British Isles Rugby T-Shirt 1891 Red

Description

An Introduction to British Isles Rugby T-Shirt 1891 Red

The British Isles Rugby T-Shirt 1891 Red is inspired by the history of the British Isles Rugby Lions tours.

In 1896, the first squad British Isles rugby squad included Irish players who had won the five nations championship. The tourists were captain by the English forward Johnny Hammond. He got a nomination for the first official British Isles tour to South Africa in 1891

Hammond played in all three winning tests. And it was felt his experience from the successful 1891 tour would benefit the tourists of 1896. Born in Skipton, Yorkshire in 1860, he was recognised as a rugby talent while at Cambridge where he played for Cambridge University. And in 1881, he won a Cambridge Blue in a Varsity match. He later played his club rugby at Blackheath. Despite playing on two tours and captaining the Lions, strangely his country England never capped him.

Hammond along with Somerset born Froude Hancock were the only two players to have toured South Africa before. Hancock was a founder member of the Barbarians RFC and played in all three test matches again the South Africa Springboks. He scored a try in the Second Test at Johannesburg. Hammond led the team out for the second test, in Johannesburg, and the final test played in Cape Town. Thomas Crean captained the British Isles tourists in the other two Test matches.

South Africa First Test Match Victory

The fourth Test was memorable for the South Africa Rugby team as they defeated the tourists 5–0 at Newlands in Cape Town. It was a converted try by Hull-born half-back Alf Larard that gave the Springbok their first ever Test victory. Despite the last Test defeat, the British Isles rugby team won the series 3-1, the last victory by the Lions in South Africa until 1974.

Johnny Hammond’s association with the British team continued and in 1903, he toured South Africa as Team Manager. The 1903 squad was led by Scotland’s Mark Morrison.

Manufactured from 100% cotton, the Ellis Rugby British Isles Rugby T-Shirt 1891 in Red features a classic print celebrating the history of the Lions tours to South Africa. Also, this garment includes a decorative woven label.

This T-Shirt is available in sizes S – 5XL.

As well as the British Isles Rugby T-Shirt 1891 Red, we also offer this style in Vintage Green and our 1930 British Isles Rugby T-Shirt in Red.