2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia

Last updated

2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
2001lions.JPG
2001 tour badge
Date8 June  – 14 July
Coach(es) Flag of New Zealand.svg Graham Henry
Tour captain(s) Flag of England.svg Martin Johnson
Test series winnersFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia (2–1)
Top test point scorer(s) Flag of England.svg Jonny Wilkinson (36)
2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
Summary
PWDL
Total
10703
Test match
3102
Opponent
PWDL
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
3 1 0 2

The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in Australia.

Contents

The Lions squad was captained by Martin Johnson, the first player to lead the Lions on two tours. The head coach was New Zealander Graham Henry. After winning the first of their matches against Australia, the Lions lost the remaining two matches of the test series. This was the first time that Australia defeated the Lions in a series. The tour was noted for tension between the test squad and the midweek squad as well as controversial newspaper columns written by scrum-halves Matt Dawson and Austin Healey, accusing the coaching staff of poor scheduling and training regimes and lack of team spirit.

Squad

PlayerPositionDate of birth (age)National teamClub/provinceNational caps
(Lions tests)
Notes
Iain Balshaw Full-back Flag of England.svg England Bath
Matt Perry Full-back Flag of England.svg England Bath
Ben Cohen Wing Flag of England.svg England Northampton Saints
Dafydd James Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Llanelli
Dan Luger Wing Flag of England.svg England Saracens
Jason Robinson Wing Flag of England.svg England Sale Sharks
Tyrone Howe Wing IRFU flag.svg Ireland UlsterInjury replacement for Dan Luger
Mike Catt Centre Flag of England.svg England Bath
Will Greenwood Centre Flag of England.svg England Harlequins
Rob Henderson Centre IRFU flag.svg Ireland London Wasps
Brian O'Driscoll Centre IRFU flag.svg Ireland Leinster
Mark Taylor Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Swansea
Scott Gibbs Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales SwanseaInjury replacement for Mike Catt
Neil Jenkins Fly-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Cardiff
Ronan O'Gara Fly-half IRFU flag.svg Ireland Munster
Jonny Wilkinson Fly-half Flag of England.svg England Newcastle Falcons
Matt Dawson Scrum-half Flag of England.svg England Northampton Saints
Austin Healey Scrum-half Flag of England.svg England Leicester Tigers
Rob Howley Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Cardiff
Andy Nicol Scrum-half Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Glasgow Injury replacement for Rob Howley
Jason Leonard Prop Flag of England.svg England Harlequins
Darren Morris Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Swansea
Tom Smith Prop Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Brive
Phil Vickery Prop Flag of England.svg England Gloucester
Dai Young Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Cardiff
Phil Greening Hooker Flag of England.svg England London Wasps
Robin McBryde Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Llanelli
Keith Wood Hooker IRFU flag.svg Ireland Harlequins
Mark Regan Hooker Flag of England.svg England Bristol
Gordon Bulloch Hooker Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Glasgow Injury replacement for Phil Greening
Dorian West Hooker Flag of England.svg England Leicester TigersCalled up as back-up after a number of injuries to the squad
Jeremy Davidson Lock IRFU flag.svg Ireland Castres
Danny Grewcock Lock Flag of England.svg England Saracens
Martin Johnson (c)Lock Flag of England.svg England Leicester Tigers
Scott Murray Lock Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Saracens
Malcolm O'Kelly Lock IRFU flag.svg Ireland St Mary's College
Neil Back Back row Flag of England.svg England Leicester Tigers
Colin Charvis Back row Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Swansea
Lawrence Dallaglio Back row Flag of England.svg England London Wasps
Richard Hill Back row Flag of England.svg England Saracens
Scott Quinnell Back row Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Llanelli
Simon Taylor Back row Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Edinburgh
Martyn Williams Back row Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Cardiff
Martin Corry Back row Flag of England.svg England Leicester TigersInjury replacement for Simon Taylor
David Wallace Back row IRFU flag.svg Ireland MunsterInjury replacement for Lawrence Dallaglio

Results

DateHome teamScoreAway teamGroundResult
8 JuneWestern Australia10–116British & Irish Lions WACA, Perth Win
12 JuneQueensland Presidents XV6–83British & Irish Lions Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Win
16 June Queensland Reds 8–42British & Irish Lions Ballymore, Brisbane Win
19 June Australia A 28–25British & Irish Lions North Power Stadium, Gosford Loss
23 June NSW Waratahs 24–41British & Irish Lions Sydney Football Stadium, SydneyWin
26 June NSW Country 3–46British & Irish LionsInternational Stadium, Coffs Harbour Win
30 June Australia 13–29British & Irish Lions The Gabba, Brisbane Win
3 July ACT Brumbies 28–30British & Irish Lions Bruce Stadium, Canberra Win
7 July Australia 35–14British & Irish Lions Colonial Stadium Loss
14 July Australia 29–23British & Irish Lions Stadium Australia Loss

Test series

First test

Jason Robinson scored the first try of the match, putting the Lions up 5–0. Andrew Walker successfully kicked a penalty for Australia's first points. The Lions scored through Dafydd James, which was converted by Wilkinson. The score at half-time was 12–3.

