The 1903 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fifth tour by a

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

rugby team and the third to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950. Led by

Scotland's Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Mark Morrison Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is a British R&B singer. His single, "Return of the Mack", became a No. 1 or top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at No. 2 in the United States the following year. Career Mark Mo ...

and managed by Johnny Hammond the tour took in 22 matches. Of the games three were test matches, played against the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerse ...

. The British Isles drew the first two test matches and lost the final encounter. Having lost only one game out of 40 matches in the previous two tours of South Africa, the British Isles team were truly tested by the South African rugby nation on this tour. Of the 22 games played, the tourist won eleven, drew three and lost eight. Unlike past teams, the British Isles three-quarter line was not seen as the team's strongest asset and more reliance was placed in the pack. Of the backs, only

Reg Skrimshire Reginald Truscott Skrimshire (30 January 1878 – 20 September 1963) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby for Kent. He won three caps for Wales and was the only Welsh representative o ...

, the only

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

player selected, was judged to have shown any true flair; while the pack failed to live up to expectations, even when led by Scottish power-house

David Bedell-Sivright David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright (8 December 1880 – 5 September 1915) was a Scottish international rugby union forward who captained both Scotland and the British Isles. Born in Edinburgh, and educated at Fettes College where he l ...

. The tour included Louis Leisler Greig, who later became well known as a royal equerry, friend of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

and became a prominent member of the far right

January Club The January Club was a discussion group founded in 1934 by Oswald Mosley to attract Establishment support for the movement known as the British Union of Fascists. The Club was under the effective control of Robert Forgan, working on behalf of ...

Touring party

*Manager: Johnny Hammond

Full Backs

* Edward Montague Harrison (

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

)

Three-Quarters

* Alfred Hind (

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

/ Midland Counties) * Ian Davidson ( North of Ireland) *

Gilbert Collett Lt. Colonel Gilbert Faraday Collett DSO (18 July 1879 – 25 February 1945) was an English sportsman who was an international rugby union wing and first-class cricketer for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. As a rugby footballer he repre ...

(Gloucestershire/

) *

( Newport/

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Dublin University Fo ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

) *

Edward Forbes Walker Edward Forbes Walker (born 1876) was a rugby union international who represented Great Britain on the 1903 tour to South Africa. He represented Great Britain twice but never won a cap for his national side, England. Early life and family Edwar ...

( Lennox/

) ''FOOTBALL. NOTES BY FULL BACK.'' Otago Witness , Putanga 2590, 4 Whiringa-ā-rangi 1903, Page 58 – containing a profile of the 1903 British touring side
/ref>

Half backs

Louis Greig Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig, KBE CVO (17 November 1880 – 1 March 1953) was a Scottish naval surgeon, rugby player, courtier and a friend of King George VI. Rugby union Greig was a successful rugby player, and was capped for an ...

(

Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873. History Glasgow Hawks In 1997 the decision was made to ...

/ United Services and ) * John Imrie Gillespie (

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

and ) * Robert Miln Neill (

and ) *

Patrick Hancock Sir Patrick Francis Hancock (25 June 1914 – 1 February 1980) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Israel, Norway and Italy. Career Patrick Francis Hancock was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He joined th ...

(

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

)

Forwards

(

Royal HSFP Royal High School Former Pupils was a former Edinburgh rugby union club; but the club was re-formed as Barnton RFC and is now known as Royal High RFC. Royal HSFP was a founder member of the Scottish Rugby Union, the second oldest national gove ...

and ) ''(captain)'' *

(

and ) *

William Patrick Scott William Patrick Scott (1 March 1880 – 1 June 1948) known as Bill Scott, was a Scotland international rugby union player, who played as a Forward. Rugby Union career Amateur career Scott was born in Wishaw, and went to Fettes College. He pl ...

( West of Scotland and ) *

William Cave William Cave (30 December 1637 – 4 August 1713) was an English divine and patristic scholar. Life Cave was born at Pickwell, Leicestershire, of which parish his father, John Cave was vicar. He was educated at Oakham School and St John's Co ...

(

) * J.C. Hosack (

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfie ...

) * Robertson Smyth (

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

and ) * Alfred Tedford (

Malone RFC Malone RFC (Malone Rugby Football Club) is a rugby union club based in Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It is currently in the Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club is affiliated with the Ulster Branch, itself part of the Irish Rugby ...

and ) * Joseph Wallace ( Wanderers/

and ) * James Wallace ( Wanderers/

) * Frank Stout (

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and ) * Thomas Alexander Gibson (

)

Results

Test matches

The matches

After playing the first two Tests in white shirts, South Africa wore a green jersey (supplied by Old Diocesan's Club) for the first time in their final Test at

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region New Zealand * Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington South Africa * Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town * Newlands, Johannesbur ...

.The great history of green and gold
by Harry Jones on The Roar website, 7 Sep 2016

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1903 British Lions Tour To South Africa British Lions British & Irish Lions tours of South Africa British Lions Tour To South Africa, 1903

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...