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1974 British Lions tour to South Africa 

In 1974 the British Lions toured South Africa. The tour was a great success, the Lions winning 21 of their 22 matches and drawing the other. After winning the first three test matches, the Lions drew the final test to preserve their unbeaten record. The side was captained by Willie John McBride, coached by Syd Millar and managed by Alun Thomas.

The best known and most successful Lions team was that which toured South Africa in 1974 under the esteemed Irish forward Willie John McBride, that went 22 games unbeaten and triumphed 3-0, with one drawn, in the test series. The test series was beset by violence. The management of the Lions concluded that the Springboks dominated their opponents with physical aggression. At that time, in test matches the referee was from the home nation, there were only substitutions if a doctor agreed that a player was physically unable to continue and there were no video cameras and sideline officials to keep actions such as punching, kicking, and head-butting to a minimum. The Lions decided "to get their retaliation in first" with the infamous '99 call' (99 is a shortening of 999 which in Britain and Ireland is the phone number for the emergency services such as the police, ambulance or fire brigade). The idea was that a South African referee would be unlikely to send off all of the Lions if they all retaliated against "blatant thuggery". At the battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium, one of the most violent in rugby history, there is famous video footage of JPR Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at van Heerden after such a call.

Contents

Squad

Management

  • Manager Alun Thomas (Wales)

Backs

Forwards

Results

Date Opponent Location Result Score
Match 1 May 15 Western Transvaal Potchefstroom Won 59-13
Match 2 May 18 South West Africa Windhoek Won 23-16
Match 3 May 22 Boland Wellington Won 23-6
Match 4 May 25 Eastern Province Port Elizabeth Won 28–14
Match 5 May 29 South West Districts Mossel Bay Won 97-0
Match 6 June 1 Western Province Cape Town Won 17-8
Match 7 June 4 SA Federation XV (Proteas) Goodwood, Cape Town Won 37-6
Match 8 June 8 SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Won 12-3
Match 9 June 11 Southern Universities Cape Town Won 26-4
Match 10 June 15 Transvaal Johannesburg Won 23-15
Match 11 June 18 Rhodesia Salisbury Won 42–6
Match 12 June 22 SOUTH AFRICA Pretoria Won 28-9
Match 13 June 27 Quaggas Johannesburg Won 20–16
Match 14 June 29 Orange Free State Bloemfontein Won 11-9
Match 15 July 3 Griqualand West Kimberley Won 69-16
Match 16 July 6 Northern Transvaal Pretoria Won 16–12
Match 17 July 9 SA Africans (Leopards) East London Won 56–10
Match 18 July 13 SOUTH AFRICA Port Elizabeth Won 26–9
Match 19 July 17 Border East London Won 26–6
Match 20 July 20 Natal Durban Won 34–6
Match 21 July 23 Eastern Transvaal Port Elizabeth Won 33–10
Match 22 July 27 SOUTH AFRICA Johannesburg Draw 13-13

The matches

First Test

June 8 1974
 South Africa 3 – 12  British and Irish Lions
Referee: M Baise Flag of South Africa
Drop: Snyman Pen: Bennett (3)
Drop: Edwards

Second Test

June 22 1974
 South Africa 9 – 28  British and Irish Lions
Attendance: 63,000
Referee: C de Bruyn Flag of South Africa
Pen: Bosch (2)
Drop: Bosch		 Try: J.J. Williams (2)
Bennett
Brown
Milliken
Con: Bennett
Pen: Bennett
Drop: Ian McGeechan


Third Test

July 13 1974
 South Africa 9 – 26  British and Irish Lions
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: C de Bruyn Flag of South Africa
Pen: Snyman Try: Brown
J.J. Williams (2)
Con: Irvine
Pen: Irvine (2)
Drop:Bennett (2)


Fourth Test

July 27 1974
 South Africa 13 – 13  British and Irish Lions
Attendance: 75,000
Referee: M Baise Flag of South Africa
Try: Cronje
Pen:Snyman (3)		 Try: Uttley
Irvine
Con Bennett
Pen: Irvine

References

J.B.G. Thomas (1974) The greatest Lions (Pelham Books)

Jenkins, Vivian (1975). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1975-76. Brickfield Publications Limited. ISBN 0362002215. 

External links

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British and Irish Lions tours
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