The story of the British and Irish Lions is an epic tale

The Lions

The story of the British and Irish Lions is an epic tale: this complete history of the touring team has been produced on an equally massive scale.

The history of the 30 tours since 1888 is told in more than 120,000 words, through the memories, diaries and letters of more than 50 Lions and their opponents, and through piecing together the evidence assembled from two years of research in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

All the surviving captains of the British and Irish Lions and their Test opponents - 27 of them in total - have contributed an introduction to the chapters on their tours to offer a unique insight into some of the greatest of all Test series.

And the Lions organisation itself - British Lions Ltd - has opened its archive for the project, permitting access to and reproduction of the post-tour reports of the team's managers and coaches from 1959 to 2001, some of them for the first time.

As well as the World Rugby Museum, the book has drawn on public and private archives, museums and libraries around the world for rare and unseen resources and memorabilia to feature in its pages.

The book also explores the three visits to Argentina the Lions made between 1910 and 1936, and which have been largely neglected until now. With the likes of the great Prince Obolensky and a host of Lions from other tours on board, these trips were anything but dull and remain a relevant and revealing chapter of Lions history.

The book includes full statistics on all Lions tours and Tests, contributed by Stuart Farmer, the official statistician of the British and Irish Lions.

Click on the above images for the full size version

The LIONS: The Complete History of the British and Irish Rugby Union Team is undoubtedly the best-illustrated book on the team ever produced.

It contains more than 600 images of the Lions and their opponents on and off the field, dating back to 1888 and the very first tour to Australia and New Zealand.

Many of these pictures survive only in century-old scrapbooks in the archives of rugby museums around the world and have never been previously published.

Others have been sourced from the archives of the southern hemisphere newspapers and magazines that covered the Lions' exploits, while still more have come from the personal albums of former players and their families.

Many of the later chapters on New Zealand tours feature images taken by award-winning photographer Peter Bush, who has covered the Lions in that country since the 1960s.

sample pages - click for a larger image

Traditional Buckram Copies - Nos. 1001-3000 - £295.00

Copies numbered 1001 to 3000 are hand bound in buckram over-padded boards. Although durable buckram has long been favoured by prestigious libraries in the bindings of their rare collections, the design of these Lions copies is very much of today.

Each cover is silk-screened in the colours of the home and competing nations. The page edges are gilded, there is gilt tooling on the spine and as with the Classic copies a sewn cloth Lions badge is inset into the cover.

A silk-screened slipcase provides a stylish and lasting protection for each Traditional Buckram copy.

Classic Leather Copies - Nos.1-1000 - £595.00

Copies numbered from 1 to 1000 are hand bound in full rich leather. The page edges are gilded, there is gilt tooling on the spine, with a sewn cloth Lions badge inset into the leather front cover.

Each weighty Classic Leather tome is magnificently housed in a multi-coloured, silk-screened solandar box. An additional feature makes each Classic copy highly collectable and sure to be sought after. In the pocket of the box you'll find a signed print of a Lions legend autographed by that legend.

Those first to order may choose a signed image. To see images available CLICK HERE

All copies are guaranteed to have their books signed by Willie John McBride (captain 1974), John Dawes (captain 1971), Brian Lochore (All Black captain 1966), Morné du Plessis (Springbok captain 1980), John Eales (Wallaby captain 2001), Bill Beaumont (captain 1980) and Gavin Hastings (captain 1993).

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The LIONS: The Complete History of the British and Irish Rugby Union Team is written by David Walmsley, whose great-grandfather played in the team that won Ireland's first Triple Crown, and who has been a journalist and sportswriter for more than 10 years, producing work for newspapers, magazines, books, television and the internet.

Formerly chief reporter at Rugby News magazine, he has also worked for the BBC and freelanced for a range of UK national newspapers including The Independent, the Sunday Times and The Guardian.

He is currently content provider for the official British and Irish Lions website. The LIONS will be his sixth book; previous titles include The Lions of Ireland and The Spirit of Rugby.

Willie John McBride (Consultant Editor) is nothing short of a legend. He is also a professional speaker and Consultant Editor for The LIONS. He toured with The Lions five times, was a member of the famous 1971 tour to New Zealand, and captain in South Africa in 1974 when his team were the first to tour the country undefeated. His 63 caps for Ireland and a record of 17 for the The Lions unquestionably makes him the greatest of all the Lions.

All copies will be individually signed by four Lions legends, as well as players representing South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, making The Lions a definitive piece of the team's history.

The first 500 customers to order Classic Leather copies are guaranteed to have their books signed by Willie John McBride, John Dawes, Brian Lochore, Morné du Plessis, John Eales, Bill Beaumont and Gavin Hastings.

(illustrated opposite - from top left) John Dawes, John Eales and Willie John McBride add their signatures to The LIONS

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PRAISE FOR 'THE LIONS'

Karl Mullen, Lions Captain 1950

"It is truly magnificent and I will always treasure it. Heartiest congratulations to all concerned."

Cliff Morgan, Lion 1955

"Congratulations on a masterpiece of work. I appreciate the hard labour involved in compiling and researching and writing such a book. The end product is terrific - a blessed record - a credit to David Walmsley and to you all."

Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand Captain 1993

"The Lions book looks great. Congratulations on a job well done."

Phil Davies - Lion 1955

"Somehow I hadn't gathered how complete and detailed this history was to be. It was a pleasure to see how some of the programmes and cartoon snippets, possibly from my scrapbook, had been worked in to the text. Sadly I missed the drama of the 2005 Tour but will now catch up and be interested to compare the modern day analytical approach to our more carefree but equally dedicated days. Congratulations on your excellent production."

Finlay Calder - Lions Captain 1989

"You should be well pleased with the finished work, for it's quite outstanding! It is also a magnificent tribute to all of those men who wore the jersey with such pride."

Ronnie Dawson - Lions Captain 1959, Asst. Manager 1968

"'The Lions' - it is an outstanding publication and enormous credit must go to you and your colleagues for all the effort which you put into the venture. Special credit must go to David Walmsley for this extensively researched and well written text and of course to Genesis for a very Special quality production."

Dawie de Villiers - South Africa Captain 1968

"I've not seen a book like this before. You've really captured the history of a great era of rugby which tells it how it really was."

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The Lions

Traditional Buckram Copies (Nos. 1001 - 3000)

Classic Leather Copies (Nos.1 - 1000)

ORDER THIS BOOK..............

Traditional Buckram Copies (Nos. 1001-3,000):

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Price £295.00

ORDER THIS BOOK..............

Classic Leather Copies (Nos.1-1000):

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Price £595.00

To pay by credit card on the telephone call 01639 729000

(from overseas call +44 1639 729000)

Pay by cheque or postal order - CLICK HERE

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To pay by credit card on the telephone call 01639 729000

(from overseas call +44 1639 729000)

Pay by cheque or postal order - CLICK HERE

Other methods of payment - CLICK HERE