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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}}
{{Lionstour
|tour= 1924 British Isles tour <br> to South Africa
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =
|date = 12 July – 25 September
|coach = [[Harry Packer]]
|captain = {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Ronald Cove-Smith]]
|test series winners = {{ru|RSA|1912}}
|result = 3–0
|top test point scorer = {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Tom Voyce (rugby union, born 1897)|Tom Voyce]] (6)
|top point scorer =
|top test try scorer =
|top try scorer =
|preceded by= [[1910 British Lions tour to South Africa|South Africa 1910]]
|succeeded by= [[1927 British Lions tour to Argentina|Argentina 1927]]
}}

The '''1924 British Isles tour to South Africa''' was the tenth tour by a [[British and Irish Lions|British Isles]] team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.

As well as South Africa, the tour included a game in Salisbury in [[Rhodesia]], in what would become present day [[Harare]] in Zimbabwe.

==Tour history==
{{Infobox Tour Rugby
|team=British Isles
|name= 1924 British Lions tour<br> to South Africa
|yearstart=1924
|yearfinish = 1924
|destination = South Africa
|manager= [[Harry Packer]]
|captain= [[Ronald Cove-Smith|R. Cove-Smith]]
|matchplayed=21
|matchwon=9
|matchdraw=3
|matchlost=9
|testplayed=3
|testwon=0
|testdraw=0
|testlost=3
|opponent1= {{ru|RSA|1912}}
|icon1=
|played1=4
|won1 =0
|draw1 = 1
|lost1 = 3
}}

Led by {{nrut|England}}'s [[Ronald Cove-Smith]] and managed by former {{nrut|Wales}} international [[Harry Packer]], the tour took in 21 matches. Of the 21 games, 17 were against club or invitational teams and four were Test matches against the [[South Africa national rugby team|South African]] national team. The British Isles lost three and drew one of the Test matches making it one of the least successful Lions tours to South Africa – the [[1962 British Lions tour to South Africa|1962]] and [[1968 British Lions tour to South Africa|1968]] tourists also lost their Test series three matches to nil with one draw. The tourist also suffered badly in the non-Test games losing six and drawing one, including a run where they failed to win over an eight-match period.

{{Football kit box|align=left|pattern_la=|pattern_b=_collarwhite|pattern_ra=|pattern_so=_whitetop|leftarm=000099|body=000099|rightarm=000099|shorts=ffffff|socks=ff0000|title=Team kit}}
Several reasons have been put forward regarding the poor performance of the British Isles. The team itself was fairly unrepresentative of the best the home nations could have supplied, during a period where British rugby wasn't in its finest phase. The team also suffered from a heavy attrition rate to injury attributed to the very dry South African playing pitches; conditions that once suited British back play, and were so short of players during some periods the team was forced to use players in foreign positions.

On their return at least two of the players on the tour, [[Roy Kinnear (rugby)|Roy Kinnear]] and [[Tom Holliday (rugby)|Thomas Holliday]] went on to become [[List of dual-code rugby internationals|dual code rugby internationals]] after they switched to [[rugby league]].

The match against Orange Free State Country was a peculiar match with the home team being much weaker. Fortune shone upon the home team though, when they won the toss and decided to play with a howling wind on their backs. Half time, the wind died down and proceeded to blow with the same vengeance in the opposite direction. This advantage was enough to ensure a 6–0 win for the home side.

==Touring party==
* Manager: [[Harry Packer]]
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Full Backs===
*[[Dan Drysdale|D Drysdale]] ([[Heriot's Rugby Club|Heriots FP]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*W.F. Gaisford ([[Barts and the London RFC|St. Bart's Hospital]])
*[[Tom Holliday (rugby)|T.E. Holliday]] ([[Aspatria RUFC|Aspatria]])

===Three-Quarters===
*[[Rowe Harding]] ([[Swansea RFC|Swansea]])
*[[Ian Smith (rugby union, born 1903)|Ian Smith]] ([[Oxford University RFC|Oxford University]] and {{nrut|Scotland}}){{ref label|uncapped|1|1}}
*[[Stan Harris|Stanley "Stan" Wakefield Harris]] ([[Blackheath R.C.|Blackheath]])
*[[Bill Wallace (rugby union)|William "Bill" Wallace]] ([[Percy Park RFC|Percy Park]])
*[[Roy Kinnear (rugby)|Roy Kinnear]] ([[Heriot's Rugby Club|Heriots FP]] and {{nrut|Scotland}}){{ref label|uncapped|1|1}}
*[[James Bordass]] ([[Cambridge University R.U.F.C.|Cambridge University]])
*[[Reg Maxwell|Reginald "Reg" Bellamy Maxwell]] ([[Birkenhead Park FC|Birkenhead Park]])

===Half backs===
*[[Harold Davies (rugby union)|Harold Davies]] ([[Newport RFC|Newport]])
*[[Vince Griffiths]] ([[Newport RFC|Newport]])
*[[Herbert Waddell]] ([[Glasgow Academicals RFC|Glasgow Academicals]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[Bill Cunningham (rugby union, born 1900)|Bill Cunningham]] ([[Lansdowne Football Club|Lansdowne]])
*[[Arthur Young (rugby union, born 1901)|Arthur Young]] ([[Blackheath R.C.|Blackheath]])
*[[Herbert Whitley (rugby union)|Herbert Whitley]] ([[Northern Football Club|Northern]])
{{col-2}}

