1955 British Lions tour to South Africa

March 2014 March 2014 22 June  – 27 September Jack Siggins IRE rugby union Robin Thompson Tied 2–2 ENG Jeff Butterfield (12) New Zealand and Australia 1950 Australia and New Zealand 1959 25 19 1 5 4 2 0 2 RSA 1928 4 2 0 2 In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against South Africa, each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins. As well as South Africa, the tour included a match against South West Africa (later to become Namibia), two games against Rhodesia (later to become Zimbabwe) and one versus East Africa. Overall the tourists played twenty-five matches winning nineteen, losing five and drawing one. The Lions lost their opening fixture against Western Transvaal and were also beaten by Eastern Province and Border later in the tour. They drew with Eastern Transvaal. It was the Lions' second tour after World War II and the first to South Africa after that war. The touring party was captained by Robin Thompson of Ireland. The manager was Jack A. E. Siggins and the assistant manager was D. E. Davies. Jack Siggins had the honour of being invited, by the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA), officially to open the newly constructed RFUEA Ground at Ngong Road in Nairobi just prior to the Lions last match of that tour against East Africa. Squad Management Manager: J. A. E. Siggins (Ireland) Assistant Manager: D. E. Davies Backs Doug Baker (Old Merchant Taylors and England) Jeff Butterfield (Northampton and England) Angus Cameron (Glasgow HSFP and Scotland) Phil Davies (Harlequins and England) Gareth Griffiths (Cardiff and Wales) Dickie Jeeps (Northampton) uncapped 1 1 Trevor Lloyd (Maesteg and Wales) Cliff Morgan (Cardiff and Wales) Haydn Morris (Cardiff and Wales) Tony O'Reilly (Old Belvedere and Ireland) Cecil Pedlow (Queen's University RFC and Ireland) Pat Quinn (New Brighton and England) Arthur Smith (Cambridge University and Scotland) Frank Sykes (Northampton and England) Alun Thomas (Llanelli and Wales) Johnny Williams (Old Millhillians and England) Forwards Tom Elliot (Gala and Scotland) Jim Greenwood (Dunfermline and Scotland) Reg Higgins (Liverpool and England) Hugh McLeod (Hawick and Scotland) Bryn Meredith (Newport and Wales) Courtney Meredith (Neath and Wales) Ernie Michie (Aberdeen University and Scotland) Tom Reid (Garryowen and Ireland) Russell Robins (Pontypridd and Wales) Robin Roe (Lansdowne and Ireland) Clem Thomas (Swansea and Wales) Robin Thompson (Instonians and Ireland) (Captain) Rhys Williams (Llanelli and Wales) Billy Williams (Swansea and Wales) Dyson Wilson (Metropolitan Police and England) uncapped 1 1 Dickie Jeeps later played for England but was uncapped at the time of the 1955 tour. The Idi Amin myth There is a frequently repeated urban legendCain, Nick & Growden, Greg "Chapter 21: Ten Peculiar Facts about Rugby" in Rugby Union for Dummies (2nd Edition), p294 (pub: John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, England) 978-0-470-03537-5Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records. Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing. 0-7126-0911-3 that Idi Amin (later to become the infamous military dictator of Uganda) was selected as a replacement by East Africa for their match against the 1955 British Lions. The story is entirely unfounded, he does not appear on the team photograph or on the official team listCampbell, M. & Cohen, E.J. (1960) Rugby Football in East Africa 1909–1959. Published by the Rugby Football Union of East Africa and replacements were not allowed in international rugby until 13 years after this event is supposed to have taken place.http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/laws.htm#Replacements History of the Laws of Rugby Football - Replacements/substitutions www.rugbyfootballhistory.com Results Scores and results list Lions' points tally first. Opposing Team For Against Date Venue StatusWestern Transvaal6922 June 1955Olen Park, PotchefstroomTour matchGiqualand West241425 June 1955De Beers Stadium, KimberleyTour matchNorthern Universities32629 June 1955Ellis Park, JohannesburgTour matchOrange Free State3132 July 1955Loubser Park, KroonstadTour matchSouth West Africa905 July 1955Mable Volk Stadium, WindhoekTour matchWestern Province1139 July 1955Newlands, Cape TownTour matchSouth West Districts22313 July 1955Recreation Ground, GeorgeTour matchEastern Province02016 July 1955Crusaders Ground, Port ElizabethTour matchNorth Eastern district34620 July 1955Aliwal NorthTour matchTransvaal361323 July 1955Ellis Park, JohannesburgTour matchRhodesia271427 July 1955Rokhana Ground, KitweTour matchRhodesia161230 July 1955Police Ground, SalisburyTour matchSouth Africa23226 August 1955Ellis Park, JohannesburgTest MatchCentral University211410 August 1955Kingsmead, DurbanTour matchBoland11013 August 1955WellingtonTour matchWestern province Universities201716 August 1955Newlands, Cape TownTour matchSouth