During its second tour to Argentina, the British Isles team, formed by English and Scottish players,El Gráfico No. 424, 20 August 1927 played 9 matches in the country, winning all of them with more than 295 points scored and only 9 conceded.1927 Argentina on British Lions website (Archive, 21 Jan 2012)
Background
The River Plate Rugby Union (RPRU, current "Argentine Rugby Union") had formed a commission to study how to bring a British team into the country. To do so they had to have the sum of m$n 25,000 (about £ 3,000 at that time) to pay the travel and subsistence costs of a staff of twenty-five people.1927: Argentina by David Walmsley - Genesis Publications on Lions website, May 15, 2013 With contributions from clubs, newspaper companies, stores such as Gath and Chaves, British railroads and refrigerators and personal contributions, 30,000 pesos were collected. In mid-1926 the RFU received an invitation from the RPRU, requesting for a team of "first class players" to visit Argentina for three or four weeks. The delegation should be of 25 people including a manager and a referee. The RFU responded affirmatively after consulting the International Board.
On July 19, 1927, a team composed of twenty-three players from England, Scotland and Ireland under the direction of James Baxter, none other than the president of the RFU, and a first-class referee, arrived in Buenos Aires and settled in the headquarters of Hurlingham Club for a fixture of nine games.
Fulfilling the request of the RPRU, this British combined was considerably stronger than the one that had been assembled in 1910. No less than fifteen of the twenty-three players were internationals or future internationals. His captain, David MacMyn, was a leading Scottish forward who had been part of the team that won its first Grand Slam in 1925 and shared the title of the Five Nations with Ireland in 1926. During the long sea voyage to Argentina, MacMyn made good use of onboard time for his men to train and make a tactical plan for the tour.
In their first games, the Lions played an Anglo-Argentine combined and the Argentine champion San Isidro, which had won eight consecutive domestic championships to date. The Lions won those games with no goals conceded.
The following game was the first test v. Argentina, played on 31 July at Gimnasia y Esgrima stadium. It was the first time Argentina wore the horizontal light blue and white jersey (after wearing blue and white jerseys alternatively since its first match in 1910) after a proposal by Gimnasia y Esgrima executive Abelardo Gutiérrez."La pasión cumple 100 años", La Nación, 10 April 1999 The match was attended by a record 12,000 spectators. After the match, MacMyn wrote: "The crowd was delighted. They were impressed by the fact that we played in silence, listening only to the captain's voice. Argentines have all the physical qualities required for rugby. They are big, strong and fast. They are tremendously enthusiastic –sometimes, excessively".
After playing Argentina, the Lions moved to the city Rosario in Santa Fe Province to play a combined team composed by players of porteños clubs Universitario and Gimnasia y Esgrima due to the impossibility of joining a competitive team with the small number of players in Rosario. Players of both teams arrived in Rosario after a long journey by train from Retiro to Rosario Norte station, the same day of the match. Held in Plaza Jewell, home venue of Club Atlético del Rosario, the Lions defeated the combined team by 24–0 in a rainy day.
