Rivals - 75 Years of the Lions v the All Blacks

New Zealand Herald Staff

A look back at the proud tradition of All Black v. British Lions fixtures, drawing material from the archives of the New Zealand Herald. To be produced in time for the Lions tour to New Zealand in June/July 2005. The All Blacks and the Lions have long been considered the two strongest teams in the rugby world, pitting the best of the Southern Hemisphere against their counterparts from the Northern Hemisphere. Since the first game between the two teams took place in 1930, there have been 8 tours and 31 test matches. The 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand is the first since 1993, and the ninth overall, and will bring with it some 15,000 British rugby fans. Interest in the 2005 matches is so strong that the NZRFU has had to resort to allocating some 150,000 tickets by ballot. Given the huge interest in the Lions v. All Blacks, this book seeks to capture and celebrate the heritage of games between these two teams. It will provide a nostalgic look back over the long and hard-fought history between the two teams - featuring such All Black greats as Colin Meads, Don Clarke, Kel Tremain, Waka Nathan and Fergie McCormick and Lions heroes like JPR Williams, Willie John McBride, Phil Bennett and Gavin Hastings. It will draw on historic material from the Herald archives and will provide the rugby public with an in-depth view of the rivalry between the Lions and the All Blacks. The book will utilise the archives from the New Zealand Herald. The Herald has employed some of this country's best rugby writers over the last century, including the legendary TP McLean and DJ Cameron. Their archive also contains images of all of the Lions tours to NZ taken by some of the country's best sports photographers - Peter Bush among them.