Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions (formerly British Isles and then the British Lions) are a Rugby Union side comprising the pick of the best players from the four Home nation unions, i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. As such, they do not have a national anthem. The Lions are exclusively a touring team, and play the traditionally strong southern hemisphere teams of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
In a break with tradition, a first 'home' fixture against Argentina will be played at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on May 23, 2005, before the Lions go to New Zealand.
Playing for the Lions is considered the highest honour in the game for British and Irish players, higher even than playing for your country. It is also a huge occasion for those who play against the Lions since they only get once chance to play against them every twelve years.
On tour there are midweek games against local clubs as well as the full tests against the host's national team. There is always tension between those selected for the tests and those who turn out only for the midweek games.
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Name
The team was originally known as the 'British Isles', this being the term often used for the archipelago of which Great Britain and Ireland form a part. On the 1950 tour of Australia they adopted the name the 'British Lions' after the lion emblem on their jerseys. In recent years they have been known as the 'British and Irish Lions' out of respect for the players from Ireland. Some criticised this change as unnecessary political correctness. The team are often called simply the 'Lions'.
Overview
Postwar tours and captains
- 1950 Australia & New Zealand (Karl Mullen )
- 1955 South Africa (Cliff Morgan )
- 1959 Australia & New Zealand (Ronnie Dawson )
- 1962 South Africa (Arthur Smith)
- 1966 Australia & New Zealand(Mike Campbell-Lamerton)
- 1968 South Africa (Tom Kiernan )
- 1971 New Zealand (John Dawes )
- 1974 South Africa (Willie John McBride)
- 1977 New Zealand (Phil Bennett)
- 1980 South Africa (Bill Beaumont)
- 1983 New Zealand (Ciaran Fitzgerald )
- 1989 Australia (Finlay Calder)
- 1993 New Zealand (Gavin Hastings)
- 1997 South Africa (Martin Johnson)
- 2001 Australia (Martin Johnson)
- 2005 New Zealand (Brian O'Driscoll)
Coaches
- Ian McGeechan
- Jim Telfer
- Graham Henry
- Sir Clive Woodward
Other famous Lions
- Gary Armstrong
- Gordon Brown - Broon frae Troon
- Sandy Carmichael
- Craig Chalmers
- Phil Davies
- Mick Doyle
- Gareth Edwards
- Scott Gibbs
- Jeremy Guscott
- Scott Hastings
- Rob Howley
- Andy Irvine
- John Jeffrey
- Barry John
- Roy Laidlaw
- Ian McLauchlan
- Malcolm O'Kelly
- Tony O'Reilly
- Dean Richards
- David Sole
- Gregor Townsend
- Rory Underwood
- Doddie Weir
- Jonny Wilkinson
- JPR Williams
- Bobby Windsor
- Keith Wood
See also
External links
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