THE Lions have decided their international against Japan last summer was not a Test match, meaning Owen Farrell won his 100th Test cap yesterday against Australia.
The game, played at Murrayfield, kicked off the South Africa tour on home soil on June 26 – but it has taken until November for the Lions board to decide on the match's status.
Japan awarded Test caps but the Lions have said that going forward only games against host unions will be given Test status, a controversial decision as the board did award Test status to their 2005 game in Cardiff against Argentina.
A Lions statement read: “The British & Irish Lions Board can confirm The Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup, this year's pre-Tour Lions v Japan home match at Murrayfield on June 26 2021, is not a Lions Test match.
“The Lions v Japan match, which took place before the Tour to South Africa has been classed as an internnational fixture.
“The fixture has been recorded on the appearance record of every player who was involved in the game and every new Lion who played in this match has been capped and awarded a Lions number.
“To clarify, the criteria going forwards will be that Lions Test status will only be awarded to those matches played against the host Union's national representative side (except in exceptional circumstances, to be determined by the Board at the appropriate time).”
Farrell, 30, missed last week's victory over Tonga after returning a ‘false positive' Covid-19 test. He now has 94 England caps and six for the Lions.
