1927 British Lions tour to Argentina

During its second tour to Argentina, the British Isles team, formed by English and Scottish players,[1] played 9 matches in the country, winning all of them with more than 295 points scored and only 9 conceded.[2]

1927 British Lions tour to Argentina
Date24 July – 21 August
Coach(es)James Baxter
Tour captain(s) David MacMyn
Test series winnersBritish Isles (4–0)
Top test point scorer(s) Ernest Hammett (40)
1927 British Lions tour to Argentina
Summary
P W D L
Total
09 09 00 00
Test match
04 04 00 00
Opponent
P W D L
 Argentina
4 4 0 0

Background
C D Aarvold, E. Hammett and EG Taylor, covered on Argentine magazine El Gráfico

The River Plate Rugby Union (RPRU, current "Argentine Rugby Union") had formed a commission to study how to bring a British team into the country. To do so they had to have the sum of m$n 25,000 (about £ 3,000 at that time) to pay the travel and subsistence costs of a staff of twenty-five people.[3] With contributions from clubs, newspaper companies, stores such as Gath and Chaves, British railroads and refrigerators and personal contributions, 30,000 pesos were collected. In mid-1926 the RFU received an invitation from the RPRU, requesting for a team of "first class players" to visit Argentina for three or four weeks. The delegation should be of 25 people including a manager and a referee. The RFU responded affirmatively after consulting the International Board.

On July 19, 1927, a team composed of twenty-three players from England, Scotland and Ireland under the direction of James Baxter, none other than the president of the RFU, and a first-class referee, arrived in Buenos Aires and settled in the headquarters of Hurlingham Club for a fixture of nine games.

Fulfilling the request of the RPRU, this British combined was considerably stronger than the one that had been assembled in 1910. No less than fifteen of the twenty-three players were-or were ahead-international. His captain, David MacMyn, was a leading Scottish forward who had been part of the team that won its first Grand Slam in 1925 and shared the title of the Five Nations with Ireland in 1926. During the long sea voyage to Argentina, MacMyn made good use of onboard time for his men to train and make a tactical plan for the tour.

We were all imbued with the desire to play as it should be played, and there was no laziness in our preparation on board the ship. We train hard. Every morning we had practice of scrum, backs, physical training of all kinds and swimming before lunch. At night we had many conversations in front of the blackboard and we made all kinds of plans. And so, the hard training and the free exchange of ideas stimulated us for the exhausting days that we had ahead.

— David MacMyn in his travel diary[4]
The Lions playing a Universitario–Gimnasia y Esgrima combined in Plaza Jewell, Rosario, on 3 August

In their first games, the Lions played an Anglo-Argentine combined and the Argentine champion San Isidro, which had won eight consecutive domestic championships to date. The Lions won those games with no goals conceded.

The Lions before playing the last test v. Argentina on 21 August

The following game was the first test v. Argentina, played on 31 July at Gimnasia y Esgrima stadium. It was the first time Argentina wore the horizontal light blue and white jersey (after wearing blue and white jerseys alternatively since its first match in 1910) after a proposal by Gimnasia y Esgrima executive Abelardo Gutiérrez.[5] The match was attended by a record 12,000 spectators. After the match, MacMyn wrote: "The crowd was delighted. They were impressed by the fact that we played in silence, listening only to the captain's voice. Argentines have all the physical qualities required for rugby. They are big, strong and fast. They are tremendously enthusiastic –sometimes, excessively".[4]

After playing Argentina, the Lions moved to the city Rosario in Santa Fe Province to play a combined team composed by players of porteños clubs Universitario and Gimnasia y Esgrima due to the impossibility of joining a competitive team with the small number of players in Rosario. Players of both teams arrived in Rosario after a long journey by train from Retiro to Rosario Norte station, the same day of the match. Held in Plaza Jewell, home venue of Club Atlético del Rosario, the Lions defeated the combined team by 24–0 in a rainy day.