===Forwards===
*[[Ronald Cove-Smith|R. Cove-Smith]] ([[Old Merchant Taylors' FC|Old Merchant Taylors]]) '''''(captain)'''''
*[[Sir Arthur Blakiston, 7th Baronet|Arthur Frederick "Freddie" Blakiston]] ([[Blackheath R.C.|Blackheath]])
*[[Tom Voyce (rugby union, born 1897)|A. Thomas "Tom" Voyce]] ([[Gloucester Rugby|Gloucester]])
*[[Neil McPherson (rugby union)|Neil McPherson]] ([[Newport RFC|Newport]])
*[[Robert Henderson (rugby union, born 1900)|R.G. Henderson]] ([[Northern Football Club|Northern]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[Kelvin Hendrie|K.G.P. Hendrie]] ([[Heriot's Rugby Club|Heriots FP]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[D.S. Davies]] ([[Hawick RFC|Hawick]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[Bob Howie|R.A. Howie]] ([[Kirkcaldy RFC]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[Douglas Marsden-Jones]] ([[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]] and [[London Welsh RFC|London Welsh]])
*[[Andrew Ross (rugby union, born 1904)|Andrew Ross]] ([[Kilmarnock RFC|Kilmarnock]] and {{nrut|Scotland}})
*[[Jammie Clinch]] ([[Dublin University Football Club|Dublin University]])
*[[William Roche (rugby union)|William Roche]] ([[University College Cork RFC|UCC]] and [[Newport RFC|Newport]])
*[[Jim McVicker]] ([[Collegians (Belfast)|Collegians]])
*[[Michael Bradley (rugby union, born 1897)|Michael Bradley]] ([[Dolphin RFC|Dolphin]])
*[[Norman Brand]] ([[North of Ireland FC]])
{{col-end}}

<span style="font-size:85%">{{note label|uncapped|1|1}} Ian Smith and Roy Muir Kinnear had not been capped by Scotland at the time of the 1924 tour.</span>

==Results==
Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in South Africa:<ref>[http://www.stgeorgespark.nmmu.ac.za/content/rugby/displayarticle.asp?artid=rug_011 1924 BRITISH RUGBY TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA - THIRD TEST]</ref>

{{color box|#ffff99|border=silver}} Test matches

[[File:Springboks1924.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The South Africa team that played the third test v the British Isles on 13 September]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!#
! Date !! Opponent !! Location !! Result !! Score
|-
| 1 || 12 July || Western Province (Town & Country) || [[Cape Town]] || Lost || 6–7
|-
| 2 || 15 July || Western Province (Universities) || [[Cape Town]] || Won || 9–8
|-
| 3 || 19 July || Griqualand West || [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] || Won || 26–0
|-
| 4 || 24 July || [[Zimbabwe national rugby union team|Southern Rhodesia]] || Salisbury || Won || 16–3
|-
| 5 || 30 July || Western Transvaal || [[Potchefstroom]] || Won || 8–7
|-
| 6 || 2 August || [[Golden Lions|Transvaal]] || [[Johannesburg]] || Drawn || 12–12
|-
| 7 || 6 August || Orange Free State (Country) || [[Kroonstad]] || Lost || 0–6
|-
| 8 || 9 August || [[Free State Cheetahs|Orange Free State]] || [[Bloemfontein]] || Lost || 3–6
|-
| 9 || 13 August || {{Rut|Natal}} || [[Pietermaritzburg]] || Drawn || 3–3
|- bgcolor=#ffff99
| 10 || 16 August || {{ru|RSA|1912}} || [[Durban]] || Lost || 3–7
|-
| 11 || 20 August || Witwatersrand || [[Johannesburg]] || Lost || 6–10
|- bgcolor=#ffff99
| 12 || 23 August || {{ru|RSA|1912}} || [[Johannesburg]] || Lost || 0–17
|-
| 13 || 27 August || Pretoria || [[Pretoria]] || Lost || 0–6
|-
| 14 || 30 August || Cape Colony || [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] | Won || 13–3
|-
| 15 || 3 September || North Eastern Districts || [[Aliwal North]] || Won || 20–12
|-
| 16 || 6 September || Border || [[East London, Eastern Cape|East London]] || Won || 12–3
|-
| 17 || 10 September || [[Eastern Province Elephants|Eastern Province]] || [[Port Elizabeth]] || Lost || 6–14
|- bgcolor=#ffff99
| 18 || 13 September || {{ru|RSA|1912}} || [[Port Elizabeth]] || Drawn || 3–3
|-
| 19 || 16 September || South Western Districts || [[Oudtshoorn]] || Won || 12–6
|- bgcolor=#ffff99
| 20 || 20 September || {{ru|RSA|1912}} || [[Cape Town]] || Lost || 9–16
|-
| 21 || 25 September || [[Western Province (rugby team)|Western Province]] || [[Cape Town]] || Won || 8–6
|}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Thomas|first=Clem |author2=updated by Thomas, Greg |title=The History of The British and Irish Lions|year=2005 |publisher=Mainstream Books |isbn=1-84596-030-0 |pages=66–72}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{British and Irish Lions tours|state=expanded}}
{{Rugby Tours in South Africa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1924 British Lions Tour To South Africa}}
[[Category:1924 rugby union tours|British Lions tour]]
[[Category:1924 in Irish sport|tour]]
[[Category:1923–24 in English rugby union|tour]]
[[Category:1923–24 in Welsh rugby union|tour]]
[[Category:1923–24 in Scottish rugby union|tour]]
[[Category:British & Irish Lions tours of South Africa]]
[[Category:Rugby union tours of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:1924 in South African rugby union]]

1924 British Lions tour to South Africa - Revision history

imported>PeeJay: fixed links