Summary
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against South Africa, each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins. As well as South Africa, the tour included a match against South West Africa (later to become Namibia), two games against Rhodesia (later to become Zimbabwe) and one versus East Africa.
| 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 June – 27 September |
| Coach(es) | Jack Siggins |
| Tour captain(s) |  Robin Thompson |
| Test series winners | Tied (2–2) |
| Top test point scorer(s) |  Jeff Butterfield (12) |
| 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary |
| ||||
| Total |
| ||||
| Test match |
| ||||
| Opponent |
| ||||
 South Africa |
| ||||
Overall the tourists played twenty-five matches winning nineteen, losing five and drawing one. The Lions lost their opening fixture against Western Transvaal and were also beaten by Eastern Province and Border later in the tour. They drew with Eastern Transvaal.
It was the Lions' second tour after World War II and the first to South Africa after that war.
The touring party was captained by Robin Thompson of Ireland. The manager was Jack A. E. Siggins and the assistant manager was D. E. Davies.
Jack Siggins had the honour of being invited, by the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA), officially to open the newly constructed RFUEA Ground at Ngong Road in Nairobi just prior to the Lions last match of that tour against East Africa.
Squad edit
Management edit
- Manager: J. A. E. Siggins (Ireland)
- Assistant Manager: D. E. Davies
Backs edit
- Doug Baker (Old Merchant Taylors and England)
- Jeff Butterfield (Northampton and England)
- Angus Cameron (Glasgow HSFP and Scotland)
- Phil Davies (Harlequins and England)
- Gareth Griffiths (Cardiff and Wales)
- Dickie Jeeps (Northampton) [1]
- Trevor Lloyd (Maesteg and Wales)
- Cliff Morgan (Cardiff and Wales)
- Haydn Morris (Cardiff and Wales)
- Tony O'Reilly (Old Belvedere and Ireland)
- Cecil Pedlow (Queen's University RFC and Ireland)
- Pat Quinn (New Brighton and England)
- Arthur Smith (Cambridge University and Scotland)
- Frank Sykes (Northampton and England)
- Alun Thomas (Llanelli and Wales)
- Johnny Williams (Old Millhillians and England)
Forwards edit
- Tom Elliot (Gala and Scotland)
- Jim Greenwood (Dunfermline and Scotland)
- Reg Higgins (Liverpool and England)
- Hugh McLeod (Hawick and Scotland)
- Bryn Meredith (Newport and Wales)
- Courtney Meredith (Neath and Wales)
- Ernie Michie (Aberdeen University and Scotland)
- Tom Reid (Garryowen and Ireland)
- Russell Robins (Pontypridd and Wales)
- Robin Roe (Lansdowne and Ireland)
- Clem Thomas (Swansea and Wales)
- Robin Thompson (Instonians and Ireland) (Captain)
- Rhys Williams (Llanelli and Wales)
- Billy Williams (Swansea and Wales)
- Dyson Wilson (Metropolitan Police and England)
1 Dickie Jeeps later played for England but was uncapped at the time of the 1955 tour.
The Idi Amin myth edit
There is a frequently repeated urban legend[1][2] that Idi Amin (later to become the infamous military dictator of Uganda) was selected as a replacement by East Africa for their match against the 1955 British Lions. The story is entirely unfounded, he does not appear on the team photograph or on the official team list[3] and replacements were not allowed in international rugby until 13 years after this event is supposed to have taken place.[4]
Results edit
Scores and results list Lions' points tally first.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Transvaal | 6 | 9 | 22 June 1955 | Olen Park, Potchefstroom | Tour match |
| Giqualand West | 24 | 14 | 25 June 1955 | De Beers Stadium, Kimberley | Tour match |
| Northern Universities | 32 | 6 | 29 June 1955 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Tour match |
| Orange Free State | 31 | 3 | 2 July 1955 | Loubser Park, Kroonstad | Tour match |
| South West Africa | 9 | 0 | 5 July 1955 | Mable Volk Stadium, Windhoek | Tour match |
| Western Province | 11 | 3 | 9 July 1955 | Newlands, Cape Town | Tour match |
| South West Districts | 22 | 3 | 13 July 1955 | Recreation Ground, George | Tour match |
| Eastern Province | 0 | 20 | 16 July 1955 | Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth | Tour match |
| North Eastern district | 34 | 6 | 20 July 1955 | Aliwal North | Tour match |
| Transvaal | 36 | 13 | 23 July 1955 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Tour match |
| Rhodesia | 27 | 14 | 27 July 1955 | Rokhana Ground, Kitwe | Tour match |
| Rhodesia | 16 | 12 | 30 July 1955 | Police Ground, Salisbury | Tour match |
| South Africa | 23 | 22 | 6 August 1955 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Test Match |
| Central University | 21 | 14 | 10 August 1955 | Kingsmead, Durban | Tour match |
| Boland | 11 | 0 | 13 August 1955 | Wellington | Tour match |
| Western province Universities | 20 | 17 | 16 August 1955 | Newlands, Cape Town | Tour match |
| South Africa | 9 | 25 | 20 August 1955 | Newlands, Cape Town | Test Match |
| Eastern Transvaal | 17 | 17 | 24 August 1955 | PAM Brink, Springs | Tour match |
| Northern Transvaal | 14 | 11 | 27 August 1955 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Tour match |
| South Africa | 9 | 6 | 3 September 1955 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Test Match |
| Natal | 11 | 8 | 10 September 1955 | Kingsmead, Durban | Tour match |
| Junior Springboks | 15 | 12 | 14 September 1955 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein | Tour match |
| Border | 12 | 14 | 17 September 1955 | East London | Tour match |
| South Africa | 8 | 22 | 24 September 1955 | Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth | Test Match |
| East Africa | 39 | 12 | 27 September 1955 | Ngong Road Ground, Nairobi | Tour match |
Bibliography edit
- Thomas, Clem; Thomas, Greg (2001). The History of The British and Irish Lions. Mainstream Books. pp. 100–117. ISBN 1-84018-498-1.
Notes edit
- ^ Cain, Nick & Growden, Greg "Chapter 21: Ten Peculiar Facts about Rugby" in Rugby Union for Dummies (2nd Edition), p294 (pub: John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, England) ISBN 978-0-470-03537-5
- ^ Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records. Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing. ISBN 0-7126-0911-3
- ^ Campbell, M. & Cohen, E.J. (1960) Rugby Football in East Africa 1909–1959. Published by the Rugby Football Union of East Africa
- ^ "History of the Laws of Rugby Football - Replacements/substitutions". www.rugbyfootballhistory.com.