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1908 British Lions Tour ; to New Zealand and Australia
	; The Anglo-Welsh touring party after arriving in Wellington in 1908. Manager George Harnett is seated in the centre, with captain Arthur Harding holding a rugby ball to Harnett's right;
Date	23 May – 2 September
Coach(es)	George Harnett
Tour captain(s)	; Arthur 'Boxer' Harding;
Test series winners	; New Zealand (2–0)
Top test point scorer(s)	; Reggie Gibbs (3) ; Jack Jones (3)
	; ← Australia and New Zealand 1904 ; ; Argentina 1910 → ;

The 1908 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the seventh tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia. The tour is often referred to as the Anglo-Welsh Tour as only English and Welsh players were selected due to the Irish and Scottish Rugby Unions not participating. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.

Led by Arthur 'Boxer' Harding and managed by George Harnett^[1] the tour took in 26 matches, 9 in Australia and 17 in New Zealand. Of the 26 games, 23 were against club or invitational teams and three were test matches against the All Blacks. The Lions lost two and drew one match against the All Blacks.

The tour was not received well in Wales, as the Welsh players selected were chosen exclusively from those players from a well-educated and professional-class background. The selection was in fact addressed by the Welsh Rugby Union who stated that when a British Isles team was mooted for a South Africa tour in 1910, that the players should be chosen '...irrespective of the social position of the players.'^[2]

Regarding the Lions uniform, 1908 brought a change of format and a change of colours. With the Scottish and Irish unions declining to be involved, red jerseys with a thick white band reflected the combination of England and Wales. Shorts were dark blue with red socks.^[3]

Touring party

Manager: George Harnett

Full Backs

John Dyke (Penarth)

E.J. 'John' Jackett (Falmouth/Leicester)

Three-Quarters

Frederick Ernest Chapman (Westoe)

Reggie Gibbs (Cardiff)

Johnnie Williams (Cardiff)

Rowland Griffiths (Newport)

Jack Jones (Pontypool)

James Phillips Jones (Guy's Hospital)

Pat McEvedy (Guy's Hospital)

Henry Vassall (Blackheath)

Half backs

James "Maffer" Davey (Redruth)

Herbert Laxon (Cambridge University)

William Llewellyn Morgan (Cardiff)

G.L. Williams (Liverpool)

Forwards

Herbert Archer (Guy's Hospital)

Robert Dibble (Bridgwater)

Percy Down (Bristol)

Gerald Kyrke (Marlborough Nomads)

R.K. Green (Neath)

Edgar Morgan (Swansea)

L.S. Thomas (Penarth)

Arthur Harding (Cardiff) (captain)

Jack Williams (London Welsh)

Guy Reginald Hind (Guy's Hospital)

F.S. Jackson (Leicester)

William Leonard Oldham (Coventry)

John Anthony Sydney Ritson (Northern)

Thomas William Smith (Leicester)

Team kit

Results

Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in New Zealand and Australia:^[4]^[5]

Test matches

The first test v New Zealand on June 6

Cartoon by William Blomfield, published by the New Zealand Observer following the tour's first test match. It depicts the touring Anglo-Welsh as a "dilapidated lion" following their 32–5 defeat to New Zealand

#	Date	Rival	City	Country	Result	Score
1	23 May	Wairarapa	Masterton	New Zealand	Won	17–3
2	27 May	Wellington	Wellington	New Zealand	Lost	13–19
3	30 May	Otago	Dunedin	New Zealand	Lost	6–9
4	3 June	Southland	Invercargill	New Zealand	Won	14–8
5	6 June	New Zealand	Dunedin	New Zealand	Lost	5–32
6	10 June	South Canterbury	Timaru	New Zealand	Won	12–6
7	13 June	Canterbury	Christchurch	New Zealand	Lost	8–13
8	17 June	West Coast/Buller	Greymouth	New Zealand	Won	22–3
9	20 June	Nelson Bays/Marlborough	Nelson	New Zealand	Won	12–0
10	27 June	New Zealand	Wellington	New Zealand	Drew	3–3
11	1 July	Hawke's Bay	Napier	New Zealand	Won	25–3
12	4 July	Poverty Bay	Gisborne	New Zealand	Won	26–0
13	8 July	Manawatu/Horowhenua	Palmerston North	New Zealand	Won	12–3
14	11 July	Wanganui	Wanganui	New Zealand	Won	9–6
15	15 July	Taranaki	New Plymouth	New Zealand	Lost	0–5
16	18 July	Auckland	Auckland	New Zealand	Lost	0–11
17	25 July	New Zealand	Auckland	New Zealand	Lost	0–29
18	5 August	NSW Waratahs	Sydney	Australia	Won	3–0
19	8 August	NSW Waratahs	Sydney	Australia	Won	8–0
20	12 August	Western Districts	Orange	Australia	Lost	10–15
21	15 August	Metropolitan	Sydney	Australia	Won	16–13
22	19 August	Newcastle	Newcastle	Australia	Won	42–0
23	22 August	NSW Waratahs	Sydney	Australia	Lost	3–6
24	26 August	Queensland Reds	Brisbane	Australia	Won	20–3
25	29 August	Queensland Reds	Brisbane	Australia	Won	11–8
26	2 September	Brisbane	Brisbane	Australia	Won	26–3

