kriel went on to explain that relatives in England initially wanted to present the Hodgson Lions cap to their grandfather David's sister Diana, but due to international travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was decided to send it by post to South Africa, where he arrived safely a few days ago.

"You can imagine how happy she was, proud and a little bit excited when the package was delivered to her," said Kriel from Tokyo, where she currently plays for the Canon Eagles.

It was a good idea for discussions in the family group chat on WhatsApp.

"I thought it would be nice to share the moment on Twitter, especially with the Lions tour of South Africa on the horizon."

Jesse Kriel

Kriel's twin brother Dan previously played with him for the Bulls in Pretoria and while Jesse has made Japan his rugby home, Dan moved to Cape Town, where he played for the Western Province, and later the Lions in Johannesburg, whom he was recently captain.

The Kriel twins represented the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby U20 Championship in New Zealand in 2014, where they defeated their New Zealand hosts twice before suffering a close defeat to England U20 in the final at Eden Park.

John McDonald Hodgson was born on February 13, 1909, in Gosforth, England and passed away on April 21, 1970.

We are offering British lions rugby tickets so Rugby fans can get British lions tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Xchangetickets.com is the most reliable source to book British and Irish lions tour tickets.