CHRIS HEWETT

Mitchell, Aston, Wotherspoon, Rotherham, Bromet, Hammond, Mayfield, Surtees, Thompson: on an early September afternoon in 1891, nine Cambridge University rugger types took the field in Cape Town for a set-to with their South African hosts. By comparison, Oxford University’s representation was microscopic. We can only assume their best players were on Bullingdon Club duty, smashing up restaurants and being nasty to poor people.
As ever with tales of the dim and distant – the Lions would not be known as Lions for another 30- odd years – we find ourselves in a grey area. Some of...