Africa92520 August 1955Newlands, Cape TownTest Match Eastern Transvaal171724 August 1955PAM Brink, SpringsTour matchNorthern Transvaal141127 August 1955Loftus Versfeld, PretoriaTour matchSouth Africa963 September 1955Loftus Versfeld, PretoriaTest MatchNatal11810 September 1955Kingsmead, DurbanTour matchJunior Springboks151214 September 1955Free State Stadium, BloemfonteinTour matchBorder121417 September 1955East LondonTour matchSouth Africa82224 September 1955Crusaders Ground, Port ElizabethTest MatchEast Africa391227 September 1955Ngong Road Ground, NairobiTour match The matches First South Africa Test 6 August 1955 2:30pm RSA 1928 22–23 ReportClassic Match: The 1955 Lions edge a thriller in South Africa - The British & Irish Lions Website https://www.lionsrugby.com/en/news/classic-match-the-1955-lions-edge-a-thriller-in-south-africa 2026-04-03 www.lionsrugby.com enMatch Summary - British & Irish Lions in South Africa - 1955 https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/game.php?gameId=22878 DB Rugby Database British Lions Briers 2KochSwart Van der Schyff 2 Van der Schyff 2 ButterfieldGreenwoodMorganO’ReillyPedlow Cameron 4 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 95 000https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fJ1osGJ98 Theuns Briers - Springbok Tries vs British Lions 1955 1st Test Ellis Park (Test Try 148) 2023-06-04 Grigora Sport 2026-04-03 YouTube Ralph Burmeister (South Africa) South Africa: Jack van der Schyff, Theuns Briers, Tom van Vollenhoven, Des Sinclair, Sias Swart, Clive Ulyate, Tommy Gentles, Chris Koch, Colin Kroon, Amos du Plooy, Salty du Rand, Johan Claassen, Stephen Fry, Basie van Wyk, Daan Retief British & Irish Lions: Angus Cameron, Tony O'Reilly, Jeff Butterfield, Phil Davies, Tony O'Reilly, Cliff Morgan, Dickie Jeeps, Billy Williams, Bryn Meredith, Courtenay Meredith, Rhys Williams, Robin Thompson, Reg Higgins, Jim Greenwood, Russell Robins Second South Africa Test 20 August 1955 2:30pm RSA 1928 25–9 ReportMatch Summary - British & Irish Lions in South Africa - 1955 https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/game.php?gameId=22879 DB Rugby Database British Lions DryburghVan Vollenhoven (3)RosenbergBriersAckermann Dryburgh (2) ButterfieldMeredith Cameron Newlands, Cape Town 52 000https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyC-aA5sBvo Roy Dryburgh - Springbok Test Try 156 - 1955 British Lions 2nd Test Newlands 2022-06-17 Grigora Sport 2026-04-03 YouTube Mike Slabber (South Africa) South Africa: Roy Dryburgh (WP), Tom van Vollenhoven (N-Tvl), Des Sinclair (Tvl), Wilf Rosenberg (Tvl), Theuns Briers (WP), Clive Ulyate (Tvl), Tommy Gentles (WP), Chris Koch (Boland), Bertus van der Merwe (Boland), Jaap Bekker (N-Tvl), Stephen Fry (C) (WP), Salty du Rand (N-Tvl), Johan Claassen (W-Tvl), Dawie Ackermann (WP), Daan Retief (N-Tvl) British & Irish Lions: Angus Cameron, Tony O'Reilly, Jeff Butterfield, Phil Davies, Gareth Griffith, Cliff Morgan, Dickie Jeeps, Tom Reid, Jim Greenwood, Russell Robins, Robin Thompson, Rhys Williams, Courtenay Meredith, Bryn Meredith, Billy Williams Third South Africa Test 3 September 1955 2:30pm RSA 1928 6–9 ReportMatch Summary - British & Irish Lions in South Africa - 1955 https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/game.php?gameId=22880 DB Rugby Database British Lions Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Ralph Burmeister (South Africa) Fourth South Africa Test 24 September 1955 2:30pm RSA 1928 22–8 ReportMatch Summary - British & Irish Lions in South Africa - 1955 https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/game.php?gameId=22881 DB Rugby Database British Lions Van VollenhovenBriers (2)UlyateRetief Dryburgh (2) Ulyate (1) O'ReillyGreenwood Pedlow (1) Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth 37 000https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88REVIy34MY&list=PLvAa0Y5YdTKWM9bsaMMkF9OAEmSWz6_Yb Tom van Vollenhoven - Springbok Test Try 162 - 1955 British Lions 4th Test Port Elizabeth 2022-06-17 Grigora Sport 2026-04-03 YouTube Chris Ackermann (South Africa) Bibliography Thomas Clem Thomas Greg The History of The British and Irish Lions 2001 Mainstream Books 1-84018-498-1 100–117 Notes expanded British Lions tour Category:British & Irish Lions tours of South Africa Category:Rugby union tours of Kenya Category:Rugby union tours of Namibia Category:Rugby union in Zambia Category:Rugby union tours of Zimbabwe 1955 1955 1955 1955 1955-07-27 1955 1955 1955 1955 1955 1955-07-27 1955 Category:1955 in South African rugby union Category:1954–55 in British rugby union Category:1954–55 in Irish rugby union Category:1955 in Kenyan sport Category:1955 in South West Africa Category:1955 in Southern Rhodesia Category:1955 in Northern Rhodesia Category:June 1955 sports events in Africa Category:July 1955 sports events in Africa Category:August 1955 sports events in Africa Category:September 1955 sports events in Africa