A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 The logo of the 2005 Lions tour | |
| Date | 23 May – 9 July |
| Coach(es) |  Clive Woodward |
| Tour captain(s) |  Brian O'Driscoll Gareth Thomas |
| Test series winners |  New Zealand (3–0) |
| Top test point scorer(s) | Stephen Jones (14) |
| 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary |
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| Total |
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| Test match |
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| Opponent |
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| New Zealand |
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In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Maori team, and three test matches against New Zealand (the All Blacks). The Lions lost the test series 3-0, the first time in 22 years that they lost every test match on tour.
The team was managed by former England and Lions player Bill Beaumont, coached by former England coach Sir Clive Woodward, and originally captained by Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll. O'Driscoll suffered a controversial tour-ending injury two minutes into the first test, and Wales captain Gareth Thomas took over as captain for the final four games of the tour.
The poor test results of the 2005 Lions, despite having one of the most experienced playing squads and the largest management team of any Lions tour, led to criticism of Woodward, particularly his selection policy, and prompted commentators to question the future of the Lions.[1]
This tour followed the Lions' 2001 tour to Australia and preceded the 2009 tour to South Africa.
Schedule
The Lions' campaign involved a warm-up match against Argentina (which was retroactively awarded test status by the International Rugby Board in March 2008) before the departure for New Zealand, three tests against the All Blacks, and several tour matches, where the quality of the opposition was expected to be high. This proved to be the case against New Zealand Maori and Auckland, and most of the other tour matches were close for at least the first half. But the match against Manawatu (the Lions' only opponent from the second division of New Zealand's domestic league, the National Provincial Championship) was a one-sided affair, the Lions winning by a score of 109–6.
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 May | British & Irish Lions | 25–25 | Argentina | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Match details |
| 4 June | Bay of Plenty | 20–34 | British & Irish Lions | Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | Match details |
| 8 June | Taranaki | 14–36 | British & Irish Lions | Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth | Match details |
| 11 June | New Zealand Maori | 19–13 | British & Irish Lions | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Match details |
| 15 June | Wellington | 6–23 | British & Irish Lions | Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington | Match details |
| 18 June | Otago | 19–30 | British & Irish Lions | Carisbrook, Dunedin | Match details |
| 21 June | Southland | 16–26 | British & Irish Lions | Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill | Match details |
| 25 June | New Zealand | 21–3 | British & Irish Lions | Lancaster Park, Christchurch | Match details |
| 28 June | Manawatu | 6–109 | British & Irish Lions | Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North | Match details |
| 2 July | New Zealand | 48–18 | British & Irish Lions | Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington | Match details |
| 5 July | Auckland | 13–17 | British & Irish Lions | Eden Park, Auckland | Match details |
| 9 July | New Zealand | 38–19 | British & Irish Lions | Eden Park, Auckland | Match details |
Squad
The 44-man tour squad was announced on 11 April 2005, and included 20 players from England, 11 from Ireland, 10 from Wales and three from Scotland. Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll was named as captain. Among the English players selected were two who had retired from international rugby (Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio), and one who was returning from a long-term injury (Richard Hill).[2]
Three players did not travel to New Zealand with the bulk of the touring party: Jason Robinson was excused from the first three tour matches to spend time with his pregnant wife; Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas were forced to delay their departures due to commitments to their French clubs.[3] Jones arrived in New Zealand on 31 May, before the Lions played their first tour match, while Robinson arrived on 7 June. For a time, it was doubtful whether Thomas would be able to contend for a spot in the first test, as he had not been released by his club, Toulouse. However, Toulouse lost in the Top 14 semi-finals, allowing Thomas to leave for New Zealand, also arriving on 7 June. Thomas later replaced O'Driscoll as tour captain after O'Driscoll suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first test. Michael Owen also briefly left the tour two weeks in to attend the birth of his second child.[4]
Additions to the squad
Injured England players Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery and Mike Tindall were pencilled in to be added to the squad, subject to them regaining fitness. Only Wilkinson subsequently did so and was called up on 8 May.
Additional players were called up when players suffered injury (and in one case a ban) during the tour proper:
- Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons and England) – added 8 May
- Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks and England) – added 17 May for Iain Balshaw[5]
- Simon Shaw (Wasps and England) – added 2 June for Malcolm O'Kelly[6]
- Simon Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets and Ireland) – added 4 June for Lawrence Dallaglio[7]
- Ryan Jones (Ospreys and Wales) – added 10 June for Simon Taylor[8]
- Brent Cockbain (Ospreys and Wales) – added 26 June for Danny Grewcock, who was banned for two months after biting Keven Mealamu during the first test.[9]
- Jason White (Sale Sharks and Scotland) – added 27 June for Richard Hill[10]
Management
England coach Clive Woodward was first linked with the Lions' head-coaching job in December 2003, shortly after England's victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, when he was approached by Four Home Unions chairman Bill Beaumont.[11] Woodward resigned as England coach on 3 September 2004,[12] and appointed as Lions coach four days later following a meeting of the Lions committee.[13] He named a 25-strong coaching group in October 2004, including his successor as England coach, Andy Robinson, and three-time Lions head coach Ian McGeechan. Some of the coaches on the tour would be responsible for the team playing on weekends, including Robinson, Eddie O'Sullivan and Phil Larder, while others would take charge of the midweek team, including McGeechan, Gareth Jenkins and Mike Ford.[14] Former government communications consultant Alastair Campbell was added to the tour party in December 2004.[15] The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) initially requested that national team head coach Mike Ruddock be left out of the Lions coaching team to focus on the Wales job; however, in April 2005, Ruddock said he would be open to a position with the Lions if it had a "specific job description".[16] Ruddock was offered an "observational role" on the tour, but ultimately rejected it in favour of joining the Wales under-21s at the 2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship, and the Lions role was given to his assistant Scott Johnson.[17]