2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia

The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in Australia.

The Lions squad was captained by Martin Johnson, the first player to lead the Lions on two tours. The head coach was New Zealander Graham Henry. After winning the first of their matches against Australia, the Lions lost the remaining two matches of the test series. This was the first time that Australia defeated the Lions in a series. The tour was noted for tension between the test squad and the midweek squad as well as controversial newspaper columns written by scrum-halves Matt Dawson and Austin Healey, accusing the coaching staff of poor scheduling and training regimes and lack of team spirit.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	National team	Club/province	National caps (Lions tests)	Notes
Iain Balshaw	Full-back		England	Bath
Matt Perry	Full-back		England	Bath
Ben Cohen	Wing		England	Northampton Saints
Dafydd James	Wing		Wales	Llanelli
Dan Luger	Wing		England	Saracens
Jason Robinson	Wing		England	Sale Sharks
Tyrone Howe	Wing		Ireland	Ulster		Injury replacement for Dan Luger
Mike Catt	Centre		England	Bath
Will Greenwood	Centre		England	Harlequins
Rob Henderson	Centre		Ireland	London Wasps
Brian O'Driscoll	Centre		Ireland	Leinster
Mark Taylor	Centre		Wales	Swansea
Scott Gibbs	Centre		Wales	Swansea		Injury replacement for Mike Catt
Neil Jenkins	Fly-half		Wales	Cardiff
Ronan O'Gara	Fly-half		Ireland	Munster
Jonny Wilkinson	Fly-half		England	Newcastle Falcons
Matt Dawson	Scrum-half		England	Northampton Saints
Austin Healey	Scrum-half		England	Leicester Tigers
Rob Howley	Scrum-half		Wales	Cardiff
Andy Nicol	Scrum-half		Scotland	Glasgow		Injury replacement for Rob Howley
Jason Leonard	Prop		England	Harlequins
Darren Morris	Prop		Wales	Swansea
Tom Smith	Prop		Scotland	Brive
Phil Vickery	Prop		England	Gloucester
Dai Young	Prop		Wales	Cardiff
Phil Greening	Hooker		England	London Wasps
Robin McBryde	Hooker		Wales	Llanelli
Keith Wood	Hooker		Ireland	Harlequins
Mark Regan	Hooker		England	Bristol
Gordon Bulloch	Hooker		Scotland	Glasgow		Injury replacement for Phil Greening
Dorian West	Hooker		England	Leicester Tigers		Called up as back-up after a number of injuries to the squad
Jeremy Davidson	Lock		Ireland	Castres
Danny Grewcock	Lock		England	Saracens
Martin Johnson (c)	Lock		England	Leicester Tigers
Scott Murray	Lock		Scotland	Saracens
Malcolm O'Kelly	Lock		Ireland	St Mary's College
Neil Back	Back row		England	Leicester Tigers
Colin Charvis	Back row		Wales	Swansea
Lawrence Dallaglio	Back row		England	London Wasps
Richard Hill	Back row		England	Saracens
Scott Quinnell	Back row		Wales	Llanelli
Simon Taylor	Back row		Scotland	Edinburgh
Martyn Williams	Back row		Wales	Cardiff
Martin Corry	Back row		England	Leicester Tigers		Injury replacement for Simon Taylor
David Wallace	Back row		Ireland	Munster		Injury replacement for Lawrence Dallaglio

Jason Robinson scored the first try of the match, putting the Lions up 5–0. Andrew Walker successfully kicked a penalty for Australia's first points. The Lions scored through Dafydd James, which was converted by Wilkinson. The score at half-time was 12–3.

Brian O'Driscoll scored for the Lions in the second half. Wilkinson converted the try before kicking a penalty to make the score 22–3. Scott Quinnell then scored for the Lions, with Wilkinson converting. Walker then scored a try for Australia.

30 June 2001 19:00

Australia	13–29	British & Irish Lions
Try: Grey 66' m Walker 68' m Pen: Walker 18'	Report	Try: Robinson 3' m James 32' c O'Driscoll 41' c Quinnell 50' c Con: Wilkinson (3) Pen: Wilkinson 44'

The Gabba, Brisbane Attendance: 37,460 Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

FB 15 Chris Latham  41' RW 14 Andrew Walker OC 13 Daniel Herbert IC 12 Nathan Grey LW 11 Joe Roff FH 10 Stephen Larkham  52' SH 9 George Gregan N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan  72' RL 5 John Eales (c)  61' LL 4 David Giffin TP 3 Glen Panoho  61' HK 2 Jeremy Paul  52' LP 1 Nick Stiles Replacements: HK 16 Michael Foley  52' PR 17 Ben Darwin  61' LK 18 Matt Cockbain  61' FL 19 David Lyons  72' SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 Elton Flatley  52' FB 22 Matt Burke  41' Coach: Rod Macqueen

FB 15 Matt Perry  41' RW 14 Dafydd James OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll IC 12 Rob Henderson LW 11 Jason Robinson FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Rob Howley N8 8 Scott Quinnell  61' OF 7 Richard Hill BF 6 Martin Corry  61' RL 5 Danny Grewcock LL 4 Martin Johnson (c) TP 3 Phil Vickery  74' HK 2 Keith Wood LP 1 Tom Smith  74' Replacements: HK 16 Gordon Bulloch PR 17 Jason Leonard  74' FL 18 Colin Charvis  61' FL 19 Martyn Williams SH 20 Matt Dawson SH 21 Austin Healey FB 22 Iain Balshaw  41' Coach: Graham Henry

The second test was played at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne. Wilkinson was successful with two penalty goals, giving the Lions a 6–0 lead. Burke then kicked a penalty goal for Australia. Neil Back scored the first try of the match, giving the Lions an 11–3 lead over Australia. Burke kicked another penalty goal to make the score 11–6 to the Lions.

