2001 British Lions Tour of Australia
Match-by-match guide |
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| WESTERN AUSTRALIA -- June 8 |
| The opening match of the Lions tour will also be their easiest. Rugby is a minor sport in Western Australia with only a handful of clubs and no professional players or league. The team will be bolstered by a couple of former internationals but no-one to trouble the tourists. The match will be played on the WACA, one of the fastest and hardest cricket pitches in the world, which could be appropriate with a cricket score expected. |
| QUEENSLAND PRESIDENT'S XV -- June 12 |
| The Lions' second match will be a giant step up from the first though still a long way short of what lies ahead. The President's XV will be made up of the leading Queensland state players unable to break into the Super 12 side. The match will be played at the Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville, in tropical north Queensland. |
| QUEENSLAND REDS -- June 16 |
| This match looms as potentially the hardest game of the tour outside the tests. The Lions' team to face the Wallabies should be starting to take shape and the Queensland Reds will provide them with a rugged encounter at Brisbane's Ballymore stadium, a former test venue. The Reds, whose side includes Australian captain John Eales and Wallabies Chris Latham, Daniel Herbert, Ben Tune, Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain and Michael Foley, won their last five matches to scrape into this year's Super 12 semifinals before going down to eventual champions ACT Brumbies and are eagerly awaiting the Lions. |
| AUSTRALIA A -- June 19 |
| Another match which promises to provide great entertainment with players from both teams pressing for test selection. As the name suggests, the Australia A team will be made up of the best players who missed out on selection for the Wallaby squad and want another chance to prove themselves against the Lions. The match will be played at Gosford's North Power stadium, the home of the Northern Eagles National Rugby League team, about an hour's drive north of Sydney. |
| NEW SOUTH WALES -- June 23 |
| The New South Wales Waratahs are the weakest of Australia's three Super 12 teams but still a formidable side especially at the Sydney Football Stadium, the ground where the Lions beat Australia in the deciding test of the 1989 tour. The Waratahs are coached by Bob Dwyer, the former Wallaby coach who has spent the past few seasons in Britain, and boast a string of top internationals including goalkicking fullback Matthew Burke, one of the heroes of the Australian team that won the 1999 World Cup. The Waratahs will be below full strength when they take on the Lions because the match takes place three days after the Australian team goes into camp for the first test but will still be strong. |
| NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY -- June 26 |
| The Lions' team for the first test will be named the day after this match so this will be the last chance for the midweek team to persuade the selectors to pick them. The result of this match is a foregone conclusion with the Lions certain to win although they should not underestimate their opposition. The Cockatoos are drawn from amateur players from rural New South Wales. They come together only a few days before the match and will play a Barbarians-style running game which will provide plenty of entertainment. The match will be played at Coffs Harbour, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane and near the Wallabies' training camp. |
| AUSTRALIA -- June 30 |
| The first of the three tests will be played under lights at the Gabba in Brisbane, which is used for cricket matches in summer and Australian Rules in winter. It will mark the first time international rugby has been played at the Gabba since the 1950s. |
| ACT BRUMBIES -- July 3 |
| The ACT Brumbies can claim to be the world's best regional team after winning this season's Super 12 at Canberra's Bruce Stadium inside the Australian Institute of Sport. They would beat most international teams with their full-strength team but will be severely weakened for the Lions match with their test stars such as George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Joe Roff all unavailable. Even so, the remaining Brumbies are so determined to beat the Lions they are going on a two-game tour of New Zealand to prepare for the match. |
| AUSTRALIA -- July 7 |
| The second test will be played at Melbourne's Colonial Stadium. It will be the first time the Lions have played a test in the heartland of Australian Rules but the bigger issue is whether the teams will agree to close the retractable roof. |
| AUSTRALIA -- July 14 |
| The final test and the last game of the tour will be held at Sydney's giant Olympic stadium. Tickets for the match will be the hottest item in town come July with capacity for the ground slashed from 110,000 to 69,000 while the stadium is being remodelled. |
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