Editing British & Irish Lions (section)

===1970–1979===
The 1970s saw a renaissance for the Lions. The [[1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia]], centred around the skilled Welsh half-back pairing of [[Gareth Edwards (rugby union)|Gareth Edwards]] and [[Barry John]], secured a series win over New Zealand. The tour started with a loss to Queensland but proceeded to storm through the next provincial fixtures, winning 11 games in a row. The Lions then went on to defeat New Zealand in [[Dunedin]]. The Lions only lost one match on the rest of the tour and won the test series against New Zealand, winning and drawing the last two games, to take the series two wins to one.

The [[1974 British Lions tour to South Africa]] was one of the best-known and most successful Lions teams. Apartheid concerns meant some players declined the tour. Nonetheless, led by the esteemed Irish forward [[Willie John McBride]], the tour went through 22 games unbeaten and triumphed 3–0 (with one drawn) in the test series. The series featured a lot of violence. The management of the Lions concluded that the Springboks dominated their opponents with physical aggression. At that time, test match referees came from the home nation, substitutions took place only if a doctor found a player unable to continue and there were no video cameras or sideline officials to prevent violent play. The Lions decided "to get their retaliation in first" with the infamous "[[99 call]]". The Lions postulated that a South African referee would probably not send off all of the Lions if they all retaliated against "blatant thuggery". Famous video footage of the 'battle of [[EPRFU Stadium|Boet Erasmus Stadium']] shows [[J. P. R. Williams]] running over half of the pitch and launching himself at Van Heerden after such a call.

The [[1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand]] saw the Lions drop only one non-test out of 21 games, a loss to a Universities side. The team did not win the test series though, winning one game but losing the other three.

In August 1977 the British Lions made a stopover in Fiji on the way home from their tour of New Zealand. Fiji beat them 25–21 at Buckhurst Park, Suva.