Tony Curtis looks back at the early years of the British and Irish Lions from the first tour up to the 1959 tourists.
Tuesday 23 April 2013 13:46, UK
The Lions began life with humble beginnings in 1888, with sporting entrepreneurs Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury putting together a 22-man squad from England, Scotland and Wales for a marathon 54-match tour New Zealand and Australia.
The Lions took part in a 10-match tour to Argentina in 1936, with the 23-man squad - including Prince Alexander Obolensky - celebrating a clean sweep on wins. However the tour would be the last time the Lions would travel to the Pumas. Led by Ireland forward Sam Walker, the Lions went toe-to-toe with the Springboks in 1938. Having beaten Australia and New Zealand, South Africa had collected the tag of unofficial world champions - however the tourists gave them a real test before losing the series 2-1. Results might not quite gone their way in the first post-war tour in 1950, however the Lions - now playing in red jerseys - won praise for their attacking rugby. They lost the series to New Zealand 3-0, with one Test drawn, but rallied to beat Australia 2-0. The 1955 squad took the popularity of the Lions to new heights on and off the pitch. Playing an free-flowing brand of rugby - prompted by Cliff Morgan - teenage winger Tony O'Reilly scored 16 tries, while the Test series finished all square. The first Test, a 23-22 win for the Lions, is up there with the greatest matches ever played. The Lions maintained its attacking philosophy in Australia, New Zealand and Canada four years later - with O'Reilly crossing for 22 tries and Peter Jackson scoring 19 times. Having won the series against Australia, they were edged out by the All Blacks 3-1 - with Don Clarke kicking a then world record six penalties to deny them 18-17 in the deciding rubber.
