1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
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]
Contents
1 Touring party
1.1 Full Backs
1.2 Three-Quarters
1.3 Half backs
1.4 Forwards
2 Results
3 Test details
3.1 First Test
3.2 Second Test
3.3 Third Test
4 References
5 External links
Touring party
- Manager: George Harnett
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Results
Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in New Zealand and Australia:[4][5]
Test matches
# | 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 |
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).
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