Brian O'Driscoll scored for the Lions in the second half. Wilkinson converted the try before kicking a penalty to make the score 22–3. Scott Quinnell then scored for the Lions, with Wilkinson converting. Grey then scored a try for Australia.

30 June 2001
19:00
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg13–29 British & Irish Lions
Try: Grey 66' m
Walker 68' m
Pen: Walker 18'
Report Try: Robinson 3' m
James 32' c
O'Driscoll 41' c
Quinnell 50' c
Con: Wilkinson (3)
Pen: Wilkinson 44'
The Gabba, Brisbane
Attendance: 37,460
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
FB15 Chris Latham Sub off.svg 41'
RW14 Andrew Walker
OC13 Daniel Herbert
IC12 Nathan Grey
LW11 Joe Roff
FH10 Stephen Larkham Sub off.svg 52'
SH9 George Gregan
N88 Toutai Kefu
OF7 George Smith
BF6 Owen Finegan Sub off.svg 72'
RL5 John Eales (c)Sub off.svg 61'
LL4 David Giffin
TP3 Glen Panoho Sub off.svg 61'
HK2 Jeremy Paul Sub off.svg 52'
LP1 Nick Stiles
Replacements:
HK16 Michael Foley Sub on.svg 52'
PR17 Ben Darwin Sub on.svg 61'
LK18 Matt Cockbain Sub on.svg 61'
FL19 David Lyons Sub on.svg 72'
SH20 Chris Whitaker
FH21 Elton Flatley Sub on.svg 52'
FB22 Matt Burke Sub on.svg 41'
Coach:
Rod Macqueen
Australia vs British Lions 2001-06-30.svg
FB15 Flag of England.svg Matt Perry Sub off.svg 41'
RW14 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Dafydd James
OC13 IRFU flag.svg Brian O'Driscoll
IC12 IRFU flag.svg Rob Henderson
LW11 Flag of England.svg Jason Robinson
FH10 Flag of England.svg Jonny Wilkinson
SH9 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Rob Howley
N88 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Scott Quinnell Sub off.svg 61'
OF7 Flag of England.svg Richard Hill
BF6 Flag of England.svg Martin Corry Yellow card.svg 61'
RL5 Flag of England.svg Danny Grewcock
LL4 Flag of England.svg Martin Johnson (c)
TP3 Flag of England.svg Phil Vickery Yellow card.svg 74'
HK2 IRFU flag.svg Keith Wood Sub off.svg
LP1 Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Smith Sub off.svg 74'
Replacements:
HK16 Flag of Scotland.svg Gordon Bulloch Sub on.svg
PR17 Flag of England.svg Jason Leonard Sub on.svg 74'
FL18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Colin Charvis Sub on.svg 61'
FL19 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Martyn Williams
SH20 Flag of England.svg Matt Dawson
SH21 Flag of England.svg Austin Healey
FB22 Flag of England.svg Iain Balshaw Sub on.svg 41'
Coach:
Graham Henry

Second test

The second test was played at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne. Wilkinson was successful with two penalty goals, giving the Lions a 6–0 lead. Burke then kicked a penalty goal for Australia. Neil Back scored the first try of the match, giving the Lions an 11–3 lead over Australia. Burke kicked another penalty goal to make the score 11–6 to the Lions.

Joe Roff scored a try for Australia in the second half, making the score 11–11. Burke kicked a penalty goal to give Australia the lead. The score became 21–11 when Roff scored his second try. Wilkinson then kicked a penalty goal to make it 21–14. Burke then scored a try for Australia, making it 29–14. Burke kicked another two penalty goals.

Third test

With the series tied at 1–1, the third test at Stadium Australia in Sydney was the decider and was refereed by New Zealander Paddy O'Brien. The scoring began in the third minute, when Burke successfully kicked a penalty for Australia, giving them a 3–0 lead. Wilkinson, who was under an injury cloud leading up to the match, levelled the scores in the fifth minute with a successful penalty goal. Burke then landed another penalty goal for Australia. Four minutes later, Burke kicked another penalty goal, giving Australia a 9–3 lead. Robinson scored the first try of the match, which was converted by Wilkinson, giving the Lions a 10–9 lead. Daniel Herbert scored Australia's first try which was converted by Burke, giving Australia a 16–10 lead. Wilkinson was successful with a penalty goal that made the score 16–13.

The Lions took the lead in the second half, with Wilkinson crossing the line to score a try and then converting it, giving the Lions a 20–16 lead. Herbert scored his second try in the 49th minute, Burke converted, giving Australia a 23–20 lead. Wilkinson kicked a penalty goal, levelling scores at 23–23. Burke was successful with a subsequent penalty goal five minutes after. Burke kicked another in the 76th minute, to make the score 29–23.

Television coverage

In Australia, Seven Network and Fox Sports jointly televised the British & Irish Lions matches. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, matches were shown on Sky Sports.