1927 British Lions tour to Argentina

British Rugby tour of Argentina March 2014 March 2014 British lions tour argentina 1927.jpg 250 24 July – 21 August James Baxter SCO David MacMyn British Isles 4–0 ENG Ernie Hammett (40) South Africa 1924 New Zealand and Australia 1930 British Lions 1927 1927 9 9 0 0 4 4 0 0 ARG 4 4 0 0 During its second tour to Argentina, the British Isles team, formed by English and Scottish players,El Gráfico No. 424, 20 August 1927 played 9 matches in the country, winning all of them with more than 295 points scored and only 9 conceded.1927 Argentina on British Lions website (Archive, 21 Jan 2012) Background thumb|left|150px|C.D. Aarvold, E. Hammett and E.G. Taylor, covered on Argentine magazine El Gráfico The River Plate Rugby Union (RPRU, current "Argentine Rugby Union") had formed a commission to study how to bring a British team into the country. To do so they had to have the sum of m$n 25,000 (about £ 3,000 at that time) to pay the travel and subsistence costs of a staff of twenty-five people.1927: Argentina by David Walmsley - Genesis Publications on Lions website, May 15, 2013 With contributions from clubs, newspaper companies, stores such as Gath and Chaves, British railroads and refrigerators and personal contributions, 30,000 pesos were collected. In mid-1926 the RFU received an invitation from the RPRU, requesting for a team of "first class players" to visit Argentina for three or four weeks. The delegation should be of 25 people including a manager and a referee. The RFU responded affirmatively after consulting the International Board. On July 19, 1927, a team composed of twenty-three players from England, Scotland and Ireland under the direction of James Baxter, none other than the president of the RFU, and a first-class referee, arrived in Buenos Aires and settled in the headquarters of Hurlingham Club for a fixture of nine games. Fulfilling the request of the RPRU, this British combined was considerably stronger than the one that had been assembled in 1910. No less than fifteen of the twenty-three players were internationals or future internationals. His captain, David MacMyn, was a leading Scottish forward who had been part of the team that won its first Grand Slam in 1925 and shared the title of the Five Nations with Ireland in 1926. During the long sea voyage to Argentina, MacMyn made good use of onboard time for his men to train and make a tactical plan for the tour. We were all imbued with the desire to play as it should be played, and there was no laziness in our preparation on board the ship. We train hard. Every morning we had practice of scrum, backs, physical training of all kinds and swimming before lunch. At night we had many conversations in front of the blackboard and we made all kinds of plans. And so, the hard training and the free exchange of ideas stimulated us for the exhausting days that we had ahead. David MacMyn in his travel diary thumb|left|300px|The Lions playing a Universitario–Gimnasia y Esgrima combined in Plaza Jewell, Rosario, on 3 August In their first games, the Lions played an Anglo-Argentine combined and the Argentine champion San Isidro, which had won eight consecutive domestic championships to date. The Lions won those games with no goals conceded. thumb|right|250px|The Lions before playing the last test v. Argentina on 21 August The following game was the first test v. Argentina, played on 31 July at Gimnasia y Esgrima stadium. It was the first time Argentina wore the horizontal light blue and white jersey (after wearing blue and white jerseys alternatively since its first match in 1910) after a proposal by Gimnasia y Esgrima executive Abelardo Gutiérrez."La pasión cumple 100 años", La Nación, 10 April 1999 The match was attended by a record 12,000 spectators. After the match, MacMyn wrote: "The crowd was delighted. They were impressed by the fact that we played in silence, listening only to the captain's voice. Argentines have all the physical qualities required for rugby. They are big, strong and fast. They are tremendously enthusiastic –sometimes, excessively". After playing Argentina, the Lions moved