The Lions returned to Buenos Aires to play the second test v. Argentina, winning 46–0 at GEBA, then playing another combined team (composed by players of Belgrano A.C. and Buenos Aires F.C.). The team would play two games more against the national team, the last of them on 21 August.[4]

Touring team
Team kit
Player Position Club Born / National team 1st
test		 2nd
test		 3rd
test		 4th
test
Roger Wakefield Forward Cambridge Univ. (uncapped)
JNS Wallens Fullback  England Y Y Y
AF Hamilton Smythe Three-Quarter (uncapped) Y
RF Kelly Three-Quarter  Scotland Y Y Y
EG Taylor Wing Oxford Univ.  Scotland Y Y Y
C D Aarvold Wing Cambridge Univ.  England [note 1] Y Y Y Y
Peter Douty Scrum-half  Scotland Y Y
George McIlwaine Flanker Cambridge Univ. South Africa [note 2] Y Y Y Y
AD Allen F. Prop Cambridge Univ. (uncapped) Y Y Y Y
Granville Coghlan Lock Cambridge Univ. England [note 2] Y Y
TW Gubb Lock Oxford Univ. South Africa [note 2] Y
DS Troup Lock/Flanker Oxford Univ. (uncapped) Y Y
E Coley Flanker  England [note 3] Y Y
Theodore Pike Flanker Lansdowne  Ireland Y
DE Law Hooker  England Y Y Y Y
CT Payne Prop  Ireland Y Y Y Y
DJ MacMyn (C) Number 8 London Scottish  Scotland Y Y Y Y
EDG Hammett Three-Quarter  England Y Y Y
JL Farrell Lock  Ireland Y Y Y Y
WH Sobey Scrum-half Old Millhillians  England [note 4] Y Y Y
JOJ Malfroy Scrum-half Cambridge Univ. New Zealand [note 2]
RS Spong Fly-half Old Millhillians  England [note 3] Y Y Y Y
GS Wilson Wing  England [note 3] Y Y
Notes
  1. Capped in 1928.
  2. Uncapped
  3. Capped in 1929.
  4. Capped in 1920.

Matches

Match summary

The full list of matches[6] played by the British Lions in Argentina:[7]

  Test matches

The Lions in action during the third test v. Argentina at Gimnasia y Esgrima
# Date Rival City Venue Score
124 JulAnglo–Argentinos [note 1]HurlinghamHurlingham Club27–0
227 JulSan IsidroBuenos AiresBelgrano A.C.14–0
331 Jul ArgentinaBuenos AiresGimnasia y Esgrima37–0
43 AugGEBA / CUBA CombinedRosarioPlaza Jewell24–0
57 Aug ArgentinaBuenos AiresGimnasia y Esgrima46–0
610 AugBAC / BAFC CombinedBuenos AiresBelgrano A.C.44–3
714 Aug Argentina? [note 2]? [note 2]34–3
815 AugCombinado de Clubes [note 3]Buenos AiresGimnasia y Esgrima29–3
921 Aug ArgentinaBuenos AiresGimnasia y Esgrima43–0
Notes
  1. Selection of Argentine players with English bornplace or origin. At those times, it was usual to play an end of season match of that nature.
  2. The match was played at "Gimnasia y Esgrima" venue, but some sources state it refers to Estadio GEBA in Buenos Aires while other say it was played in Juan C. Zerillo Stadium, home venue of Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
  3. Combined team of unknown local clubs.
Balance
Pl W D L PS PC
66002989

First test
31 July 1927
Argentina  0–37 British Isles
Report Try: Aarvold, Hammett,
Kelly, MacMyn,
Payne, Spong,
Wilson (2)
Con: Hammett (3)
Pen: Hammett
Drop: Spong
Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Thomas Vile (Wales)
Argentina
British Isles
ArgentinaBritish Isles
César PollanoFB15FBJack Wallens
César VázquezW14WGuy Wilson
Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)C13CErnest Hammett
Fabio LucioniC12CRobert Kelly
W. BraddonW11WCarl Aarvold
Alberto ZappaFH10FHRoger Spong
Reginald CooperSH9SHWilf Sobey
Antonio PasalaguaN88N8David MacMyn (c)
Antonio HobsonF7FTheodore Pike
Miguel McCormickF6FGeorge McIlwaine
Rodolfo SerraL5LDonald Troup
Josée Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell
Ray CameronP3PArthur Allen
Jorge ConrardH2HDouglas Law
Enrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne

Second test
7 August 1927
Argentina  0–46 British Isles
Try: Aarvold (4), Kelly (2),
McIlwaine, MacMyn,
Payne, Spong
Con: Hammett (6)
Drop: Hammett
Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires
Referee: Thomas Vile (Wales)
ArgentinaBritish Isles
A. JacobsFB15FBPeter Douty
Martín AyerraW14WCarl Aarvold
Carlos ReyesC13CErnest Hammett
Céesar VázquezC12CRobert Kelly
G.E.F. CookeW11WEdward Taylor
Marco HernáandezFH10FHRoger Spong
Reginald CooperSH9SHWilf Sobey
Julián SommerN88N8David MacMyn (c)
Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7FEric Coley
Roberto BottingF6FGeorge McIlwaine
Ray CameronL5LGranville Coghlan
José Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell
Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur Allen
Jorge ConrardH2HDouglas Law
Enrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne

