1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia

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 HarnettHawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 1 December 1908, Page 4 Papers Past website 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.'Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881–1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams; University of Wales Press (1980), p. 175

In Sydney during the tour Harnett declared the Australian rugby union team about to visit England over the 1908-09 winter would be called "the Rabbits", which led to a minor newspaper controversy and disquiet among the players, before "the Wallabies" nickname was adopted instead.

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.Lions change their stripes on Lions website, 17 April 2005

Touring party Manager: George Harnett

Full-backs John Dyke (Penarth) E. J. "John" Jackett (Falmouth/Leicester)

Three-Quarters Fred 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 Hind (Guy's Hospital) F.S. Jackson (Leicester) William Oldham (Coventry) John Anthony Sydney Ritson (Northern) Thomas William Smith (Leicester)

Results Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in New Zealand and Australia:British & Irish Lions results on Rugby Football HistoryEarly Lions: Squads and results (1888–1938) on BBC Sport, 18 May 2005

Test matches

# Date Rival City Country Result Score123 MayWairarapa Masterton New ZealandWon17–3227 MayWellingtonWellington New ZealandLost13–19330 MayOtagoDunedin New ZealandLost6–9 43 JuneSouthlandInvercargill New ZealandWon14–856 June Dunedin New ZealandLost5–32610 JuneSouth CanterburyTimaru New ZealandWon12–6 713 JuneCanterburyChristchurch New ZealandLost8–13 817 JuneWest Coast/BullerGreymouth New ZealandWon22–3 920 JuneNelson Bays/MarlboroughNelson New ZealandWon12–0 1027 JuneWellington New ZealandDrew3–3111 JulyHawke's BayNapier New ZealandWon25–3 124 JulyPoverty BayGisborne New ZealandWon26–0 138 JulyManawatu/HorowhenuaPalmerston North New ZealandWon12–3 1411 JulyWanganuiWanganui New ZealandWon9–6 1515 JulyTaranakiNew Plymouth New ZealandLost0–5 1618 JulyAucklandAuckland New ZealandLost0–11 1725 July Auckland New ZealandLost0–29 185 AugustNSW Waratahs Sydney AustraliaWon3–0 198 AugustNSW WaratahsSydney AustraliaWon8–0 2012 AugustWestern DistrictsOrange AustraliaLost10–15 2115 AugustMetropolitanSydney AustraliaWon16–132219 AugustNewcastleNewcastle AustraliaWon42–0 2322 AugustNSW WaratahsSydney AustraliaLost3–6 2426 AugustQueensland RedsBrisbane AustraliaWon20–3 2529 AugustQueensland RedsBrisbane AustraliaWon11–8 262 SeptemberBrisbaneBrisbane AustraliaWon26–3

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

Team detailsNew Zealand: 15.J.T.H.Colman; 14.H.D.Thomson, 13.F.E.Mitchinson, 12.J.Hunter, 11.D. Cameron; 10.J.W.Stead (capt), 9.F.Roberts; 8.G.A.Gillett, 7.A.McDonald, 6.E.Seeling; 5.N.A.Wilson, 4.W.Cinningham, 3.A.R.H.Francis, 2.S.T.Casey, 1.E.Hughes

British Isles: 15.E.J.Jacket; 14.J.L.Williams, 13.J.P.Jones, 12.H.H.Vassall, 11.R. A. Gibbs; 10.J.Davey, 9.H.Laxon; 8.J.A.S.Ritson, 7.H.A.Archer, 6.G.V.Kyrie; 5.J.Down, 4.A.F.Harding (capt); 3.F.S.Jackson, 2.R.Dibble, 1.R.M.Owen

Second Test

Team detailsNew Zealand: 15.W.J.Wallace; 14.F.C.Fryer, 13.F.E.Mitchinson, 12.J.Hunter (capt), 11.D. Cameron; 10.D.Gray, 9.P.J.Burns; 7.A.McDonald, 8.D.C.Hamilton, 7. A.M.Paterson, 6.C.E.Seeling; 5.N.A.Wilson, 4.W.Cunningham, 3.A.R.H.Francis, 2.W.J.Reedy, 1.P.C.Murray

British Isles: 15.E.J.Jacket; 14.J.L.Williams, 13.H.H.Vassall, 12.J.P.Jones, 11.P.F.McEvedy; 10.J.P.Jones, 9.W.L.Morgan; 8.R.A.Gibbs, 7.R.Dibble, 6.A.F.Farding (capt); 5.H.A.Archer, 4.E.Morgan; 3.T.W.Smith, 2.P.J.Down, 1.G.R.Hind

Third Test

Team detailsNew Zealand: 15.J.T.H.Colman; 14.F.E.Mitchinson, R.G.Deans, 12.J.Hunter, 11.D. Cameron; 10.J.W.Stead (capt), 9.F.Roberts; 8.G.A.Gillett, 7. A.M.Paterson, 6.H.O.Hayward; 5.C.E.Seeling, 4.W.Cunningham, 3.A.R.H.Francis, 2.W.J.Reedy, 1.F.T.Glasgow

British Isles: 15.E.J.Jacket; 14.F.E.Chapman, 13.H.H.Vassall, 12.J.P.Jones, 11.P.F.McEvedy; 10.J.P.Jones, 9.W.L.Morgan; 8.A.F.Harding (capt), 7.G.R.Hind, 6.H.A.Archer; 5.P.J.Down, 4.T.Sloan; 3.E.Morgan, 2.R.Dibble, 1.J.F.Williams

References

External links

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). "Second Test Match" Detailed description of game from newspaper.