Lions squad breakdown by country
Wales (15) - Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Ian Evans, Alun-Wyn Jones, Toby Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton
England (10) - Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole, Matt Stevens, Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley, Tom Youngs, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft.
Ireland (9) - Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll, Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray, Cian Healy, Paul O'Connell, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien
Scotland (3) - Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Richie Gray
The British and Irish Lions (formerly known as the British Isles and the British Lions) is a rugby union team chosen from players from the national sides of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The "Lions" (as they are colloquially known) generally select international players but they can pick uncapped players available to any one of the four unions - although in recent years this has rarely occurred.
Combined rugby union sides from the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland toured in the Southern Hemisphere from 1888 onwards. The first tour took place as a commercial venture, made without official backing, but the six subsequent visits that took place before the 1910 South Africa tour, the first representative of the four Home Unions, enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities.
Great Britain also entered a team at the Olympics Games in 1900 and in 1908, but they were organised separately from the Lions.
In 1949 the Four Home Unions combined formally to create a Tours Committee and for the first time, every player of the 1950 Lions squad was an international before the New Zealand series.[4] The 1950s proved a golden age for Lions rugby, although only in the 1970s did style begin to match the substance of victory in New Zealand and South Africa. Originally, poorly organised Lions teams regularly suffered defeat at the hands of their hosts, but by 1955 the tourists took the matches seriously enough to obtain a 2–2 draw in South Africa. The 1970s saw a renaissance for the side. The last tour of the amateur age took place in 1993.
Guess who's got best seats in the house?2013 British & Irish Lions Tour
In 2001 the British & Irish Lions faced the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium and scrapped home with a narrow 30-28 victory. It was the closest any of the Australian Franchises came to beating the Lions on their 2001 Tour; a feat the Brumbies will be hoping to better in 2013.
On Tuesday 18 June the University of Canberra Brumbies will be out to dent the confidence of the Lions four days before their opening Test against the Qantas Wallabies. The mid-week match will be the only chance Canberrans will have to see the Lions in action in the Nation’s capital and fans are encouraged to secure their tickets now!
In what will be a momentous occasion, the University of Canberra Brumbies will hope all of their fans are behind them to help secure their first win against the best from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
