1910 British Combined tour to Argentina
The 1910 British Isles team
Date	26 May – 17 June
Coach(es)	R.V. Stanley
Tour captain(s)	John Raphael
Test series winners	British and Irish Lions (1–0)
Top test point scorer(s)	Harold Monks (10)
← NZ & Australia 1908 South Africa 1910 →

1910 British Lions tour to Argentina
Summary	P W D L
Total	06 06 00 00
Test match	01 01 00 00
Opponent	P W D L
Argentina	1 1 0 0

The 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina was a rugby tour of Argentina made by a side made up of 16 English players and 3 Scots. The organisers of the tour named the team the "English Rugby Union team", ^[1] but the host country advertised the touring team as the British Combined ("Combinado Británico" in Spanish). ^[2] The 1910 team has been termed as one of the three "lost lions" tours, ^[3] and is detailed on the British and Irish Lions official website. For Argentina, this tour marked the start of international rugby union and the test against the Combined British on 12 June 1910 was the first test in the Argentine national team's history. ^[4]

History

In 1910, a British side toured South Africa for the fourth time, being the eighth outing of a British touring side at this point. The South African tour was, however, the first official tour, in that it had the official sanction of the four home unions. Concurrently, RV Stanley, more famously known as Major Stanley of Oxford, later an England selector, organised a side to tour Argentina. John Raphael, the England fullback, was selected as the captain of this team, branded by Stanley as the England Rugby Union team. The hosts referred to the team as the Combined British, perhaps more appropriate given the squad included three Scots.

The tour was also part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the May Revolution. The people of Argentina termed it the "Combined British", also known as "Great Britain XV". Argentina made its international debut against this team under the name "The River Plate Rugby Football Union" on 12 June. The match was played at Sociedad Sportiva Argentina of Palermo and Argentina lost 28–3. The only try for the Argentine squad (the first international try) was scored by Buenos Aires F.C. player Frank Heriot. ^{[note 1]} . ^[2] Argentina's most notable players were captain Oswald St. John Gebbie and Barry Heatlie, a South African who played for the Springboks. ^[6]

The Combined British played six matches, winning them all, including a victory over Argentina in their first ever test on 12 June 1910. ^[4]

Team

Of those representing the Combined British, only four had played international rugby previously. They were:

• John Raphael, ( Old Merchants Taylors', Oxford University, Surrey) played fullback for England (also a notable cricketer);
• Alexander Palmer, ( London Hospital, Harlequins) a New Zealander who played on the wing for England
• Barrie Bennetts, ( Penzance RFC and Cornwall) played on the wing for England
• Anthony Henniker-Gotley, ( Oxford University, Kent, Blackheath) played at halfback for England

Other members of the team were:

Match summary

Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in Argentina: ^{[7] [8]}

  Test matches

#	Date	Rival	City	Venue	Score
1	26 May	Olímpicos A [note 2]	Buenos Aires	n/a	19–13
2	29 May	Belgrano A.C.	Buenos Aires	n/a	58–0
3	2 Jun	Olímpicos B [note 2]	Buenos Aires	n/a	39–5
4	6 Jun	Buenos Aires F.C.	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires Cricket	28–0
5	12 Jun	Argentina [note 3]	Buenos Aires	Sociedad Sportiva	28–3
6	17 Jun	Argentinos Nativos [note 4]	Buenos Aires	n/a	41–10

Test details

June 12, 1910

Argentina	3–28	British Isles
Try: MacCarthy

Sociedad Sportiva Argentina

Argentina

British Isles

Argentina: : J.E. Saffery, Cornelius MacCarthy, Oswald Gebbie, M. Heriot, Henry Talbot, W.A. Watson, Carlos Mold, Barry Heatlie, L.H. Gribbell, W.H. Hayman, F. Henrys, A. Bovet, A. Donelly, Alvan Reid

Notes

References

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