**Balance**
Played in	Pl	W	D	L	Ps	Pc
New Zealand	17	9	1	7	184	153
Australia	9	7	0	2	139	48
Total	26	16	1	9	323	201

Test details

First Test

6 June

New Zealand	32–5	British Isles
Try: Cameron Hunter Mitchinson (2) Roberts (2) Thompson Con: Francis Gillett (2) Roberts Pen: Roberts		Try: Gibbs Con: Jackson

Carisbrook, Dunedin
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: J Duncan

(Otago, New Zealand)

Second Test

27 June

New Zealand	3–3	British Isles
Pen: Francis		Try: Jones

Athletic Park, Wellington
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: A. Campbell

(Auckland, New Zealand)

Third Test

25 July

New Zealand	29–0	British Isles
Try: Deans Francis Gillett Glasgow Hayward Hunter Mitchinson Con: Colman

Potters Park, Auckland
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: A. Campbell

(Auckland, New Zealand)

References

^ Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 1 December 1908, Page 4 Papers Past website

^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881–1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams; University of Wales Press (1980), pg 175 .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
ISBN 0-7083-0766-3

^ Lions change their stripes on Lions website, 17 Apr 2005

^ British & Irish Lions results on Rugby Football History

^ Early Lions: Squads and results (1888–1938) on BBC Sport, 18 May 2005

External links

"1908 New Zealand and Australia". British Lions Ltd. Retrieved 26 August 2015.

Geoffrey T. Vincent, '"Practical Imperialism": The Anglo-Welsh Rugby Tour of New Zealand, 1908', The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 15, no. 1, April 1998, pp. 123–40 (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523369808714015?journalCode=fhsp20#preview).

[1] Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 1 December 1908, Page 4 Papers Past website

[2] Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881–1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams; University of Wales Press (1980), pg 175 .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
ISBN 0-7083-0766-3

[3] Lions change their stripes on Lions website, 17 Apr 2005

[rfhistory-4] British & Irish Lions results on Rugby Football History

[bbcsport-5] Early Lions: Squads and results (1888–1938) on BBC Sport, 18 May 2005

v t e Rugby union tours of New Zealand
British and Irish Lions	1888 (no test) 1904 1908 1930 1950 1959 1966 1971 1977 1983 1993 2005 2017
Australia	1905 1913 1931 1936 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1962 1964 1972 1978 1982 1986 1990 1991
New South Wales	1894 1921 1923 1925 1928
South Africa	1921 1937 1956 1965 1981 1994
Argentina	1979 1989 1997 2001 2004
England	1963 1973 1985 1998 2003 2004 2008 2010 2014
France	1961 1968 1979 1984 1986 1989 1994 1999 2001 2003 2007 2013 2018
Ireland	1976 1992 1997 2002 2006 2008 2010 2012
Italy	1980 (no test) 2002 2003 (no test)
Scotland	1975 1981 1990 1996 2000 2004
Wales	1969 1988 2003 2016
Romania	1991 (no test)
Japan	1974
Fiji	1974 1980 1989 (no test) 1996 1997 2003
Samoa	1996 2005 (no test)
Pacific Islanders	2004
Canada	1995 2007

v t e Rugby union tours of Australia
British and Irish Lions	1888 1899 1904 1908 1930 1950 1959 1966 1971 1989 2001 2013
New Zealand	1884 1893 1897 1903 1905 1907 1910 1914 1920 1922 1924 1925 1926 1929 1932 1934 1938 1947 1951 1957 1960 1962 1968 1974 1979 1980 1984 1988 1991 1992
NZ Maori	1888-89 1922 1923 1926-27 1936 1949
South Africa	1921 1937 1956 1965 1971 1993
Argentina	1983 1986 1995 2000
England	1963 1975 1988 1991 1997 1998 1999 2003 2004 2006 2010 2016
France	1961 1968 1972 1981 1986 1990 1997 2002 2005 2008 2014
Ireland	1967 1979 1994 1999 2003 2006 2008 2010
Italy	1981 1986 1994 2005
Scotland	1982 1992 1998 2004 2012
Wales	1969 1978 1991 1996 2003 2007 2012
Fiji	1952 1954 1961 1976 1984 1985 1989
Samoa	1994 2005
Tonga	1973 1993
Pacific Islanders	2004
North American teams	1985 1990 1996 1999
Asian teams	1975 1987

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1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia

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