The Lions returned to Buenos Aires to play the second test v. Argentina, winning 46–0 at GEBA, then playing another combined team (composed by players of Belgrano A.C. and Buenos Aires F.C.). The team would play two games more against the national team, the last of them on 21 August."Lions (segundo viaje olvidado)" by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby, 24 May 2017
Touring team
Player Position Club Born / National team 1st test 2nd test 3rd test 4th test Roger Wakefield Forward Cambridge Univ. (uncapped)Jack WallensFullbackAF Hamilton SmytheThree-Quarter (uncapped)Robert KellyThree-QuarterEdward TaylorWingOxford Univ.Carl AarvoldWingCambridge Univ. Peter DoutyScrum-halfGeorge McIlwaineFlankerCambridge Univ.South Africa AD AllenF. PropCambridge Univ.(uncapped)Granville CoghlanLockCambridge Univ.England Thomas GubbLockOxford Univ.South Africa Donald TroupLock/FlankerOxford Univ.(uncapped)Eric ColeyFlanker Theodore PikeFlankerLansdowneDouglas LawHookerCharles PaynePropDavid MacMyn (C)Number 8London ScottishErnie HammettThree-QuarterJames FarrellLockBective RangersWilf SobeyScrum-halfOld Millhillians Jules MalfroyScrum-halfCambridge Univ.New Zealand Roger SpongFly-halfOld Millhillians Guy WilsonWing
Manager: James "Bim" Baxter
Notes
Matches Match summary
# Date Rival City Venue Score 1 24 Jul Anglo–Argentinos Hurlingham Hurlingham Club 2 27 Jul San Isidro Buenos Aires Belgrano A.C. 3 31 Jul Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 4 3 Aug GEBA / CUBA Combined Rosario Plaza Jewell 5 7 Aug Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 6 10 Aug Belgrano / Buenos Aires Combined Buenos Aires Belgrano A.C. 7 14 Aug Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 8 15 Aug Combinado de Clubes Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 9 21 Aug Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima
Notes
Balance Pl W D L PS PC 6 6 0 0 298 9
First test
Argentina British IslesCésar PollanoFB15FB Jack Wallens César VázquezW14WGuy Wilson Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c) C13C Ernest Hammett Fabio LucioniC12CRobert Kelly W. BraddonW11WCarl AarvoldAlberto ZappaFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf Sobey Antonio PasalaguaN88N8David MacMyn (c)Antonio HobsonF7FTheodore PikeMiguel McCormickF6FGeorge McIlwaine Rodolfo SerraL5L Donald Troup Josée Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Ray CameronP3PArthur AllenJorge ConrardH2H Douglas LawEnrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne
Second test
Argentina British IslesA. JacobsFB15FBPeter DoutyMartín AyerraW14WCarl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13C Ernest HammettCésar VázquezC12CRobert Kelly G.E.F. CookeW11WEdward Taylor Marco HernáandezFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf Sobey Julián SommerN88N8David MacMyn (c)Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7F Eric Coley Roberto BottingF6FGeorge McIlwaine Ray CameronL5LGranville CoghlanJosé Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur AllenJorge ConrardH2H Douglas Law Enrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne
Third test
Argentina British Isles C. Derkheim FB15FBJack Wallens Norberto Escary W14WCarl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13C Ernest Hammett Marco HernándezC12CArthur Hamilton-Smythe Llewellyn Makin W11WEdward Taylor Francisco Torino FH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SHPeter DoutyRoberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7FDonald Troup Antonio Pasalagua F6FGeorge McIlwaine Rodolfo Serra L5LTom GubbJosé Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PCharles Payne Vicente Grimoldi H2HDouglas LawEnrique BustamanteP1PArthur Allen
Fourth test
Argentina British IslesA. JacobsFB15FB Jack Wallens César VázquezW14W Carl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13CRobert Kelly Marco HernándezC12CGuy WilsonNorberto EscaryW11WEdward Taylor Francisco TorinoFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf SobeyRoberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)Salvador MullerF7F Eric ColeyArturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F6FGeorge McIlwaine José Cuesta SilvaL5LGranville Coghlan Rodolfo Serra L4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur Allen Vicente Grimoldi H2H Douglas Law Enrique Bustamante P1PCharles Payne
Aftermath The British Lions tour on Argentina was a huge success, with a great number of people attending the games in spite of the large defeats to the national team. The RPRU obtained a profit of almost m$n 65,000,THE RIVER PLATE RUGBY UNION – INFORME SOBRE LA TEMPORADA 1927 on UAR website (Archive, 4 Mar 2016) which would be invested in mortgage titles to cost future tours with no help from the National State or other government subsidies.
In sporting terms, the tour of the British team of 1927 was of great importance for Argentine rugby, which gave a powerful boost to the expansion of the game in the country. 33 teams were registered to the Union to play at the 1927 domestic championships (four teams more than the previous edition). The boost given by the British team tour also encouraged the creation of new rugby clubs, such as Olivos in 1927 and Los Matreros one year later.
Bibliography Mackern, Hugo, Historia del rugby argentino 1917-1930, Buenos Aires, 1986 Búsico, Jorge, y Cloppet, Alejandro, Ser Puma, 2° edition, Buenos Aires: Zona de Tackle, 2012 Jones, Stephen, Behind the Lions, Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 2013 Thomas, Clem & Thomas, Greg, The British & Irish Lions Official History, Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1966, 2013
References