1938 british lions tour to south africa

1938 British Lions Tour of South Africa

CHILL-OUT SUNDAY THE ELLIS RUGBY – LAST OF THE BLUE LIONS – THE 1938 BRITISH LIONS TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA –  BOOK PREVIEW

1938 British Lions Tour of South Africa. The Ellis Rugby Book preview. Last of the Blue Lions.

Author – Steve Lewis

Steve Lewis is a famed rugby author. And has written a number of outstanding books. These include Newport Rugby Football Club 1874 – 1950. And 1950-2000. In addition, titles such as The Priceless Gift: 125 Years of Welsh Rugby Captains and  Who Let the Dogs Out: Professionalism and the Revival of Newport RFC. Also the books Ken Jones: Boots & Spikes, All Black and Amber 1963, and a Game of Rugby: When Newport Beat New Zealand. Finally, One Among Equals: England’s International Rugby Captains.

Here’s the Book Preview – Last of the Blue Lions: The 1938 British Lions Tour of South Africa

In 1938 the British Lions visited South Africa. To take on the team generally recognised as the best in the world. And led by legendary scrum-half Danie Craven for the three-match series. The task awaiting the Lions was huge. And to their eternal credit, they recovered after losing the first two Tests. To secure victory in the third, a match recognised at the time as the finest played in South Africa. Seventy years may have passed. But the names of Craven, Gerry Brand, Fred Turner, and Flappie Lochner. Plus, Tony Harris, the brothers ‘Boy’ and ‘Fanie’ Louw. Also, Ferdie Bergh and Jan Lotz. All are still revered in South African rugby circles.

1938 British Lions Tour Heroes

And the Lions? Under strength due to the absence of several leading players. Who was unable to afford the luxury of six months of overseas travel. But, the party still included players of the calibre of Vivian Jenkins, Charles Grieve, Bill Clement and Harry McKibbin. Both were destined for high office with their respective unions. Haydn Tanner, Bunner Travers, George Dancer, Bob Alexander and the enigma that was Blair Mayne. Mayne won four DSOs, the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’ honneur in the Second World War which followed the tour.

Memorable as events on the playing field may have been the 1938 tourists. Saw much which helps make their story one of the most interesting in the long history of Lions’ rugby. The extended journeys by sea and the thousands of miles by train. Which took the visitors the length and breadth of the country make touring in the twenty-first century seem nothing more than a brief interlude. All subsequent tours to South Africa would involve the aeroplane.

1938 British Lions Tour – The Last Time a Blue Lions Jersey was worn

Then there was the social side of touring. The receptions, parties, official dinners and much else besides. The 1938 tourists laid witness to much more than their counterparts. In the era of a professional sport can ever expect. Theirs was more an adventure than a sporting extravaganza. In which success or failure is determined solely by the winning or losing of a Test series. The book is called ‘Last of the Blue Lions’ because on the next tour – in 1948. The Lions switched from blue jerseys to the famous red they still wear.

Where to buy Last of the Blue Lions: The 1938 British Lions Tour of South Africa

This book is available from AMAZON . In addition, we offer the famous British Isles Rugby Shirt 1938 Tour. Also, we offer a stylish Vintage British Isles XV Clothing collection to VIEW

Springboks lose to the Lions

10 September 1938  The South African national rugby team became known as the Springboks on their tour to Britain in 1906. Since those early years, teams from abroad repeatedly toured South Africa while at the same time the Springboks became a team to be reckoned with on tours to other countries. In 1938 the British team (Lions) toured South Africa again, winning more than half of their normal matches, as well as the third test match in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa, with a score of 21-16. The first two test matches of the tour were easily won by the Springboks. Though the British did not win the series, their victory in the final test match was surprising and historic as it was their first in South Africa since 1910. References: Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau 

Know something about this topic?

Towards a people's history

1938 British Lions tour to South Africa

The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.

The tour party was led by Ireland's Sam Walker and managed by Col. Hartley, and took in 24 matches. Of the 24 games, 19 were against club or invitational teams, three were test matches against the South African national team and the other two games were outside South Africa against Rhodesia . The British Isles lost two and won one of the test matches, and in the non-test games lost five and won sixteen.

Like many of the early Lions parties, the tour did not represent the best of British and Irish rugby talent. Obvious omissions included Wilf Wooller and Cliff Jones .

