Remembering those early trips

THE Lions staged three tours to Argentina in the early days before giving up on the idea. The 1910 tour was essentially an English Invitation party managed by the redoubtable Major RV Stanley who for many years raised his own side to play Oxford University in their annual rehearsal for the Varsity match.

Their captain was John Raphael – a rugby, cricket and waterpolo blue at Oxford – who seven years later was to die of wounds received at Messines Ridge.

All six matches were won with something to spare including a 28-3 win over Argentina who included a recent arrival, the former Springbok Barry Heatlie, who did much to develop the game in his adopted country. Argentina at this stage were picked totally from the ex pat community.

The 1927 tour was a much more representative and authentic mix with players from England, Scotland and Ireland of whom 15 were current or future internationals. Scotsman David MacMyn – 10 wins in 11 matches at lock for Scotland – captained the side which also included Carl Aavold who was to star for the Lions in Australia and New Zealand three years later.

With such a strong party, and with Argentinian rugby suffering from a lack of exposure to the world’s best sides, the Test series proved lop sided with the Lions winning all four games comfortably. There was, however, a good proportion of native born Argentinians in their team as the game began to establish its niche in the Argentinian psyche and the influence of expats rapidly receded.

The last time the Lions toured Argentina was in 1930 with a powerful squad captained by England skipper Bernard Gadney and including Alexander Obolensky. Scotland fly-half Wilson Shaw and Irish forwards Charles Beamish and CV Boyle.

The Lions travelled via Santos in Brazil where there was the strange incident of Alexander Obolensky reportedly scoring 17 tries in an unofficial game against a Brazil XV which seems most unlikely. No details have ever been unearthed and it was almost certainly a pick up game on the beach or the product of some lively and mischievous imaginations aided by the local fire water.

Once in Argentina the Lions swept all before them scoring 399 points and conceding just 12 in the ten matches which included a 23-0 win over Argentina in front of a 15,000 crowd at the Buenos Aires Cricket Club.

Since then, nothing.