The Lions’ Best Of The Tests

The history of the British and Irish Lions team is a storied and rich one. Dating back to the 1880s, a combination of some of the best Welsh, Scottish, Irish and English players toured the Southern hemisphere, matching up against dominant sides like South Africa and New Zealand. 

The current Lions tour is now well underway. Kicking off with a dominant performance against Japan in Edinburgh, resulting in a 28-10 win, rugby fans are eyeing up the three-game test at the tail end of the tour against the South African Springboks. The Lions tour odds 2021 are notably very tight, with leading bookies offering odds of 4/5 for a Lions outright win, and 11/10 for a SA victory. 

The tour naturally draws a huge audience, as a chance to see the very best of four of rugby’s highest-rated nations combine their considerable array of talent to produce a cohesive unit. Over those 120+ matches the Lions have played in, there have been countless moments of quality, jubilation and abject failure, many of which are etched into the minds of rugby fans worldwide. In the light of the 2021 Lions tour finally kicking off, we’re looking at some of the best Lions tour moments in recent memory. 

New Zealand 48-18 Lions (2nd Test, 2005)

Dan Carter will go down in history as one of, if not the, greatest All-Black. He’s certainly one of the best fly-halves to ever play the game. It was matches like this that secured that status. Dictating the pace, chipping in a record 33 points and critically holding a fairly competent Lions’ team to only 18 points. Carter was one of ten Christchurch Crusaders players on the All-Blacks that day at a time when the Crusaders were at their most dominant, and that team cohesion proved impregnable. 

South Africa 28-25 Lions (2nd Test, 2009)

Springbok teams are typically known for one thing, and one thing only: physicality. Their style makes them fearsome opponents, and even their more diminutive, current players – Kolbe and De Klerk – are noted for being powerful tacklers. This 2009 match-up is discussed as one of Rugby’s most physical in recent memory. An unhinged, unadulterated cavalcade of crunching tackles and gruelling scrums. Standout players included Lions’ Rob Kearney, while Springbok Schalk Burger was lucky to stay on the field at all. It was a battle, simply put, and is rightly held in the highest regard amongst South Africans and Lions fans, alike. 

New Zealand 21-24 Lions (2nd Test, 2017)

There’s just something about the rain that lifts the drama, and this recent clash was no different. Winger Sonny-Bill Williams would dramatically be sent off early, yet the All-Blacks are widely considered to have played the better game, despite losing. They led throughout, only to be undone by a rallying Lions team who scored nine to make it 21-21 at the death. Owen Farrell would score a crucial penalty to win it all with seconds to go.

Australia 16-15 Lions (2nd Test, 2013)

Maybe there’s something about that second test, but they just have a knack for producing classic matches. This one was a slow burn, a gruelling, cagey affair. It was more about grit than style, and Australia managed to take the three-game test to its final decider in what was expected to be a Lion’s two-game sweep. Australia’s Adam Ashley-Cooper is thought to have had his personal greatest game for his national team and George North carried a player for upwards of six feet on his shoulders (it’s worth a YouTube search). Finally, Lions’ Leigh Halfpenny’s uncharacteristic penalty miss made it a classic upset. 

As for the current Lions tour, injuries picked up throughout the initial matches are likely to count heavily on the changes we see to those odds. The loss of Welsh Centre Alun Wyn-Jones in the first game – possibly through a shoulder dislocation – is precisely the sort of loss that rugby fans know can have repercussions throughout the team. It’s for that reason that the next five games running up to the test will likely draw in plenty of fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the Lions team that might face up against the Springboks. 

It’s anyone’s guess if they’ll be able to overcome such a physically imposing side, and it could come down to a little luck with injuries and form might be the key to adding another trophy to the Lions’ cabinet.