To celebrate 50 years since the 1974 Lions toured South Africa in what remains one of the greatest ever Tours, The British & Irish Lions commissioned portrait photography of the squad to celebrate their incredible achievement and legacy.
All the images will be used across the Lions social channels in the coming months so make sure to follow Lions Rugby.
Only the greatest of touring teams earn their own nickname, but the 1974 Invincibles more than deserved their title.
With two draws and six defeats in Test matches on their last two Tours of South Africa, the Lions faced a daunting challenge.
But fresh from a first-ever series win in New Zealand, this team was full of confidence and achieved something remarkable, going unbeaten for the entire Tour.
Over the course of 22 matches, they won 21, with the only minor blip, a drawn Test in the final match of the series.
A look through the squad list reveals a who’s who of some of the greatest rugby players ever to wear the famous red jersey.
Captained by Willie John McBride, the Lions were also able to call upon the likes of Gareth Edwards, Ian McGeechan (pictured above), Phil Bennett and JPR Williams – the latter two having sadly passed away over the last couple of years.
Up front, Fran Cotton (pictured below), Bobby Windsor and Ian ‘Mighty Mouse’ McLauchlan made up a formidable front row in front of McBride and co.
The touring side laid down a marker in their very first match on South African soil, beating Western Transvaal 59-13 in Potchefstroom.
Six more victories followed before the first Test, including a remarkable 97-0 win over South West Districts with the late JJ Williams scoring a record-equalling six tries in that match.
The Lions overcame muddy conditions in Cape Town to win the first Test 12-3, Bennett kicking three penalties and Edwards (pictured below) adding a drop goal, even if the Lions trailed for the first time on the tour following Dawie Snyman’s drop goal.
A fortnight later, at altitude in Pretoria, the Lions inflicted what was then the largest defeat in Springbok history on the home side, scoring five tries in a 28-9 victory.
JJ Williams scored two of those in the first half, before Bennett, Gordon Brown and Dick Milliken helped the Lions pull away in the second half.
The third Test is probably the most iconic match of the entire Tour. Later dubbed ‘The Battle of Boet Erasmus’, the match in Port Elizabeth was particularly physical, and was where the Lions used the famous ’99 call’, a tactic designed to counter the robust approach of the home side.
The opening 40 minutes of that Test were brutal, but while the Springboks played some of their best rugby of the series, a try from Brown allowed the Lions to go in 7-3 up.
JJ Williams added two more tries in the second half, while Andy Irvine (pictured) took on kicking duties, finishing with eight points, in addition to two Bennett drop goals in a 26-9 win that wrapped up the series.
Three more wins on the Tour made it 21 from 21, with this Lions crop already established as one of the greatest touring sides of all time.
All that remained was a final Test in Johannesburg. Roger Uttley (pictured) and Irvine scored tries for the Lions, with Peter Cronje getting over for the Springboks and Jackie Snyman kicking three penalties.
Fergus Slattery was denied a try late on as the Lions pushed for the win, but they had to settle for a 13-13 draw, capping off a remarkable series.