• 1.1 Full Backs
• 1.2 Three-Quarters
• 1.3 Half backs
• 1.4 Forwards
• 3 References

Touring party

• Manager: Col. Bernard Charles Hartley
• Vivian Jenkins ( London Welsh )
• Charles Frederick Grieve ( Oxford University and Scotland )

Three-Quarters

• Jim Unwin ( Rosslyn Park )
• Bill Clement ( Llanelli )
• Elvet Jones ( Llanelli )
• Charles Vesey Boyle ( Dublin University )
• Roy Leyland ( Waterloo )
• D.J. Macrae ( St. Andrew's University )
• Harry McKibbin ( Queen's University, Belfast )
• Basil Ellard Nicholson (Old Whitgiftians)
• Frank Jeffrey "Jeff" Reynolds (Old Cranleighans)
• George Ernest Cromey ( Queen's University, Belfast )
• James "Jimmy" Leonard Giles ( Coventry )
• Haydn Tanner ( Swansea )
• George J Morgan ( Clontarf )
• Sam Walker ( Instonians ) (captain)
• Eddie Morgan ( Swansea )
• William Gordon Howard (Old Birkonians)
• William 'Bunner' Travers ( Newport )
• Charles Robert "Bob" Arthur Graves ( Wanderers )
• Paddy Mayne ( Queen's University )
• Gerald "Beef" Thomas Dancer ( Bedford )
• S.R. Couchman (Old Cranleighans)
• A.G. Purchas ( Coventry )
• J.A. Waters ( Selkirk )
• P.L. Duff ( Glasgow Academicals )
• Ivor Williams ( Cardiff )
• Russell Taylor ( Cross Keys )
• Robert Alexander ( North of Ireland )
• EngvarB from March 2014
• Use dmy dates from March 2014
• 1938 rugby union tours
• British and Irish Lions tours
• Rugby union tours of South Africa
• Rugby union tours of Zimbabwe
• 1938 in South African rugby union
• 1937–38 in British rugby union
• 1938 in Irish sport

Navigation menu

Personal tools.

• Request account
• View source
• View history
• Recent changes
• Random page
• Infogalactic News
• Buy an account
• What links here
• Related changes
• Special pages
• Printable version
• Permanent link
• Page information
• Cite this page
• This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 19:17.
• Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License unless otherwise noted.
• This article's content derived from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia ( See original source ).
• Privacy policy
• About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
• Disclaimers
• Mobile view

Category : 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa

Subcategories.

This category has only the following subcategory.

• South Africa v British Lions, 6 August 1938 ‎ (3 F)

Media in category "1938 British Lions tour to South Africa"

This category contains only the following file.

• Tours of the British and Irish Lions
• 1938 in rugby union
• Uses of Wikidata Infobox

Navigation menu

Walker’s 1938 side can be inspiration

If Paul O'Connell's men need any form of inspiration ahead of the second test in Pretoria then they should look no further than Sammy Walker's British & Irish Lions of 1938. [more]

If Paul O’Connell’s men need any form of inspiration ahead of the second test in Pretoria then they should look no further than Sammy Walker’s British & Irish Lions of 1938.

Beaten in the first two Tests in South Africa, they rung the changes for the third and final game in Cape Town and came up with one of the greatest Lions victories of all-time. Their 21-16 win sent the tour party home in good mood and it was a famous day for the Irish.

Ulsterman Walker was one of five players from his province in the side and there were a record eight Irishmen in the team. It was the first Lions Test win in South Africa in 28 years and ended a run of seven games without a victory.

The Springboks were 13-3 ahead at the break and seemingly on route to another 3-0 series whitewash. But Walker’s men scored 18 second half points to rock their hosts and restore some pride.

The victory ended a run of six successive Test defeats by the Lions and was the most points scored by the Lions in a test in South Africa – a record that stood until 1974.

Walker’s men scored four tries. Can Paul O’Connell’s side, with seven Irishmen on board, do the same today.

