The Lions played Rhodesia (a territory which, at different times in history comprised one or more of the modern day countries of
Malawi,
Zambia and
Zimbabwe), South-West Africa (now
Namibia) and
East Africa (a British colony composed of
Kenya,
Tanzania/Tanganyika and
Uganda) on some of their earlier South African tours. While travelling to or from Australia, New Zealand or Argentina, the Lions also played matches against teams in
Canada, Ceylon (now
Sri Lanka) and
Fiji.
Canada One of the most famous matches in Canadian rugby history became known as the "victory for the ages"; it was British Columbia's defeat of the 1966 British Lions
see: 1959 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand 1966 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand Ceylon On the return journey to the UK, the Lions stopped off in
Ceylon (now
Sri Lanka) to play the final tour match of the
1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia and the
1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia. The games were played on 1 October 1930 and 18 September 1950, both at the Racecourse in
Colombo. The 1930 game was won 45–0. The 1950 local team was composed of executive staff from British companies, British armed forces and three local players:
Summa Navaratnam, Leslie Ephraims and Clair Roeloffsz. The Lions won 44–6. This was to be the last Lions match played by the great Irish outside-half,
Jack Kyle.
see: 1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia East Africa When the
British Lions went to South Africa for their
1955 and
1962 tours, they played
East Africa in
Nairobi on the return legs of their journeys. The Lions won both of these games, 39–12 and 50–0 respectively. The 1955 game was East Africa's first international and also saw the official opening of the team's home stadium, the
RFUEA Ground, then called the Ngong Road Ground.
see: 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa Fiji On 16 August 1977, Fiji played their 88th test match and first against the British Lions. An examination of Fiji's results in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s demonstrates that they were far more proficient at the 15-man game than they are today. A hard-fought game saw the lead change four times with no side getting more than seven points ahead at any time. Fiji scored five tries to the Lions' three and finished worthy winners. The Lions made one replacement during the match, Gordon Brown going on for Trevor Evans. Fiji picked six replacements but used none.
Fiji: (15) Kemueli Musunamasi; (14) Joape Kuinikoro; (13) Senitiki Nasave; (12) Qele Ratu; (11) Wame Gavidi; (10) Pio Tikoisuva (captain); (9) Samisoni Viriviri; (8) Viliame Ratudradra; (7) Vuata Narisia; (6) Rupeni Qaraniqio; (5) Ilisoni Taoba; (4) Ilaitia Tuisese; (3) Nimilote Ratudina; (2) Atonio Racika; (1) Josefa Rauto
Replacements: Livai Volavola; Isimeli Batibasaga; Isikeli Cagilaba; Lepani Tagicakibau; Luke Nabaro; Apenisa Tokairavua
British Lions: (15) Andy Irvine (); (14) Gareth Evans (); (13) Ian McGeechan (); (12) David Burcher (); (11) Phil Bennett (captain) (); (10) John Bevan (); (9) Alun Lewis (uncapped); (8) Jefferey Squire (); (7) Trevor Evans (); (6) Tony Neary (); (5) Allan Martin (); (4) Bill Beaumont (); (3) Graham Price (); (2) Bobby Windsor (); (1) Charlie Faulkner ()
Replacements: Gordon Brown()
see: 1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand Rhodesia A regular feature of Lions tours to South Africa between 1910 and 1974 were matches played against Rhodesia, though during this period of history in Southern Africa the designation of Rhodesia is not straightforward. At its simplest it can be regarded as the territories that today comprise
Zambia and
Zimbabwe. These territories in no way can be regarded as a single entity, let alone a country. It is also not apparent if players selected to play for Rhodesia were drawn from one, two or all three of these territories or even (for the period between 1953 and 1963) if any players came from modern day
Malawi. In 1910 when the Lions first visited,
Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and
North-Eastern Rhodesia were two independent territories (administered by the
British South Africa Company that together essentially made up the modern day country of
Zambia) and
Southern Rhodesia was a
British colony that is now
Zimbabwe. By the time of the 1924 and 1938 Lions tours, North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia had been merged to form the protectorate of
Northern Rhodesia; the colony of Southern Rhodesia still existed. For the 1955 and 1962 tours, these two territories had been combined and, along with modern-day
Malawi, made up the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964 Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland were granted independence and became Zambia and Malawi respectively. Southern Rhodesia remained a colony and called itself
Rhodesia (between 1964 and 1979) and
Zimbabwe Rhodesia (in 1979), though this name was not accepted by the British government who, until the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980, continued to call the territory Southern Rhodesia.
see: 1910 British Lions tour to South Africa 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa 1968 British Lions tour to South Africa 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa South West Africa As for Rhodesia above, the designation of
South West Africa is not simple but for different reasons. The area of land has always been essentially the territory that makes up modern day
Namibia; but its legal status was far from clear. As with South Africa, it was essentially under an
apartheid regime. South West Africa was a
German colony (
German South West Africa) from 1884, several small parts were annexed by Britain and added to the
Cape Colony which itself was combined with
Colony of Natal,
Transvaal Colony and the
Orange River Colony to become the Commonwealth realm of the
Union of South Africa in 1910. After
World War I South-West Africa was declared a
League of Nations Mandate to be administered by South Africa and after
World War II it was supposed to become a
United Nations Trust Territory, but South Africa objected and refused to allow it to achieve independence. South Africa's position was supported by the
International Court of Justice which required, however, that South Africa follow the previously applied League of Nations Mandate. Thus for the 1955 and 1962 Lions tours South West Africa was being regarded and administered as a fifth province of South Africa though it was never officially incorporated into the Commonwealth realm. In 1966 the
United Nations General Assembly declared the League of Nations Mandate terminated and required that South Africa withdraw from Namibia immediately. There followed a protracted struggle for independence by the South West Africa People's Organisation (
SWAPO) with the territory finally achieving independence as the
Republic of Namibia in 1990. As a result, when the Lions played South-West Africa in 1968, 1974 and 1980 they were technically playing an independent nation that should have been called Namibia, but a nation that was yet to come into existence.
see: 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa 1968 British Lions tour to South Africa 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa 1980 British Lions tour to South Africa ==One-off matches (not part of a tour)==