to the city Rosario in Santa Fe Province to play a combined team composed by players of porteños clubs Universitario and Gimnasia y Esgrima due to the impossibility of joining a competitive team with the small number of players in Rosario. Players of both teams arrived in Rosario after a long journey by train from Retiro to Rosario Norte station, the same day of the match. Held in Plaza Jewell, home venue of Club Atlético del Rosario, the Lions defeated the combined team by 24–0 in a rainy day. The Lions returned to Buenos Aires to play the second test v. Argentina, winning 46–0 at GEBA, then playing another combined team (composed by players of Belgrano A.C. and Buenos Aires F.C.). The team would play two games more against the national team, the last of them on 21 August."Lions (segundo viaje olvidado)" by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby, 24 May 2017 Touring team right _collarwhite _whitetop 000099 000099 000099 ffffff ff0000 Team kit Player Position Club Born / National team 1st test 2nd test 3rd test 4th test Roger Wakefield Forward Cambridge Univ. (uncapped)Jack WallensFullbackEnglandAF Hamilton SmytheThree-Quarter (uncapped)Robert KellyThree-QuarterScotlandEdward TaylorWingOxford Univ.ScotlandCarl AarvoldWingCambridge Univ.England Capped in 1928. n1 cap32Peter DoutyScrum-halfScotlandGeorge McIlwaineFlankerCambridge Univ.South Africa Uncapped n1 uncappAD AllenF. PropCambridge Univ.(uncapped)Granville CoghlanLockCambridge Univ.England n1 uncappThomas GubbLockOxford Univ.South Africa n1 uncappDonald TroupLock/FlankerOxford Univ.(uncapped)Eric ColeyFlankerEngland n1 cap2Theodore PikeFlankerLansdowneIREDouglas LawHookerEnglandCharles PaynePropIREDavid MacMyn (C)Number 8London ScottishScotlandErnie HammettThree-QuarterEnglandJames FarrellLockBective RangersIREWilf SobeyScrum-halfOld MillhilliansEngland Capped in 1930. n1 cap1Jules MalfroyScrum-halfCambridge Univ.New Zealand n1 uncappRoger SpongFly-halfOld MillhilliansEngland Capped in 1929. n1 cap2Guy WilsonWingEngland n1 cap2 Manager: James "Bim" Baxter Notes n1 Matches Match summary Full list of matchesB & I Lions - Tour of Argentina 1927 - Full listing played by the British Lions in Argentina:Los Lions en Argentina by Frankie Deges on Mundial XV website, 21 Jan 2013 #ffff99 silver indicates test matches right vertical 250 Argentina v britishlions geba (6) 1927.jpg Argentina v britishlions geba (1) 1927.jpg The Lions in action during the third test v. Argentina at Gimnasia y Esgrima # Date Rival City Venue Score 1 24 Jul Anglo–Argentinos Selection of Argentine players with English bornplace or origin. At those times, it was usual to play an end of season match of that nature. n2 anglo Hurlingham Hurlingham Club 27–0 2 27 Jul San Isidro Buenos Aires Belgrano A.C. 14–0 3 31 Jul ARG Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 37–0 4 3 Aug GEBA / CUBA Combined Rosario Plaza Jewell 24–0 5 7 Aug ARG Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 46–0 6 10 Aug Belgrano / Buenos Aires Combined Buenos Aires Belgrano A.C. 44–3 7 14 Aug ARG Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 34–3 8 15 Aug Combinado de Clubes Combined team of unknown local clubs. n2 unknown Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 29–3 9 21 Aug ARG Buenos Aires Gimnasia y Esgrima 43–0 Notes n2 Balance Pl W D L PS PC 6 6 0 0 298 9 First test 31 July 1927 ARG 0–37 GBR British Isles Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires Thomas Vile (Wales) 12,000 Aarvold, Hammett,Kelly, MacMyn, Payne, Spong, Wilson (2) Hammett (3) Hammett Spong Report _sky_hoops _lightbluehoops _sky_hoops _hoops_sky ffffff ffffff ffffff 666666 ffffff Argentina_collarwhite _whitetop 000099 000099 000099 ffffff ff0000 British Isles Argentina British IslesCésar PollanoFB15FB Jack Wallens César VázquezW14WGuy Wilson Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c) C13C Ernest Hammett Fabio LucioniC12CRobert Kelly W. BraddonW11WCarl AarvoldAlberto ZappaFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf Sobey Antonio PasalaguaN88N8David MacMyn (c)Antonio HobsonF7FTheodore PikeMiguel McCormickF6FGeorge McIlwaine Rodolfo