DATELINE: 10 September, 1938 VENUE: Newlands, Cape Town

South Africa 16 British Lions 21 HT: 13-3 Attendance: 18,000

South Africa: G Smith; D Williams, P de Wet, F Turner, J Bester; T Harris, D Craven [capt]; F Louw, J Lotz, B Louw, R Sherriff, B du Toit, F Bergh, L Strachan, E Bastard Scorers: Try – F Turner, J Lotz, J Bester; Conversion – F Turner (2) ; Penalty – F Turner

British & Irish Lions: Charles Grieve (Oxford Uni / Scoltland); Elvet Jones (Llanelli), Jimmy Giles (Coventry / England), Harry McKibbin (Queen’s Uni, Belfast / Ireland), Veysey Boyle (Dublin Uni / Ireland); George Cromey (Queen’s Uni, Belfast / Ireland), George Morgan (Clontarf / Ireland); Bob Graves (Wanderers / Ireland), Bunner Travers (Newport / Ireland), Gerry Dancer (Bedford), Sam Walker (Instonians / Ireland, captain), Blair Mayne (Queen’s Uni, Belfast / Ireland), Laurie Duff (Glasgow Academicals / Scotland), Jack Waters (Selkirk / Scotland), Rob Alexander (NIFC / Ireland) Scorers: Tries: L Duff, E Jones, R Alexander, G Dancer; Con: H McKibbin; Pen: H McKibbin; DG: C Grieve

Referee: Nick Pretorius (South Africa)

Related Players

Related fixtures, latest news, lions cycle coast to coast in memory of doddie weir, 1974 lions reunite for anniversary celebration at million pound lunch, one year to go until historic lions fixture, farrell looks ahead to historic lions fixture.

• AI Generator

Sorry, your search returned zero results for “1938_british_lions_tour_to_south_africa”

Have you tried doing the following:

Check for spelling errors or typos

Clear search filter options

Use fewer keywords

About: 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa

The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950. Like many of the early Lions parties, the tour did not represent the best of British and Irish rugby talent. Obvious omissions included Wilf Wooller and Cliff Jones.

• Management News
• 2017 Tour Schedule & TV Guide
• Match Reports
• Match Previews
• Travel Packages
• Lions Tour Tickets

The History

• The Management
• New Zealand 2017
• Australia 2013
• Sat 3 Jun Prov XV Lions 7 13
• Wed 7 Jun Blues Lions 22 16
• Sat 10 Jun Crusaders Lions 3 12
• Tue 13 Jun Highlanders Lions 23 22
• Sat 17 Jun Maori ABs Lions 10 32
• Tue 20 Jun Chiefs Lions 6 34
• Sat 24 Jun New Z Lions 30 15
• Tue 27 Jun Hurricanes Lions 31 31
• Sat 1 Jul New Z Lions 21 24
• Sat 8 Jul New Z Lions 15 15
• Sat 1 Jun Barbarians Lions 8 59
• Wed 5 Jun W Force Lions 17 69
• Sat 8 Jun Qld Reds Lions 12 22
• Tue 11 Jun NSW-QLD Lions 0 64
• Sat 15 Jun Waratahs Lions 17 47
• Tue 18 Jun Brumbies Lions 14 12
• Sat 22 Jun Australia Lions 21 23
• Tue 25 Jun Rebels Lions 0 35
• Sat 26 Jun Australia Lions 16 15
• Sat 6 Jul Australia Lions 16 41
• Gregor Townsend Named British & Irish Lions Coach
• British & Irish Lions 2021 Fixtures Announced
• New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
• New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
• Hurricanes 31 British & Irish Lions 31
• New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
• Chiefs 6 British & Irish Lions 34
• Maori All Blacks 10 British & Irish Lions 32
• Highlanders 23 British & Irish Lions 22
• Stuart Hogg Out Of Lions Tour

2009 South Africa

Captain: Paul O’Connell – Coach: Ian McGeechan

The 2009 tour started out with fairly low expectations. The Lions were heading down to South Africa, home of the World Champions. Given the previous performance of the Lions against New Zealand which resulted in a comfortable “black wash” by the…

2005 New Zealand

Captain: Brian O’Driscoll Coach: Clive Woodward

With Sir Clive Woodward hot off the trails of a much lauded World Cup win in 2003, the board of the Lions were quick to appoint him as head coach of the 2005 Lions and to try and recreate that success. Brian O’Driscoll was recruited as …

2001 Australia

Captain: Martin Johnson Coach: Graham Henry

The tour to Australia in 2001 was coached for the first time by someone outside of the British Isles with Kiwi Graham Henry being appointed to lead the team down under. Martin Johnson was back for his second stint as captain and became …

