# 1936 British Lions tour to Argentina

The 1936 British Lions tour of Argentina was a series of rugby union matches arranged between the British Lions and various Argentine teams. The tourists played ten matches, nine of which were against club and combined teams while one match took in a full Argentina national team. Despite being sanctioned by the International Rugby Board, no caps were awarded to players from either side.
This was the third and final international tour to South America by a combined British team, and although classed as the British Lions, it was predominantly English, with a handful of Scottish and Irish players.
The Lions won all the games played, scoring 399 points and conceding only 12.

## Background

By 1936 Argentine rugby was in expansion and growth. Four years earlier, the Junior Springboks had visited the country to play several matches. In 1933 two South African players, Wollie Wolheim and Rybeck Elliot returned to Argentina to play for local team Hindú, which was considered by the Argentine Union as a sort of professionalism and Hindú was suspended for one season.
In 1935 eleven players of San Isidro (the most important rugby team of Argentina by then) were suspended by the club executives. The banned players organised some friendly matches under the name "Abelleyra XV" until they established a new institution, San Isidro Club.
The last Lions tour to Argentina came when former player Douglas Prentice, who had led the team during their tour to New Zealand an Australia in 1930 and was the current manager, arrived with twenty-three players. No Welsh players were part of the team despite Wales had won the Home Nations that year.
The British played only one test v. Argentina at Gimnasia y Esgrima, with a record attendance of 15,000, on August 16. The Lions won by 23–0. The Argentine line-up for that game was Héctor Alfonso; R. Elliot, Herbert Talbot, Horacio Pascuali, Emilio Schiavio; Percy Talbot, Noel Cooper; Jorge Cilley, Gilbert Logan, José Frigoli; J.L. Francombe (cap), Tomás Salzman; Bernardo Mitchelstein, Víctor Inchausti, Archie Cameron.
Belgrano was the only team to score a try against The Lions, when the visiting team won by 37–3.

## Touring party

* Doug Prentice (Leicester), Manager
* Dr. Hugh Llewellyn Glyn Hughes (Blackheath), Referee

### Players

* Bernard Gadney (Leicester) Captain
* Charles Beamish (Leicester)
* John Brett (Oxford University)
* Vesey Boyle (Dublin University).
* John Gordon A'Bear (Gloucester)
* Owen Chadwick (Cambridge University)
* Paul Cooke (Oxford University)
* Pop Dunkley Harlequins)
* George Hancock (Birkenhead Park)
* Peter Hobbs (Richmond)
* Peter Hordern (Gloucester)
* Fred Huskisson (Old Merchant Taylors)
* Tom Knowles (Birkenhead Park)
* J. S. Moll (Lloyds Bank)
* Alexander Obolensky (Oxford University)
* Denis Pratten (Blackheath)
* Robin Prescott (Harlequins)
* Wilson Shaw (Glasgow High School)
* John Tallent (Blackheath)
* Harold Uren (Waterloo)
* Jim Unwin (Rosslyn Park)
* Jock Waters (Selkirk)
* Bill Weston (Northampton)

#### Notes
## Match summary

Complete list of matches played by the British Isles in Argentina:
Test match
| # | Date | Rival | Score | Venue | City |
| 1 | 15 Jul | Buenos Aires F.C. | 55–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 2 | 18 Jul | Argentina A | 27–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 3 | 22 Jul | Olivos | 27–3 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 4 | 26 Jul | Argentina B | 28–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 5 | 29 Jul | Pacific Railway | 62–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 6 | 2 Aug | Litoral Rugby Union | 41–0 | Plaza Jewell | Rosario |
| 7 | 5 Aug | Old Georgian | 55–6 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 8 | 9 Aug | Belgrano A.C. | 37–3 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 9 | 16 Aug | Argentina | 23–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
| 10 | 23 Aug | CASI–Hindú–CUBA Combined | 44–0 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | Buenos Aires |
Balance :
| Pl | W | D | L | Ps | Pc |
| 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 399 | 12 |

## Match details
### Argentina Test

* 16 August 1936
| Argentina | 0–23 | British Isles |
| | Report | Try: Voyle (2) Tallent Unwin Con: Brett (2) Pen: Brett Drop: Shaw |
* Gimnasia y Esgrima, Buenos Aires Attendance: ? Referee: Hugh Hughes (South Africa)
| Argentina | British Isles |
| Argentina | | British Isles |
| Héctor Alfonso | FB | 15 | FB | Harold Uren |
| Riebeck Elliot | W | 14 | W | Jim Unwin |
| Herbert Talbot | C | 13 | C | John Tallent |
| Horacio Pascualli | C | 12 | C | Wilson Shaw |
| Eduardo Schiavio | W | 11 | W | Vesey Boyle |
| Percy Talbot | FH | 10 | FH | Tom Knowles |
| Noel Cooper | SH | 9 | SH | Bernard Gadney (c) |
| Gilbert Logan | N8 | 8 | N8 | Peter Hobbs |
| José Frigoli | F | 7 | F | Peter Hordern |
| Jorge Cilley | F | 6 | F | Bill Weston |
| Tomás Salzman | L | 5 | L | Fred Huskisson |
| Jumbo Francombe (c) | L | 4 | L | Charles Beamish |
| Ray Cameron | P | 3 | P | John Brett |
| Virgilio Inchausti | H | 2 | H | Owen Chadwick |
| Bernardo Mitchelstein | P | 1 | P | Robin Prescott |