SerraL5L Donald Troup Josée Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Ray CameronP3PArthur AllenJorge ConrardH2H Douglas LawEnrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne Second test 7 August 1927 ARG 0–46 GBR British Isles Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires Thomas Vile (Wales) Aarvold (4), Kelly (2),McIlwaine, MacMyn,Payne, Spong Hammett (6) Hammett Argentina British IslesA. JacobsFB15FBPeter DoutyMartín AyerraW14WCarl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13C Ernest HammettCésar VázquezC12CRobert Kelly G.E.F. CookeW11WEdward Taylor Marco HernáandezFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf Sobey Julián SommerN88N8David MacMyn (c)Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7F Eric Coley Roberto BottingF6FGeorge McIlwaine Ray CameronL5LGranville CoghlanJosé Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur AllenJorge ConrardH2H Douglas Law Enrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne Third test 14 August 1927 ARG 3–34 GBR British Isles Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires Thomas Vile (Wales) Douty, Hamilton-Smythe (2), McIlwaine, Taylor (3) Hammett (5) Hammett Torino Argentina British Isles C. Derkheim FB15FBJack Wallens Norberto Escary W14WCarl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13C Ernest Hammett Marco HernándezC12CArthur Hamilton-Smythe Llewellyn Makin W11WEdward Taylor Francisco Torino FH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SHPeter DoutyRoberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7FDonald Troup Antonio Pasalagua F6FGeorge McIlwaine Rodolfo Serra L5LTom GubbJosé Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PCharles Payne Vicente Grimoldi H2HDouglas LawEnrique BustamanteP1PArthur Allen Fourth test 21 August 1927 ARG 0–43 GBR British Isles Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires Thomas Vile (Wales) Aarvold (3), Coghlan, Kelly (2), McIlwaine,MacMyn, Sobey,Spong, Wilson Wilson (5) Argentina British IslesA. JacobsFB15FB Jack Wallens César VázquezW14W Carl AarvoldCarlos ReyesC13CRobert Kelly Marco HernándezC12CGuy WilsonNorberto EscaryW11WEdward Taylor Francisco TorinoFH10FHRoger SpongReginald CooperSH9SH Wilf SobeyRoberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)Salvador MullerF7F Eric ColeyArturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F6FGeorge McIlwaine José Cuesta SilvaL5LGranville Coghlan Rodolfo Serra L4LJimmy Farrell Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur Allen Vicente Grimoldi H2H Douglas Law Enrique Bustamante P1PCharles Payne Aftermath The British Lions tour on Argentina was a huge success, with a great number of people attending the games in spite of the large defeats to the national team. The RPRU obtained a profit of almost m$n 65,000,THE RIVER PLATE RUGBY UNION – INFORME SOBRE LA TEMPORADA 1927 on UAR website (Archive, 4 Mar 2016) which would be invested in mortgage titles to cost future tours with no help from the National State or other government subsidies. In sporting terms, the tour of the British team of 1927 was of great importance for Argentine rugby, which gave a powerful boost to the expansion of the game in the country. 33 teams were registered to the Union to play at the 1927 domestic championships (four teams more than the previous edition). The boost given by the British team tour also encouraged the creation of new rugby clubs, such as Olivos in 1927 and Los Matreros one year later. Bibliography Mackern, Hugo, Historia del rugby argentino 1917-1930, Buenos Aires, 1986 Búsico, Jorge, y Cloppet, Alejandro, Ser Puma, 2° edition, Buenos Aires: Zona de Tackle, 2012 Jones, Stephen, Behind the Lions, Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 2013 Thomas, Clem & Thomas, Greg, The British & Irish Lions Official History, Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1966, 2013 References British Lions tour of Argentina Category:British & Irish Lions tours Category:Rugby union tours of Argentina Bri Category:1926–27 in British rugby union Category:History of rugby union matches between Argentina and the British & Irish Lions