British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions (formerly British Isles and then the British Lions; commonly the Lions) is a Rugby Union side comprising a pick of the best players from the four Home nation unions, i.e.:

Naming and symbols

The team has historically used the name 'British Isles'. On their 1950 tour of New Zealand and Australia they also adopted the name 'British Lions' after the lion emblem on their jerseys. Since the 2001 tour of Australia they have become known as the 'British and Irish Lions', in part to take account of the sensitivities of some people in both the Republic of Ireland and within the nationalist community in Northern Ireland who object to any implication that they are in some way "British". Some have criticised this change as exhibiting unnecessary political correctness, as they felt that the geographic term British Isles carried no political overtones; however, most rugby union fans simply refer to the team as the 'Lions'.

Related Topics:
British Isles - 1950 tour - New Zealand - Australia - Lion - 2001 tour - Republic of Ireland - Nationalist - Northern Ireland - Political correctness

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The Lions do not represent a nation state, and as such they do not relate to any national flag or other national symbols, and they do not have a national anthem. For the 2005 tour to New Zealand the Lions directorate specially commissioned a song, "The Power of Four", although it met with little support amongst Lions fans at the matches, and even the players seemed not to know the words. The status of the song on future tours remains uncertain.

Related Topics:
Nation state - National anthem - The Power of Four

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