Third test
14 August 1927
Argentina  3–34 British Isles
Goal from mark: Torino Try: Douty, Hamilton-Smythe (2),
McIlwaine, Taylor (3)
Con: Hammett (5)
Pen: Hammett
Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires
Referee: Thomas Vile (Wales)
ArgentinaBritish Isles
C. DerkheimFB15FBJack Wallens
Norberto EscaryW14WCarl Aarvold
Carlos ReyesC13CErnest Hammett
Marco HernándezC12CArthur Hamilton-Smythe
Llewellyn MakinW11WEdward Taylor
Francisco TorinoFH10FHRoger Spong
Reginald CooperSH9SHPeter Douty
Roberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)
Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F7FDonald Troup
Antonio PasalaguaF6FGeorge McIlwaine
Rodolfo SerraL5LTom Gubb
José Cuesta SilvaL4LJimmy Farrell
Alfredo RigantiP3PCharles Payne
Vicente GrimoldiH2HDouglas Law
Enrique BustamanteP1PArthur Allen

Fourth test
21 August 1927
Argentina  0–43 British Isles
Try: Aarvold (3), Coghlan,
Kelly (2), McIlwaine,
MacMyn, Sobey,
Spong, Wilson
Con: Wilson (5)
Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires
Referee: Thomas Vile (Wales)
ArgentinaBritish Isles
A. JacobsFB15FBJack Wallens
César VázquezW14WCarl Aarvold
Carlos ReyesC13CRobert Kelly
Marco HernándezC12CGuy Wilson
Norberto EscaryW11WEdward Taylor
Francisco TorinoFH10FHRoger Spong
Reginald CooperSH9SHWilf Sobey
Roberto BottingN88N8David MacMyn (c)
Salvador MullerF7FEric Coley
Arturo Rodríguez Jurado (c)F6FGeorge McIlwaine
José Cuesta SilvaL5LGranville Coghlan
Rodolfo SerraL4LJimmy Farrell
Alfredo RigantiP3PArthur Allen
Vicente GrimoldiH2HDouglas Law
Enrique BustamanteP1PCharles Payne
Notes

    Aftermath

    The British Lions tour on Argentina was a huge success, with a great number of people attending the games in spite of the large defeats to the national team. The RPRU obtained a profit of almost m$n 65,000,[8] which would be invested in mortgage titles to cost future tours with no help from the National State or other government subsidies.

    In sporting terms, the tour of the British team of 1927 was of great importance for Argentine rugby, which gave a powerful boost to the expansion of the game in the country. 33 teams were registered to the Union to play at the 1927 domestic championships (four teams more than the previous edition). The boost given by the British team tour also encouraged the creation of new rugby clubs, such as Olivos in 1927 and Los Matreros one year later.[4]

    Bibliography
    • Mackern, Hugo, Historia del rugby argentino 1917-1930, Buenos Aires, 1986
    • Búsico, Jorge, y Cloppet, Alejandro, Ser Puma, 2° edition, Buenos Aires: Zona de Tackle, 2012
    • Jones, Stephen, Behind the Lions, Edimburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 2013
    • Thomas, Clem & Thomas, Greg, The British & Irish Lions Official History, Edimburgh: Mainstream, 1966, 2013

    References
    1. El Gráfico No. 424, 20 August 1927
    2. 1927 Argentina on British Lions website (Archive, 21 Jan 2012)
    3. 1927: Argentina by David Walmsley - Genesis Publications on Lions website, May 15, 2013
    4. "Lions (segundo viaje olvidado)" by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby, 24 May 2017
    5. "La pasión cumple 100 años", La Nación, 10 April 1999
    6. B & I Lions - Tour of Argentina 1927 - Full listing
    7. Los Lions en Argentina by Frankie Deges on Mundial XV website, 21 Jan 2013
    8. THE RIVER PLATE RUGBY UNION – INFORME SOBRE LA TEMPORADA 1927 on UAR website (Archive, 4 Mar 2016)
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