1908 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand
| 1908 British Lions Tour to New Zealand and Australia | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 May – 2 September |
| Coach(es) | George Harnett |
| Tour captain(s) |
 Arthur 'Boxer' Harding
|
| Test series winners |
 New Zealand (2–0) |
| Top test point scorer(s) |
Reggie Gibbs (3) Jack Jones (3) |
The 1908 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the seventh tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia. The tour is often referred to as the Anglo-Welsh Tour as only English and Welsh players were selected due to the Irish and Scottish Rugby Unions not participating. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.
Led by Arthur 'Boxer' Harding and managed by George Harnett the tour took in 26 matches, 9 in Australia and 17 in New Zealand. Of the 26 games, 23 were against club or invitational teams and three were test matches against the All Blacks. The Lions lost two and drew one match against the All Blacks.
The tour was not received well in Wales, as the Welsh players selected were chosen exclusively from those players from a well-educated and professional-class background. The selection was in fact addressed by the Welsh Rugby Union who stated that when a British Isles team was mooted for a South Africa tour in 1910, that the players should be chosen '...irrespective of the social position of the players.'
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