The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950.
The tour party was led by Ireland's Sam Walker and managed by Col. Hartley, and took in 24 matches. Of the 24 games, 19 were against club or invitational teams, three were test matches against the South African national team and the other two games were outside South Africa against Rhodesia. The British Isles lost two and won one of the test matches, and in the non-test games lost five and won sixteen.
Like many of the early Lions parties, the tour did not represent the best of British and Irish rugby talent. Obvious omissions included Wilf Wooller and Cliff Jones.
Contents |
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | Sat 11 Jun | Border Bulldogs | East London | Won | 8 - 11 |
| Match 2 | Wed 15 Jun | Griqualand West | Kimberley | Won | 9 - 22 |
| Match 3 | Sat 18 Jun | Western Province (Town & Country) | Newlands | Lost | 11 - 8 |
| Match 4 | Wed 22 Jun | South Western Districts | Recreation Ground | Won | 10 - 19 |
| Match 5 | Sat 25 Jun | Western Province | Newlands | Lost | 21 - 11 |
| Match 6 | Wed 29 Jun | Transvaal | Olen Park | Won | 9 - 26 |
| Match 7 | Sat 2 Jul | Orange Free State | Bloemfontein | Won | 6 - 21 |
| Match 8 | Wed 6 Jul | Orange Free State Country | Loubser Park | Won | 3 - 18 |
| Match 9 | Sat 9 Jul | Transvaal | Ellis Park | Lost | 16 - 9 |
| Match 10 | Wed 13 Jul | N-E Transvaal | Caledonian Ground | Won | 12 - 20 |
| Match 11 | Sat 16 Jul | Cape Province | Kimberley | Won | 3 - 10 |
| Match 12 | Wed 20 Jul | Rhodesia | Salisbury | Won | 11 - 25 |
| Match 13 | Sat 23 Jul | Rhodesia | Bulawayo | Won | 11 - 45 |
| Match 14 | Sat 30 Jul | Transvaal | Ellis Park | Won | 9 - 17 |
| Match 15 | Sat 6 Aug | South Africa | Ellis Park | Lost | 26 - 12 |
| Match 16 | Sat 13 Aug | Northern Province | Kingsmead | Lost | 26 - 8 |
| Match 17 | Wed 17 Aug | Natal | Pietermaritzburg | Won | 11 - 15 |
| Match 18 | Sat 20 Aug | Border Bulldogs | East London | Won | 11 - 19 |
| Match 19 | Wed 24 Aug | North-East Districts | Burgersdorp | Won | 3 - 42 |
| Match 20 | Sat 27 Aug | Eastern Province | St George's Park | Won | 5 - 6 |
| Match 21 | Sat 3 Sep | South Africa | Crusaders Ground | Lost | 19 - 3 |
| Match 22 | Sat 10 Sep | South Africa | Newlands | Won | 16 - 21 |
| Match 23 | Sat 17 Sep | Western Province Universities | Newlands | Won | 16 - 19 |
| Match 24 | Wed 21 Sep | Western Province Country | Newlands | Lost | 12 - 7 |
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