1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
1950 British Lions Tour to New Zealand and Australia | |
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Date | 10 May – 18 September |
Coach(es) | Leslie B. Osborne |
Tour captain(s) | Karl Mullen |
Test series winners |
(v New Zealand) New Zealand (3–0) (v Australia) British and Irish Lions (2–0) |
Top test point scorer(s) | Lewis Jones (26) |
The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950 was the first post-war tour made by the Lions; there had not been one since 1938.
The 1950 team was the first to be nicknamed "the British Lions", rather than just "British Isles" and sported newly redesigned jerseys and a fresh style of play, managing to win 22 and draw one of 29 matches over the two nations. The Lions won the opening four fixtures before losing to Otago and Southland, but succeeded in holding the All Blacks to a nine-all draw. The Lions performed well in the remaining All Black tests though they lost all three, the team did not lose another non-test in the New Zealand leg of the tour. The Lions won all their games in Australia except for their final fixture against a New South Wales XV in Newcastle. They won both of the two tests against Australia, in Brisbane and in Sydney.
Because the team was travelling by ship, rather than by air as modern tours do, they also stopped off in Ceylon to play an unofficial game against the national team.
Squad
Backs:
- Angus Black (Edinburgh University and Scotland)
- Billy Cleaver (Cardiff and Wales)
- Noel Henderson (Queen's University RFC and Ireland)
- Lewis Jones (Llanelli and Wales)
- Ken Jones (Newport and Wales)
- Jack Kyle (Queen's University RFC and Ireland)
- Michael Lane (University College Cork R.F.C. and Ireland)
- Ranald Macdonald (Edinburgh University and Scotland)
- Jack Matthews (Cardiff and Wales)
- George Norton (Bective Rangers and Ireland)
- Ivor Preece (Coventry and England)
- Gordon Rimmer (Waterloo and England)
- Doug Smith (London Scottish and Scotland)
- Malcolm Thomas (Newport and Wales)
- Bleddyn Williams (Cardiff and Wales)
- Rex Willis (Cardiff and Wales)
Forwards:
- Grahame Budge (Edinburgh Wanderers and Scotland)
- Tom Clifford (Young Munster and Ireland)
- Cliff Davies (Cardiff and Wales)
- Dai Davies (Somerset Police and Wales)
- Bob Evans (Newport and Wales)
- Don Hayward (Newbridge and Wales)
- Roy John (Neath and Wales)
- Peter Kininmonth (Richmond and Scotland)
- Jim McCarthy (Dolphin and Ireland)
- Bill McKay (Queen's University RFC and Ireland)
- Karl Mullen (capt) (Old Belvedere and Ireland)
- Jimmy Nelson (Malone and Ireland)
- Vic Roberts (Penryn and England)
- John Robins (Birkenhead Park and Wales)
- Rees Stephens (Neath and Wales)
Manager: LB Osborne
Results
Scores and results list British Isles' points tally first.
Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nelson, Marlborough, Golden Bay and Motueka | 24 | 3 | 10 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
Buller | 24 | 9 | 13 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
West Coast | 32 | 3 | 16 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
Otago | 9 | 23 | 19 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
Southland | 0 | 11 | 23 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
New Zealand | 9 | 9 | 27 May 1950 | Carisbrook, Dunedin | Test Match |
South Canterbury | 27 | 8 | 30 May 1950 | Tour Match | |
Canterbury | 16 | 5 | 3 June 1950 | Tour Match | |
Ashburton County-North Otago | 29 | 6 | 6 June 1950 | Tour Match | |
New Zealand | 0 | 8 | 10 June 1950 | Christchurch | Test Match |
Waiparapa Bush | 27 | 13 | 14 June 1950 | Tour Match | |
Hawke's Bay | 20 | 0 | 17 June 1950 | Tour Match | |
East Coast – Poverty bay – Bay of Plenty | 27 | 3 | 21 June 1950 | Tour Match | |
Wellington | 12 | 6 | 24 June 1950 | Athletic Park, Wellington, | Tour Match |
New Zealand | 3 | 6 | 1 July 1950 | Athletic Park, Wellington | Test Match |
Wanganui | 31 | 3 | 5 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
Taranaki | 25 | 3 | 8 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
Manawatu–Horowhenua | 13 | 8 | 12 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
Waikato, Thames Valley and King Country | 30 | 0 | 15 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
North Auckland | 8 | 6 | 19 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
Auckland | 32 | 9 | 22 July 1950 | Tour Match | |
New Zealand | 8 | 11 | 29 July 1950 | Eden Park, Auckland | Test Match |
New Zealand Māori | 14 | 9 | 2 August 1950 | Athletic Park, Wellington | Tour Match |
Combined Country | 47 | 3 | 9 August 1950 | Tour Match | |
New South Wales | 22 | 6 | 12 August 1950 | Cricket Ground, Sydney | Tour Match |
Australia | 19 | 6 | 19 August 1950 | The Gabba, Brisbane | Test Match |
Australia | 24 | 3 | 26 August 1950 | Cricket Ground, Sydney | Test Match |
Metropolitan Union | 26 | 17 | 29 August 1950 | Cricket Ground, Sydney | Tour Match |
New South Wales | 12 | 17 | 2 September 1950 | Newcastle | Tour Match |
Ceylon | 44 | 6 | 18 September 1950 | Colombo | Tour Match |
References
- Thomas, Clem; Thomas, Greg (2005). The History of The British and Irish Lions. Mainstream Books. pp. 89–99. ISBN 1-84596-030-0.
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