Cross-border roar: Lions imports

SPOTLIGHT: In part three of our four-part series, we take a look at which foreign players represented the Lions over the years.

John Robbie – Currently known as a radio presenter in South Africa, Robbie is a former Ireland international scrumhalf who represented Ireland on nine occasions and the British and Irish Lions once.

Robbie moved to South Africa in 1981 – representing Transvaal (now Lions) and formed part of two Springbok squads but never got to play a match.

Peter Winterbottom – The former England international loose forward is regarded as one of the best England players of his time – representing his country on 58 occasions.

Winterbottom also donned the red of the British and Irish Lions seven times.

He also played provincially with Hawkes Bay in New Zealand and Transvaal (Lions).

Tom Richards – An Australian military officer by profession, Richards represented the Wallabies between 1908 and 1912 and was a journeyman for provincial sides.

He played in a brief stint for Transvaal (Lions) in 1906.

Graham Cooke – Cooke is another Australian international who represented his nation between 1932 and 1948 on 14 occasions.

With the Wallabies’ 1933 tour to South Africa – Cooke remained in the republic for three and a half years working for a mining company.

During this time, Cooke played for the Transvaal (Lions) and returned to Australia in 1937.

Robert Johnston – An Ireland international who also represented the British and Irish Lions in 1869 who toured South Africa.

After the conclusion of the tour, Johnstone remained in South Africa and played for Transvaal and even captained the side in the Currie Cup.

Brett Johnstone – a one-Test Australia international, Johnstone was more a provincial hero for Queensland (now Reds) during the 1990’s.

Following Transvaal’s Super 10 Triumph in 1993, Queensland won the title in 1994 and Johnstone’s 70-metre intercept try against Transvaal ensured his side win back-to-back titles.

Following that Johnstone played some Currie Cup for the Lions.

Adrian Garvey – The Zimbabwean-born prop is a duel international that represented both Zimbabwe (1990-1993) and South Africa (1996-1999) – winning the Tri Nations (now Rugby Championship) in 1998.

Garvey represented the Lions in the 2000 Currie Cup season.

Roberto Diego Grau – Grau was a provincial journeyman and his second stop on his journey was at the Lions who he represented between 1996 and 1997.

Tyson Malumba – Malumba is a Congolese player who represented the Lions in the Currie Cup on three occasions in 2014.

Chrysander Botha – The Walvis Bay-born Namibian international represented the Lions in Super Rugby in 2014 – making 11 appearances for the Johannesburg-based side.

This came after helping the side get back into the competition by playing in both promotion/relegation matches against the Southern Kings.

He also represented the Lions in the Currie Cup on six occasions.

Todd Clever – Fondly known as ‘Captain America’, Clever was a fan favourite with the Lions Super Rugby side – making 21 appearances for the team and scoring three tries during his tenure.

He also represented the United States on 76 occasions and played 24 tournaments for the national sevens side.

James Kamana – The New Zealander played for NPC sides Waikato and Tasman before making his Super Rugby debut with the Lions in 2011 – playing through to the 2012 season before the side got relegated.

Kamana donned the Lions jersey on 17 occasions across two seasons – shifting between fullback and wing.

He also had stints in the then Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup competitions for the Johannesburg-based team.

Darrien Landsberg – The Zimbabwean-born lock is currently part of the Lions team playing in the URC.

Landsberg has racked up 22 appearances for the Lions so far and should have more added to his tally in the upcoming URC season.

Tapiwa Mafura – The Zimbabwe international is currently with the Lions in their URC squad and will look for more game time as he’s mainly featured for the side’s Currie Cup team so far.

Divan Rossouw – The versatile Namibia utility back made his name in South Africa with the Bulls’ Super Rugby side but had a brief stint with the Lions who he represented on four occasions between 2020 and 2022.

Tiaan Swanepoel – The Windhoek-born fullback made his Lions debut against the Jaguares in Super Rugby at the start of the 2020 season, which was cut short due to the global pandemic.

He went on to represent the Lions on 16 occasions up until 2023.

Carlos Spencer – And last but not least, former All Black and Blues legend Carlos Spencer.

A Super 12 winner with the Blues, Spencer joined the Lions in 2010 for their Super Rugby season, which was one to forget as they failed to register a single win.

Spencer did however work with 2019 Springbok World Cup winner Elton Jantjies that saw the flyhalf growing in leaps and bounds to steer the Currie Cup team to the title in 2011 against a highly fancied Sharks team.