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2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia

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2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
2001 tour badge
Date8 June  – 14 July
Coach(es)New Zealand Graham Henry
Tour captain(s)England Martin Johnson
Test series winners Australia (2–1)
Top test point scorer(s)England Jonny Wilkinson (36)
2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
Summary
P W D L
Total
10 07 00 03
Test match
03 01 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 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.

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

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

Results

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Date Home team Score Ground Result
8 June Western Australia 10–116 WACA, Perth Win
12 June Queensland Presidents XV 6–83 Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Win
16 June Queensland Reds 8–42 Ballymore, Brisbane Win
19 June Australia A 28–25 North Power Stadium, Gosford Loss
23 June NSW Waratahs 24–41 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Win
26 June NSW Country 3–46 International Stadium, Coffs Harbour Win
30 June Australia 13–29 The Gabba, Brisbane Win
3 July ACT Brumbies 28–30 Bruce Stadium, Canberra Win
7 July Australia 35–14 Colonial Stadium Loss
14 July Australia 29–23 Stadium Australia Loss

Test series

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First test

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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. Walker then scored a try for Australia.

30 June 2001
19:00
Australia 13–29British & Irish Lions
Try: Grey 66' m
Walker 68' m
Pen: Walker 18'
ReportTry: 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)
FB 15 Chris Latham downward-facing red arrow 41'
RW 14 Andrew Walker
OC 13 Daniel Herbert
IC 12 Nathan Grey
LW 11 Joe Roff
FH 10 Stephen Larkham downward-facing red arrow 52'
SH 9 George Gregan
N8 8 Toutai Kefu
OF 7 George Smith
BF 6 Owen Finegan downward-facing red arrow 72'
RL 5 John Eales (c) downward-facing red arrow 61'
LL 4 David Giffin
TP 3 Glen Panoho downward-facing red arrow 61'
HK 2 Jeremy Paul downward-facing red arrow 52'
LP 1 Nick Stiles
Replacements:
HK 16 Michael Foley upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 17 Ben Darwin upward-facing green arrow 61'
LK 18 Matt Cockbain upward-facing green arrow 61'
FL 19 David Lyons upward-facing green arrow 72'
SH 20 Chris Whitaker
FH 21 Elton Flatley upward-facing green arrow 52'
FB 22 Matt Burke upward-facing green arrow 41'
Coach:
Rod Macqueen
FB 15 England Matt Perry downward-facing red arrow 41'
RW 14 Wales Dafydd James
OC 13 Ireland Brian O'Driscoll
IC 12 Ireland Rob Henderson
LW 11 England Jason Robinson
FH 10 England Jonny Wilkinson
SH 9 Wales Rob Howley
N8 8 Wales Scott Quinnell downward-facing red arrow 61'
OF 7 England Richard Hill
BF 6 England Martin Corry Yellow card 61'
RL 5 England Danny Grewcock
LL 4 England Martin Johnson (c)
TP 3 England Phil Vickery Yellow card 74'
HK 2 Ireland Keith Wood
LP 1 Scotland Tom Smith downward-facing red arrow 74'
Replacements:
HK 16 Scotland Gordon Bulloch
PR 17 England Jason Leonard upward-facing green arrow 74'
FL 18 Wales Colin Charvis upward-facing green arrow 61'
FL 19 Wales Martyn Williams
SH 20 England Matt Dawson
SH 21 England Austin Healey
FB 22 England Iain Balshaw upward-facing green arrow 41'
Coach:
Graham Henry

Second test

[edit]

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.

7 July 2001
19:00
Australia 35–14British & Irish Lions
Try: Roff (2)
Burke
Con: Burke
Pen: Burke (6)
ReportTry: Back
Pen: Wilkinson (3)
Colonial Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 56,605
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
FB 15 Matt Burke
RW 14 Andrew Walker
OC 13 Daniel Herbert
IC 12 Nathan Grey
LW 11 Joe Roff
FH 10 Stephen Larkham
SH 9 George Gregan
N8 8 Toutai Kefu
OF 7 George Smith
BF 6 Owen Finegan
RL 5 John Eales (c)
LL 4 David Giffin
TP 3 Rod Moore
HK 2 Michael Foley
LP 1 Nick Stiles
Replacements:
HK 16 Brendan Cannon
PR 17 Ben Darwin
LK 18 Matt Cockbain
FL 19 David Lyons
SH 20 Chris Whitaker
FH 21 Elton Flatley
FB 22 Chris Latham
Coach:
Rod Macqueen
FB 15 England Matt Perry
RW 14 Wales Dafydd James
OC 13 Ireland Brian O'Driscoll
IC 12 Ireland Rob Henderson
LW 11 England Jason Robinson
FH 10 England Jonny Wilkinson
SH 9 Wales Rob Howley
N8 8 Wales Scott Quinnell
OF 7 England Neil Back
BF 6 England Richard Hill
RL 5 England Danny Grewcock
LL 4 England Martin Johnson (c)
TP 3 England Phil Vickery
HK 2 Ireland Keith Wood
LP 1 Scotland Tom Smith
Replacements:
PR 16 England Jason Leonard
HK 17 England Dorian West
FL 18 England Martin Corry
FL 19 Wales Martyn Williams
SH 20 England Matt Dawson
FH 21 Wales Neil Jenkins
FB 22 England Iain Balshaw
Coach:
Graham Henry

Third test

[edit]

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.

14 July 2001
19:00
Australia 29–23British & Irish Lions
Try: Herbert (2)
Con: Burke (2)
Pen: Burke (5)
ReportTry: Robinson
Wilkinson
Con: Wilkinson (2)
Pen: Wilkinson (3)
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 84,188
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)
FB 15 Matt Burke
RW 14 Andrew Walker
OC 13 Daniel Herbert
IC 12 Nathan Grey
LW 11 Joe Roff
FH 10 Elton Flatley
SH 9 George Gregan
N8 8 Toutai Kefu
OF 7 George Smith
BF 6 Owen Finegan
RL 5 John Eales (c)
LL 4 Justin Harrison
TP 3 Rod Moore
HK 2 Michael Foley
LP 1 Nick Stiles
Replacements:
HK 16 Brendan Cannon
PR 17 Ben Darwin
LK 18 Matt Cockbain
FL 19 David Lyons
SH 20 Chris Whitaker
FH 21 James Holbeck
FB 22 Chris Latham
Coach:
Rod Macqueen
FB 15 England Matt Perry
RW 14 Wales Dafydd James
OC 13 Ireland Brian O'Driscoll
IC 12 Ireland Rob Henderson
LW 11 England Jason Robinson
FH 10 England Jonny Wilkinson
SH 9 England Matt Dawson
N8 8 Wales Scott Quinnell
OF 7 England Neil Back
BF 6 England Martin Corry
RL 5 England Danny Grewcock
LL 4 England Martin Johnson (c)
TP 3 England Phil Vickery
HK 2 Ireland Keith Wood
LP 1 Scotland Tom Smith
Replacements:
PR 16 Wales Darren Morris
HK 17 England Dorian West
FL 18 England Colin Charvis
FL 19 Wales Martyn Williams
FH 20 Ireland Ronan O'Gara
SH 21 Scotland Andy Nicol
FB 22 England Iain Balshaw
Coach:
Graham Henry

Television coverage

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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.

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