In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the British Isles in their internationals against the All Blacks and the British Lions for the non-international games. Unlike all previous tours to New Zealand, the Lions did not play any matches in Australia, though one game was also played at Buckhurst Park, Suva, against Fiji.

Quick Facts Date, Coach(es) ...

1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand
Date	18 May  – 16 August
Coach(es)	John Dawes
Tour captain(s)	Phil Bennett
Test series winners	New Zealand (3–1)
Top test point scorer(s)	Phil Bennett (18)
← South Africa 1974 South Africa 1980 →

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Quick Facts Summary, P ...

1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand
Summary	P W D L
Total	26 21 00 05
Test match	04 01 00 03
Opponent	P W D L
New Zealand	4 1 0 3

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The Lions tourists left London on 10 May 1977 and returned on 19 August. Of their 26 matches on tour, they won 21 and lost 5. Although the Lions lost the test series against the All Blacks they were level 1–1 after the second international and came close to drawing the series; they led 9–6 going into injury time in the fourth test only to concede a match-winning try scored by Lawrie Knight.

Outside the test series, the Lions beat all their New Zealand provincial opponents as well as the NZ Maori and NZ Juniors representative teams, losing only to the New Zealand Universities team four days before the first international – this was the first defeat for a Lions team since the 1971 tourists lost the second test to the All Blacks on the same Christchurch ground and ended an unbeaten run of thirty-nine matches for the Lions. It was during the Junior All Blacks game that the famous 'Mudman' image of Fran Cotton, waiting for the ball at a line-out while caked head-to-toe in mud, was taken. Captured by Colorsport's Colin Elsey, it became one of the iconic images of rugby union.

On their way home, in August 1977, the Lions stopped off to play the Fiji for the first time and suffered their fifth defeat of the tour, Fiji winning 25–21.

A team selected from the Lions touring party played one further match, against the Barbarians at Twickenham on 10 September 1977, to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The Lions won by 23-14 in front of a capacity crowd, having led 15–0 at half-time.^[1]

The touring party as originally announced contained 17 players from Wales (including the as-yet uncapped Elgan Rees and Brynmor Williams), 5 from England, 5 from Scotland and 3 from Ireland. Geoff Wheel had to withdraw on medical advice before the touring party left and was replaced by Moss Keane. Roger Uttley aggravated a back injury at the get-together prior to leaving and was subsequently replaced by Jeff Squire. Bill Beaumont, Charlie Faulkner and Alun Lewis joined the tour party later in New Zealand as replacements – Lewis never played international rugby for Wales.

Several senior players made themselves unavailable to tour.^[2]

• Thomas, Clem; Thomas, Greg (2005). The History of The British and Irish Lions. Mainstream Books. pp. 175–183. ISBN 1-84596-030-0.
• Hopkins, John (1977). Life with the Lions – The Inside Story of the 1977 New Zealand Tour. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. ISBN 0-09-131740-1.
• Vivian Jenkins (ed.). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 18–31. ISBN 0-354-09047-X.