The 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand, saw the red shirt carry sponsors Zurich Financial Services on the torso and has shown that even in the professional era there is a place for the Lions, as an estimated 30,000 fans travelled down under. The tour left with high expectations managed by former England international Bill Beaumont and coached by former England coach Sir Clive Woodward. Unfortunately it never lived up to the billing and lost the test series emphatically 3-0. Despite having a massive support structure and supposed strong squad.

The writing for the tour downfall could have been on the wall as they struggled in Cardiff to a draw against Argentina 25-25 prior to departure. They then went on to narrow wins in their first 2 games in New Zealand before going down the NZ Maori 19-13. They did go on to win all the other games outside the tests, with only one against Manawatu being convincing.

The first test was marred by the incident when Brian O’Driscoll was spear tackled and injured taking no further part in the game or the tour. The All Blacks going on to win 21-3. The second test and things got no better as the Lions went down 48-18. The third and final test and the Lions lost 38-19. The tour confirmed that the Kiwis were moving ahead of the Northern Hemisphere in terms of development.

The 1993 Lions tour to New Zealand was the last tour before the game went fully professional. The team was captained by Gavin Hastings, coached for the second time by Ian McGeechan and managed by Geoff Cooke, the Lions looked to have an even chance when they set off for the southern hemisphere. However they lost a tight series 2-1.

England who were the dominant force in Home Unions rugby at the time of the tour supplied 17 of the 30 players who began the tour and seven of the pack that contested the second and third Tests, in Brian Moore, Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Martin Bayfield, Ben Clarke, Peter Winterbottom and Dean Richards. While Dewi Morris and Rob Andrew continued their England half-back combination, the three-quarters had more of a Celtic look with Hastings, Ieuan Evans and Scott Gibbs all making their presence felt.

The midweek team struggled for both form and identity, but the established Saturday side looked good going into the Tests. However, the Lions got off to the worst possible start, conceding a controversial try inside two minutes as Evans and Frank Bunce both landed over the try line claiming possession of Grant Foxs high kick. They battled back to play some excellent rugby in the second half and take an 18-17 lead with a minute to play thanks to six Hastings penalties, only for New Zealand to win 20-18 with a highly controversial penalty Fox converted with the final kick of the game. The Lions recovered to hit back in style, winning the second Test 20-7, a Rory Underwood try and Bayfields domination of the lineout the highlights of their biggest ever win against New Zealand. The All Blacks had played poorly, though and therefore had the ability to improve significantly in the decider. They did just that and, although the Lions began by building a 10-point lead, Sean Fitzpatricks men ran away with the game after the break to finish emphatic 30-13 winners.

The 1983 tour to New Zealand captained by Ireland’s Triple Crown winner Ciaran Fitzgerald, coached by Jim Telfer and managed by Willie John McBride suffered from some strange selections and an itinerary of frightening intensity plus the usual long line of casualties. Roy Laidlaw, taking over at scrum-half after the loss of first Terry Holmes and then Nigel Melville worked well with Ollie Campbell, but the side struggled to develop cohesion in the three-quarters. Losing the test series 4-0.

The All Blacks were a strong team, who had both a powerful pack and an abundance of scoring potential out wide. Nevertheless, the Lions were only outclassed in the final Test, when the series was already lost. The opening test was very close, with New Zealand scoring the only try and edging the kicking competition between Campbell and Allan Hewson to win 16-12. The second Test, the Lions looked clear favourites after they conceded only nine first-half points while playing into the teeth of a Wellington gale. But with the wind in their favour, they failed to convert possession into points and fell to a master-class in playing the conditions, losing by the half-time score of 9-0. Fitzgeralds team actually outscored the All Blacks by two tries to one in the third Test but were still edged out 15-8, before being blown away by an outstanding attacking performance that saw the hosts win the final international 38-6.