Lions Tour

The tour to Australia in 2001 was coached for the first time by someone outside of the British Isles with Kiwi Graham Henry being appointed to lead the team down under.

Martin Johnson was back for his second stint as captain and became the first person to captain the Lions twice.

With the fabled “Sea of Red” behind the team, the Lions roared to an against the odds victory against the Wallabies in the first test, running in four tries in a 29-13 win.

Things were going pretty well for the Lions until half time at the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne having staked an 11-6 lead, but the series took a massive turn after the break with the Wallabies running home a 35-14 victory in front of their relieved fans, setting up a tense decider.

The final test was an extremely close run affair with the sides battling it out for glory in a tense encounter. With the scores locked at 23-23 Matt Burke fired over two penalties to give the hosts a late advantage, but the Lions fought back to set up a potential match winning lineout on the Wallaby five metre line.

Talismanic Hooker Keith Wood aimed for captain Johnson but Australian rookie lock Justin Harrison made the steal of the series to deny the Lions the scoring opportunity and effectively ended the game and series.

The Wallabies captured the series and Tom Richards trophy winning by 29 points to 23 at Stadium Australia and ensuring their first series win over the Lions in history.