Don’t be mislead by the word ‘walk’. Walks are normally pleasurable and peaceful. This walk has been a war of passion since day one.

With the first Test of the British & Irish Lions coming up this weekend lets take a short trip down memory lane of the long, illustrious and passionate history South Africa shares with this famous team from the Isles.

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Indeed South Africa and Britain have an unmatched history in rugby together. The first officially backed tour took part in 1891, the team titled as the British Isles, toured South Africa although at the time South Africa did not politically exist.

A milestone is the best description for this tour.
South Africa played their first ever international Test match, the British Isles toured as one entity for the first time and South African rugby was given its prize possession, the Currie Cup.
The foundations of proud rugby legacies were established.

After the tour South African started taking rugby seriously. Were they did this because they genuinely enjoyed it or used it as a tool to stick it to the Empire is debateable, in this article we’ll settle for the former.

South African teams lost convincing in 1891 but it would only take 2 more tours before South Africa won their first series in 1903. They would go to dominated future Tests and it took the combine Home Nations’ team, nicknamed the Lions after returning from SA in 1910, over 50 years to win a series SA again. The Lions came close in 1955 after World War 2 but the Boks managed a last grasp effort to tie the series.

Test series results from 1891 to 1968:
• 1891 = 3-0 Lions
• 1896 = 3-1 Lions
• 1903 = 1-0 Boks
• 1910 = 2-1 Boks
   WW1
 • 1924 = 3-0 Boks
 • 1938 = 3-0 Boks
   WW2
• 1955 = 2-2 Draw
• 1962 = 3-0 Boks
• 1968 = 3-0 Boks

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One of the most memorable tours is the Lions tour of South Africa in 1974. South Africa came into the series having not lost a Test series at home in that century. With 71 years of unbeaten Test series history at home, the Boks had big expectations from the start. Pressure would however have no influence in the tour as the Lions blew away everything South Africa had to offer with their rugby and the infamous ‘99 call’. Going unbeaten in 22 games (1 draw) the 1974 tour is still remembered as the most successful tour in Lions history.

SA couldn’t claim they didn’t see it coming after the extremely successful tour of New Zealand 3 years previously where the Lions also won a series.
The early 70’s would prove to be a golden era in Lions rugby that has yet to be repeated.

Test results from 1974 to 1997:

• 1974 = 3-0 Lions
• 1980 = 3-1 Boks
   Apartheid
• 1997 = 2-1 Lions

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That brings us to the 1997 Lions tour, evidently the last Lions tour to the Southern tip of Africa. This tour would be the first to take place in the professional era and one that would go down in British & Irish rugby folklore. The Lions came into the series as massive underdogs and got beaten by Northern Transvaal prior to the Tests. Against all odds, with McGeechan’s tactical nous and Neil ‘The Ginger Monster’ Jenkins’ accurate boot; the Lions snatched the series with a game to spare.
A shocked rugby public were force to eat humble pie and have been waiting for revenge ever since.

Until now...