Joe Roff scored a try for Australia in the second half, making the score 11–11. Burke kicked a penalty goal to give Australia the lead. The score became 21–11 when Roff scored his second try. Wilkinson then kicked a penalty goal to make it 21–14. Burke then scored a try for Australia, making it 29–14. Burke kicked another two penalty goals.

7 July 2001 19:00

Australia	35–14	British & Irish Lions
Try: Roff (2) Burke Con: Burke Pen: Burke (6)	Report	Try: Back Pen: Wilkinson (3)

Colonial Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 56,605 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

FB 15 Matt Burke RW 14 Andrew Walker OC 13 Daniel Herbert IC 12 Nathan Grey LW 11 Joe Roff FH 10 Stephen Larkham SH 9 George Gregan N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 John Eales (c) LL 4 David Giffin TP 3 Rod Moore HK 2 Michael Foley LP 1 Nick Stiles Replacements: HK 16 Brendan Cannon PR 17 Ben Darwin LK 18 Matt Cockbain FL 19 David Lyons SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 Elton Flatley FB 22 Chris Latham Coach: Rod Macqueen

FB 15 Matt Perry RW 14 Dafydd James OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll IC 12 Rob Henderson LW 11 Jason Robinson FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Rob Howley N8 8 Scott Quinnell OF 7 Neil Back BF 6 Richard Hill RL 5 Danny Grewcock LL 4 Martin Johnson (c) TP 3 Phil Vickery HK 2 Keith Wood LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: PR 16 Jason Leonard HK 17 Dorian West FL 18 Martin Corry FL 19 Martyn Williams SH 20 Matt Dawson FH 21 Neil Jenkins FB 22 Iain Balshaw Coach: Graham Henry

With the series tied at 1–1, the third test at Stadium Australia in Sydney was the decider and was refereed by New Zealander Paddy O'Brien. The scoring began in the third minute, when Burke successfully kicked a penalty for Australia, giving them a 3–0 lead. Wilkinson, who was under an injury cloud leading up to the match, levelled the scores in the fifth minute with a successful penalty goal. Burke then landed another penalty goal for Australia. Four minutes later, Burke kicked another penalty goal, giving Australia a 9–3 lead. Robinson scored the first try of the match, which was converted by Wilkinson, giving the Lions a 10–9 lead. Daniel Herbert scored Australia's first try which was converted by Burke, giving Australia a 16–10 lead. Wilkinson was successful with a penalty goal that made the score 16–13.

The Lions took the lead in the second half, with Wilkinson crossing the line to score a try and then converting it, giving the Lions a 20–16 lead. Herbert scored his second try in the 49th minute, Burke converted, giving Australia a 23–20 lead. Wilkinson kicked a penalty goal, levelling scores at 23–23. Burke was successful with a subsequent penalty goal five minutes after. Burke kicked another in the 76th minute, to make the score 29–23.

14 July 2001 19:00

Australia	29–23	British & Irish Lions
Try: Herbert (2) Con: Burke (2) Pen: Burke (5)	Report	Try: Robinson Wilkinson Con: Wilkinson (2) Pen: Wilkinson (3)

Stadium Australia, Sydney Attendance: 84,188 Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

FB 15 Matt Burke RW 14 Andrew Walker OC 13 Daniel Herbert IC 12 Nathan Grey LW 11 Joe Roff FH 10 Elton Flatley SH 9 George Gregan N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 John Eales (c) LL 4 Justin Harrison TP 3 Rod Moore HK 2 Michael Foley LP 1 Nick Stiles Replacements: HK 16 Brendan Cannon PR 17 Ben Darwin LK 18 Matt Cockbain FL 19 David Lyons SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 James Holbeck FB 22 Chris Latham Coach: Rod Macqueen

FB 15 Matt Perry RW 14 Dafydd James OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll IC 12 Rob Henderson LW 11 Jason Robinson FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Matt Dawson N8 8 Scott Quinnell OF 7 Neil Back BF 6 Martin Corry RL 5 Danny Grewcock LL 4 Martin Johnson (c) TP 3 Phil Vickery HK 2 Keith Wood LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: PR 16 Darren Morris HK 17 Dorian West FL 18 Colin Charvis FL 19 Martyn Williams FH 20 Ronan O'Gara SH 21 Andy Nicol FB 22 Iain Balshaw Coach: Graham Henry

In Australia, Seven Network and Fox Sports jointly televised the British & Irish Lions matches. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, matches were shown on Sky Sports.

• Australia 2001 on lionsrugby.com – official website
• Australia 2001 on lions-tour.com