In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Maori team, and three test matches against New Zealand (the All Blacks). The Lions lost the test series 3–0, the first time in 22 years that they lost every test match on tour.
The team was managed by former England and Lions player Bill Beaumont, coached by former England coach Sir Clive Woodward, and originally captained by Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll. O'Driscoll suffered a controversial tour-ending injury two minutes into the first test, and Wales captain Gareth Thomas took over as captain for the final four games of the tour.
The poor test results of the 2005 Lions, despite having one of the most experienced playing squads and the largest management team of any Lions tour, led to criticism of Woodward, particularly his selection policy, and prompted commentators to question the future of the Lions.
This tour followed the Lions' 2001 tour to Australia and preceded the 2009 tour to South Africa.
Schedule The Lions' campaign involved a warm-up match against Argentina (which was retroactively awarded test status by the International Rugby Board in March 2008) before the departure for New Zealand, three tests against the All Blacks, and several tour matches, where the quality of the opposition was expected to be high. This proved to be the case against New Zealand Maori and Auckland, and most of the other tour matches were close for at least the first half. But the match against Manawatu (the Lions' only opponent from the second division of New Zealand's domestic league, the National Provincial Championship) was a one-sided affair, the Lions winning by a score of 109–6.
DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueResult23 MayBritish & Irish Lions25–25ArgentinaMillennium Stadium, CardiffMatch details4 JuneBay of Plenty20–34British & Irish LionsRotorua International Stadium, RotoruaMatch detailsWin8 JuneTaranaki14–36British & Irish LionsYarrow Stadium, New PlymouthMatch detailsWin11 JuneNew Zealand Maori19–13British & Irish LionsWaikato Stadium, HamiltonMatch detailsLoss15 JuneWellington6–23British & Irish LionsWellington Regional Stadium, WellingtonMatch detailsWin18 JuneOtago19–30British & Irish LionsCarisbrook, DunedinMatch detailsWin21 JuneSouthland16–26British & Irish LionsRugby Park Stadium, InvercargillMatch detailsWin25 JuneNew Zealand21–3British & Irish LionsLancaster Park, ChristchurchMatch detailsLoss28 JuneManawatu6–109British & Irish LionsArena Manawatu, Palmerston NorthMatch detailsWin2 JulyNew Zealand48–18British & Irish LionsWellington Regional Stadium, WellingtonMatch detailsLoss5 JulyAuckland13–17British & Irish LionsEden Park, AucklandMatch detailsWin9 JulyNew Zealand38–19British & Irish LionsEden Park, AucklandMatch detailsLoss
Lions Squad The 44-man tour squad was announced on 11 April 2005, and included 20 players from England, 11 from Ireland, 10 from Wales and three from Scotland. Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll was named as captain. Among the English players selected were two who had retired from international rugby (Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio), and one who was returning from a long-term injury (Richard Hill).
Three players did not travel to New Zealand with the bulk of the touring party: Jason Robinson was excused from the first three tour matches to spend time with his pregnant wife; Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas were forced to delay their departures due to commitments to their French clubs. Jones arrived in New Zealand on 31 May, before the Lions played their first tour match, while Robinson arrived on 7 June. For a time, it was doubtful whether Thomas would be able to contend for a spot in the first test, as he had not been released by his club, Toulouse. However, Toulouse lost in the Top 14 semi-finals, allowing Thomas to leave for New Zealand, also arriving on 7 June. Thomas later replaced O'Driscoll as tour captain after O'Driscoll suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first test. Michael Owen also briefly left the tour two weeks in to attend the birth of his second child.
Notes: Ages listed are as of the first tour match on 23 May. Bold denotes that the player was selected for a previous Lions squad.
PlayerPositionDate of birth (age)National teamClub/provinceNational caps(Lions tests)NotesHookerGlasgowHookerLeinsterHookerNorthampton SaintsHookerSale SharksPropMunsterPropCardiff BluesPropLeicester TigersPropSale SharksPropBathPropLeicester TigersLockBathLockLeicester TigersLockMunsterLockMunsterLockLeinsterBack rowLeicester TigersBack rowLeicester TigersBack rowLondon WaspsBack rowSaracensBack rowLeicester TigersBack rowNewport Gwent DragonsBack rowEdinburghBack rowCardiff BluesScrum-halfNewport Gwent DragonsScrum-halfBorder ReiversScrum-halfLondon WaspsScrum-halfLlanelli ScarletsFly-halfSale SharksFly-halfClermont AuvergneFly-halfMunsterCentreLeinsterCentreHarlequinsCentreOspreysCentreLeinsterCentreCardiff BluesCentreLeicester TigersWingLeinsterWingLeinsterWingSale SharksWingOspreysFull-backLeeds TykesFull-backLeicester TigersFull-backLondon WaspsFull-backToulouse
Additions to the squad Injured England players Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery and Mike Tindall were pencilled in to be added to the squad, subject to them regaining fitness. Only Wilkinson subsequently did so and was called up on 8 May.
