Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

First British rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand

When
1888
Where
Gravesend; Australia and New Zealand; Melbourne; New Zealand and Australian states
Episodes
4

The 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the first major Southern Hemisphere tour by a European rugby team. Organized as a private venture by three professional cricketers, the side was known as the 'English Footballers' and played state, provincial, and invitation sides without facing international teams. The tour paved the way for future British and Irish Lions tours, though the 1888 squad was not officially a Lions team.

Episodes

  1. 1888 · Australia and New ZealandAmateurism Affidavit

    Players signed affidavits confirming they would not be paid for playing rugby in Australia and New Zealand.

  2. 1888 · MelbourneMelbourne Rugby Game

    Prior to returning to Sydney, the tourists played a game under Rugby rules in Melbourne.

  3. 1888 · New Zealand and Australian statesScoring Rules

    For games in New Zealand and certain Australian states, a try was worth one point, a conversion two, and a drop goal three.

  4. 9 March 1888 to 11 November 1888 · GravesendDeparture and Return

    The team departed from Gravesend on 9 March 1888 and returned to England on 11 November, traveling on the SS Kaikoura.

Background and detail

Background. The tour was a private venture not organized by any official body, marking the first major Southern Hemisphere tour by a European rugby team. It was organized by three professional English cricketers, James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw, and Arthur Shrewsbury. The Rugby Football Union refused to patronize the tour but allowed it to proceed provided there was no infringement of amateurism rules.

Organization. The managers were familiar with touring sides, having organized cricket teams to Australia. The rugby tour followed the financially disastrous England Cricket tour of 1887. The team boarded the SS Kaikoura at Gravesend on 9 March 1888, returning to England on the same ship on 11 November.

Amateurism. Clowes, a member of the tour, was designated a 'professional' sportsman after accepting £15 to buy equipment shortly before leaving for Australia. Consequently, the other players on the tour were required to sign an affidavit stating they were not to be paid for playing rugby in Australia and New Zealand.

Legacy. The tour paved the way for future tours by teams now known as British and Irish Lions. The Shaw and Shrewsbury team is considered the precursor of the British & Irish Lions. The side was known at the time as the 'English Footballers' and did not play any international teams.

People involved

Sources

  1. 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-11
  2. British & Irish Lions Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-17

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.