1997 South Africa

Captain: Martin Johnson Coach: Ian McGeechan

1997 was the first professional Lions tour undertaken and the current World Cup holders South Africa were expected to thrash the Lions. Fortunately, captain Martin Johnson and coach Ian McGeechan had other ideas. The 1st test was a tight …

1993 New Zealand

Captain: Gavin Hastings Coach: Ian McGeechan

The last tour of the amateur age saw Gavin Hastings captain the side with Ian McGeechan as coach for the second time with Geoff Cooke as tour manager. England supplied the bulk of the players for the tour with 17 of the 30 players on tour …

1989 Australia

Captain: Finlay Calder Coach: Ian McGeechan

This was the first time the Lions had toured Australia since 1971 and the first time they had toured Australia exclusively for 90 years. Expectation for the tour was high and with Finlay Calder captaining the side, the Lions were expected …

1983 New Zealand

Captain: Ciaran Fitzgerald Coach: Jim Telfer

The New Zealand tour of 1983 was another tour to forget as the Lions went down to a 4-0 whitewash for only the second time in history. The tour captained by Ciaran Fitzgerald, coached by Jim Telfer and managed by Willie John McBride …

1980 South Africa

Captain: Bill Beaumont Coach: N Murphy

Lions skipper, Bill Beaumont came into the tour following a recapture of the Five Nations crown for the first time in 16 years and proceeded to lead the Lions on their whistlestop tour of South Africa in 1980. An injury ravaged side were …

1977 New Zealand

Captain: Phil Bennett Coach: John Dawes

Following their magnificent series victory in 1971 proved to be a bit of a tough act to follow. The 1977 tour to New Zealand captained by the Lions hero Phil Bennett, coached by the victorious 1971 captain John Dawes and managed by George …

1974 South Africa

Captain: Willie John McBride Coach: Syd Millar

Three years after triumphing in New Zealand the Lions faced a much stiffer test in facing a South African side who had not lost a test series that century. The tour was a magnificent success with the tourists setting achievement after …

1971 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: John Dawes – Coach: Carwyn James

This was the last combined tour of Australia and New Zealand, and saw captain John Dawes lead the Lions on one of the most successful and memorable British Lions tours ever. The first test saw the Lions pick up a 9-3 victory in Dunedin …

1968 South Africa

Captain: Tom Kiernan – Coach: Ronnie Dawson

Having suffered many series defeats against the Springboks over the years, the Lions were fully expectant of what was in store for them in this tour. Although the tourists suffered a 3-0 loss once again to the Boks, they left with pride a …

1966 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: Mike Campbell-Lamerton – Coach: J.D Robins

The 1966 Lions were talked up before the tour as being one of the best Lions sides ever, but in reality this Lions tour was probably the worst performance by any Lions team over the years. Even though they secured victory in Australia, …

1962 South Africa

Captain: Arthur Smith – Coach: D.B Vaughan

The South African tour of 1962 saw a return to the forward dominated style of rugby that had been so successful for the Boks for the past few years. Captain Arthur Smith lead the Lions into battle winning 16 and drawing 4 of their matches …

1959 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: Ronnie Dawson – Coach: A.W Wilson

The 1959 Lions squad was not only captained by Irishman Ronnie Dawson, but for the first time the Irish had a greater representation than Wales, England and Scotland. Starting off with two fine test victories over Australia, the Lions …

1955 South Africa

Captain: Robin Thompson – Coach: D.E Davies

The Lions touring team of 1955 set unprecedented standards in dismantling the aura of the seemingly invincible Springboks and endearing themselves to the hosts at the same time. The tour was lead by Irish Lock Robin Thompson and the …

1950 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: Karl Mullen – Coach: L.B Osbourne

The first post-war Lions tour saw the parties morale at extremly high levels, due to the extended break afforded to the players before the start of ther tour. The tour also marked the first occasions that the Lions played in their now …

1938 South Africa

Captain: Sam Walker – Coach: B.C Hartley

As the last Lions side to tour before the impending war, the tour in 1938 looked shorn of a number of its star players before the tour even kicked off. The party lead from the front by Sam Walker were staring down the barrel of defeat by …

1930 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: F.D Prentice – Coach: James