Additional players were called up when players suffered injury (and in one case a ban) during the tour proper:
Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons and England) – added 8 May Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks and England) – added 17 May for Iain Balshaw Simon Shaw (Wasps and England) – added 2 June for Malcolm O'Kelly Simon Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets and Ireland) – added 4 June for Lawrence Dallaglio Ryan Jones (Ospreys and Wales) – added 10 June for Simon Taylor Brent Cockbain (Ospreys and Wales) – added 26 June for Danny Grewcock, who was banned for two months after biting Keven Mealamu during the first test. Jason White (Sale Sharks and Scotland) – added 27 June for Richard Hill
Management England coach Clive Woodward was first linked with the Lions' head-coaching job in December 2003, shortly after England's victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, when he was approached by Four Home Unions chairman Bill Beaumont. Woodward resigned as England coach on 3 September 2004, and appointed as Lions coach four days later following a meeting of the Lions committee. He named a 25-strong coaching group in October 2004, including his successor as England coach, Andy Robinson, and three-time Lions head coach Ian McGeechan. Some of the coaches on the tour would be responsible for the team playing on weekends, including Robinson, Eddie O'Sullivan and Phil Larder, while others would take charge of the midweek team, including McGeechan, Gareth Jenkins and Mike Ford. Former government communications consultant Alastair Campbell was added to the tour party in December 2004. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) initially requested that national team head coach Mike Ruddock be left out of the Lions coaching team to focus on the Wales job; however, in April 2005, Ruddock said he would be open to a position with the Lions if it had a "specific job description". Ruddock was offered an "observational role" on the tour, but ultimately rejected it in favour of joining the Wales under-21s at the 2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship, and the Lions role was given to his assistant Scott Johnson.
Name Role Home country Clive Woodward Head coach England Bill Beaumont Tour manager England Eddie O'Sullivan Assistant coach Ireland Ian McGeechan Assistant coach Scotland Gareth Jenkins Assistant coach Wales Andy Robinson Assistant coach England Louise Ramsay Team manager England Phil Larder Defensive coach England Mike Ford Defensive coach England Dave Alred Kicking coach England Dave Reddin Fitness coach England Craig White Fitness coach England David McHugh Specialist advisor (referee) Ireland Tony Biscombe Video analyst England Gavin Scott Video analyst Scotland James Robson Head doctor Scotland Gary O'Driscoll Doctor Ireland Phil Pask Physiotherapist England Stuart Barton Physio/masseur Scotland Bob Stewart Physio/masseur Scotland Richard Wegrzyk Masseur England John Feehan Chief executive Ireland Richard Smith Legal support England Louisa Cheetham Media officer United States Alastair Campbell Press relations England Dave Campbell Chef England Dave Tennison Kit technician England
Matches The Lions' tour schedule was announced in February 2004, and included 10 matches: three tests and seven tour matches. The tour was scheduled to begin with a match against Bay of Plenty on 4 June 2005, with the test series beginning three weeks later. The tour did not originally include a match against National Provincial Championship winners Auckland, but in September 2004 a match was added between the second and third tests. Another fixture against Argentina was added two weeks later, to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 23 May 2005.
Argentina The Lions played Argentina in a warm-up test match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 23 May. The Pumas were without 25 players who may have made their first-choice team due to club commitments and the Lions rested many of their top players to field a second-string line-up. Tour captain Brian O'Driscoll was rested, so Wales vice-captain Michael Owen took his place.
The Lions looked disjointed, turning the ball over 15 times in open play. Their pack was outplayed; the Pumas shoved them off their own scrum three times. The Lions also conceded five penalties for holding on to the ball while grounded, usually because their support failed to arrive in time. In the meantime, the Pumas played a match that was almost universally called "inspired" by rugby media worldwide. The Pumas led 19–16 at half-time, and could easily have been ahead by more. The main plus for the Lions was the performance of Jonny Wilkinson, making his first appearance against international opposition since the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final; Wilkinson set up the Lions' first try, converted it and kicked six penalties. His last penalty saved the Lions from defeat, salvaging a 25–25 draw in the eighth minute of stoppage time. The match was granted full test status by the IRB in 2006.
FB 15 Geordan MurphyRW 14 Denis HickieOC 13 Ollie SmithIC 12 Gordon D'ArcyLW 11 Shane WilliamsFH 10 Jonny WilkinsonSH 9 Gareth CooperN8 8 Michael Owen (c)OF 7 Lewis MoodyBF 6 Martin CorryRL 5 Danny GrewcockLL 4 Donncha O'CallaghanTP 3 John HayesHK 2 Shane ByrneLP 1 Graham RowntreeReplacements:HK 16 Steve ThompsonPR 17 Julian WhiteLK 18 Ben KayN8 19 Lawrence DallaglioSH 20 Chris CusiterFH 21 Ronan O'GaraWG 22 Shane HorganCoach: Sir Clive Woodward FB 15Bernardo StortoniRW 14José María Núñez PiossekOC 13Lisandro ArbizuIC 12Felipe Contepomi (c)LW 11Francisco LeonelliFH 10Federico TodeschiniSH 9 Nicolás Fernández MirandaN8 8 Juan Manuel LeguizamónOF 7 Martín SchustermanBF 6 Federico GenoudRL 5 Mariano SambucettiLL 4 Pablo BouzaTP 3 Mauricio ReggiardoHK 2 Mario LedesmaLP 1 Federico MéndezReplacements:HK 16Eusebio GuiñazúPR 17Lucio de ChazalLK 18Manuel CarizzaFL 19Santiago SanzFH 20Marcelo BoschWG 21Lucas BorgesWG 22Lucio López FlemingCoach: Marcelo Loffreda
Bay of Plenty Steamers The first tour match was against the Bay of Plenty Steamers on 4 June in Rotorua. The Lions started the match strongly, with Josh Lewsey scoring a try after two minutes and then a second four minutes later. The Lions were up 17–0 after 11 minutes, but the Steamers recovered for a 17–17 half-time score. The Lions controlled the second half and won 34–20. A significant injury was the fractured ankle suffered by experienced back-rower Lawrence Dallaglio, who had to withdraw from the tour.
Taranaki