The 1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia was the twelfth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to New Zealand and Australia. This tour is recognised as the first to represent a bona fide British teamGodwin (1981), pg 231. and the first to be widely dubbed the 'Lions', after the nickname was used by journalists during the 1924 tour of South Africa.Griffiths (1987), pg 9:7.
Led by England's Doug Prentice and managed by James Baxter the tour took in 28 matches, seven in Australia and 21 in New Zealand. Of the 28 games, 24 were against club or invitational teams, four were test matches against New Zealand and one was a test match against Australia. The test match results saw the Lions lose to Australia, and win only one of the four New Zealand tests.
As with earlier trips, the selectors had a difficult time putting together the final team that made up the British Isles tour. Roughly a hundred players were approached before the 29 who eventually sailed could be chosen. Of the Lions, the players who stood out on the tour included Roger Spong, Harry Bowcott and Jack Bassett, while Ivor Jones impressed in the pack and set up a memorable try in the first game against New Zealand which gave the Lions their only test win.
Touring party Manager: James Baxter
Full Backs Jack Bassett (Penarth and Wales) William Gordon MacGregor Bonner (Bradford)
Three-Quarters Carl Aarvold (Cambridge U. and England) Jim Reeve (Harlequins and England) Jack Morley (Newport and Wales) Anthony "Tony" L Novis (Blackheath and England) Roy Jennings (Redruth) Harry Bowcott (Cambridge U. and Wales) Tommy Jones-Davies (London Welsh and Wales) Paul Murray (Wanderers and Ireland)
Half backs Roger Spencer Spong (Old Millhillians and England) Wilf Sobey (Old Millhillians and England) Tom Knowles (Birkenhead Park) Howard Poole (Cardiff)
Forwards Doug Prentice (Leicester and England) (captain) Henry Rew (Blackheath and England) Dai Parker (Swansea and Wales) WB Welsh (Hawick and Scotland) Brian Henry Black (Oxford U. and England) Mike Dunne (Lansdowne and Ireland) George Beamish (Leicester and Ireland) James "Jimmy" Leo Farrell (Bective Rangers and Ireland) John Hodgson (Northern) Henry O'Hara O'Neill (Queens and Ireland) Ivor Jones (Llanelli and Wales) Harry Wilkinson (Halifax and England) Sam Martindale (Kendal and England) Douglas Kendrew (Leicester and England) Harold Jones (Manchester and England)
Doc on One RTÉ radio has broadcast a documentary about Mike Dunne who corresponded with a Maori princess, Rau Ellison, and sent her his Lions jersey. But their potential romance didn't happen as her family arranged a marriage for her with a neighbouring farmer.
There also was an article in the Irish Independent c 2005 based on Mike Dunne's diaries of the tour.
Match summary 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 Score121 MayWanganui New ZealandWon19–3224 MayNew Plymouth New ZealandWon23–7328 MayPalmerston North New ZealandWon34–8431 MayMasterton New ZealandWon19–653 JuneWellington New ZealandLost8–1267 JuneChristchurch New ZealandLost8–14711 June West Coast-BullerGreymouth New ZealandWon34–11814 JuneDunedin New ZealandWon33–9921 JuneDunedin New Zealand Won6–31025 JuneInvercargill New ZealandWon9–31128 June Ashburton / /Timaru New ZealandWon16–9125 JulyChristchurch New Zealand Lost10–13139 July New Zealand Māori Wellington New Zealand Won19–131412 JulyNapier New ZealandWon14–31516 July / /Gisborne New ZealandWon25–111619 JulyAuckland New ZealandLost6–191726 JulyAuckland New Zealand Lost10–151830 JulyWhangārei New ZealandWon38–5192 Aug / /Hamilton New ZealandWon40–16209 Aug Wellington New Zealand Lost8–222112 Aug / /Blenheim New ZealandWon41–32223 Aug NSW Waratahs Sydney Australia Won29–102330 Aug Sydney Australia Lost5–6243 Sep Queensland Reds Brisbane AustraliaWon26–16256 Sep Australian XV Brisbane AustraliaWon29–142610 Sep NSW Waratahs Sydney Australia Lost3–282713 Sep Victoria Melbourne AustraliaWon41–362822 Sep Western Australia Perth AustraliaWon71–3291 Oct Ceylon Colombo Sri LankaWon45–0
Notes
Balance Played in Pl W D L Ps Pc New Zealand 21 15 0 6 420 205 Australia 7 5 0 2 204 113 Ceylon 1 1 0 0 45 0 Total 29 21 0 8 669 318
Match details New Zealand (First test)
Team detailsNew Zealand: 15.G.Nepia; 14.G.F.Hart, 13.F.W.Lucas, 12.A.E.Cookie, 11.D.J.Oliver; 10.H. T. Lilburne, 9.J.J.Mill; 8.C.G.Porter (capt), 7.W.A.Batty, 6.W.E.Hazlett; 5.I.Finlayzon, 4.; 3.R.G.McWilliams, 2.W.R.Irvine, 1.A.I.Cottrell
British Isles: 15.J.Bassett; 14.J.C.Morley, 13.H.M.Bowcott, 12.C.D.Aarvold (capt), 11.J.S.R.Reeve; 10.R.S.Spong, 9.P.F.Murray; 8.G. R. Beamish, 7.I.Jones, 6.J.McD.Hodgson; 5.B.H.Black, 4.J.L.Farrell; 3.H.Rew, 2.D.Parker, 1.H.O'Neill
Bibliography
References