The biggest issues of the 1930 tour seemed to be the availability and injury of its key players. 100 players were invited to tour but the Lions could only manage to get 29 players on board for the tour. This tour was captained by F. D. …

1924 South Africa

Captain: Ronald Cove-Smith – Coach: H Packer

The South African tour of 1924 saw the tourists set out as the British Isles rugby team but return as the now famous British Lions. Bravely captained by Englands Ronald Cove-Smith, the Lions suffered on the hard grounds in South Africa …

1910 South Africa

Captain: Tom Smyth – Coach: W Cail

The 1910 tour to South Arica was the first tour to take a serious approach to its organisation. For the first time, all four unions were represented and the missionary work that was part of the previous tours was no longer required and so it was …

1908 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: Boxer Harding – Coach: G.F Harnett

In 1908 New Zealand rugby was beginning to come to the fore and this showed in the itinerary of the tour placing a greater emphasis on the number of matches played in each country. The tour was was captained by Boxer Harding and featured …

1904 New Zealand

Captain: Darkie Bedell-Sivright – Coach: A.B O’Brien

The 1904 series saw the introduction of the test series of matches for the first time. The tour was captained by scottish hard man Darkie Bedell-Sivright. The British Isles tore through the opening matches of the series with convincing …

1903 South Africa

Captain: Mark Morrison – Coach: Johnny Hammond

By 1903, the British tourists really knew they were going to have a battle on their hands when they opened up the tour with three bruising losses in the first three games. The side captained by Mark Morrison suffered badly at the hands of …

1899 Australia

Captain: Matthew Mullineux/Frank Stout – Coach: None

The 1899 tour to Australia was the first time all four home unions played together as the British Isles touring team. The tour was organised and captained by the Englishman Reverand Matthew Mullineux, who has the dubious honour of being …

1896 South Africa

Captain: Johnny Hammond – Coach: R Walker

The third British Isles rugby tour returned to South Africa in 1896 to find a stronger and more competitive rugby scene growing. Captain for the tour was 1891 veteran Johnny Hammond and for the first time the tour included six Irish …

1891 South Africa

Captain: Bill Maclagen – Coach: E Ash

The 1891 tour to South Africa was the first tour officially undertaken by the RFU and was funded primarily by the Western Province union and Cape Colony Prime Minister Cecil Rhodes. Due to the backing from the RFU the tour was initially …

1888 Australia and New Zealand

Captain: Bob Seddon/Andrew Stoddart – Coach: A Shaw

The first recognised British and Irish Lions tour ever was over to Australia and New Zealand and the side was captained by Bob Seddon. Tragedy struck the tour when half way through, captain Bob Seddon was killed in a sculling accident on …

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

Jakim sposobem mój Kasyno Blik oszczędza mi okres

To na rzecz polskich graczach spore udogodnienie, bo MiFinity to e-portfel, który kumpli na liście metod płatności w mnóstwo...

Copyright © 2015 Lions-Tour.com.

1938 British Lions tour to South Africa

The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.

The tour party was led by Ireland's Sam Walker and managed by Col. Hartley, and took in 24 matches. Of the 24 games, 19 were against club or invitational teams, three were test matches against the South African national team and the other two games were outside South Africa against Rhodesia . The British Isles lost two and won one of the test matches, and in the non-test games lost five and won sixteen.

Like many of the early Lions parties, the tour did not represent the best of British and Irish rugby talent. Obvious omissions included Wilf Wooller and Cliff Jones .

Touring party

• Manager: Col. Bernard Charles Hartley

Match summary

Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in South Africa:

Test details

South Africa : G.H Brand, F.G Turner, G.P Lochner, P de Wet, D.O Williams , T.A Harris, D.H Craven (Captain), S.C Louw, J.W Lotz, M.M Louw, B.A du Toit, W.F Bergh, A.R Sherriff, W.E Bastard , L.C Strachan British Isles : V..G.J Jenkins, E.J Unwin, D.J Macrae, H.R McKibbon, E.L Jones, F.J Reynolds, J.L Giles, M.E Morgan, C.R.A Graves, G.T Dancer, S Walker (Captain), R.B Mayne, R. Alexander, W.G Howard, A.R

• ^ British & Irish Lions results on Rugby Football History
• ^ Early Lions: Squads and results (1888–1938) on BBC Sport, 18 May 2005
• " The Power of Four "
• Living with Lions