When Lions Roared

By 1971 no Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home bruised, battered, and beaten.

But the 1971 tour party was different. It was full of young, ambitious, and outrageously talented players who would all go on to carve their names into the annals of sporting history during a golden period in British and Irish rugby. And at their centre was Carwyn Jones - an intelligent, sensitive rugby mastermind who would lead his team into the game's hardest playing arena while facing a ferocious, tragic battle in his personal life, all in pursuit of a seemingly impossible dream.

Up against them was an All Blacks team filled with legends in the game in the likes of Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sid Going, and Bryan Williams. But as the Lions swept through the provinces, lighting up the rugby fields of New Zealand, the pressure began to mount on the home players in a manner never seen before. As the Test series loomed, it became clear that a clash that would echo through the ages was about to unfold. And at its conclusion, it was obvious to all that rugby would never be the same again.

“splendid ... not only for those of us well steeped in nostalgia, but of a wider and more immediate interest'”

'Brilliantly written – evocative, powerful and utterly gripping'

'Outstanding . . . On all sort of levels, it is a compelling read. The quality of the Lions backs, the coaching intelligence of Carwyn James, the shrewd management of Doug Smith, the growing Kiwi horror at what was unfolding: all of it feels strangely fresh, partly because it is so well told and partly because so much fascinating detail has lain untouched for ages' 

'Special. Wondrous insights into the Lions' only New Zealand win ... loved it'

'enthralling ... brilliantly chronicled through the eyes of those that were there'

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Peter Burns is the editor for Arena Sport and author of Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland, Behind the Ryder Cup: The Players' Stories, White Gold: England's Journey to World Cup Glory and, like Tom, is also a co-author of Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions.

Tom English is an award-winning BBC Sport writer and broadcaster. He won Rugby Book of the Year at the 2011 British Sports Book Awards for The Grudge, before claiming the prize again in 2016 for No Borders: Playing Rugby for Ireland. He is a co-author of the bestselling Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions.

By 1971 no Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home bruised, battered, and beaten. But the 1971 tour party was different. It was full of young, ambitious, and outrageously talented players who would all go on to carve their names into the annals of sporting history during a golden period in British and Irish rugby. And at their centre was Carwyn Jones -- an intelligent, sensitive rugby mastermind who would lead his team into the game's hardest playing arena while facing a ferocious, tragic battle in his personal life, all in pursuit of a seemingly impossible dream. Up against them was an All Blacks team filled with legends in the game in the likes of Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sid Going, and Bryan Williams. But as the Lions swept through the provinces, lighting up the rugby fields of New Zealand, the pressure began to mount on the home players in a manner never seen before. As the Test series loomed, it became clear that a clash that would echo through the ages was about to unfold. And at its conclusion, it was obvious to all that rugby would never be the same again.

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