1979 England rugby union tour of Japan, Fiji and Tonga

{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}

{{Infobox Tour Rugby

|team= England

|destination=Japan and South Pacific

|yearstart=1979

|yearfinish=

|manager=

|captain=

|matchplayed=7

|matchwon=7

|matchdraw=0

|matchlost=0

|testplayed=4not official test-matches for Rugby Football Union

|testwon=4

|testdraw=0

|testlost=0

|opponent1={{ru|JPN}}

|icon1=

|played1=2

|won1=2

|draw1=0

|lost1=0

|opponent2={{ru|FJI}}

|icon2=

|played2=1

|won2=1

|draw2=0

|lost2=0

|opponent3={{ru|TON}}

|icon3=

|played3=1

|won3=1

|draw3=0

|lost3=0

}}

In 1979 an {{Nrut|England}} rugby union touring team toured Japan, Fiji and Tonga. The tourists won all their seven matches, scoring 270 points and conceding only 93. Only the first international against {{Nrut|Japan}} was close, with Japan leading 19–15 going into injury time – a converted try by Peter Squires allowed England to win the match.

England did not award full international caps for the matches against Japan, Fiji and Tonga and the tourists played under the name of England XV rather than England in those games. The Welsh referee Clive Norling travelled with the party and refereed five of the matches. The leading tour points scorer was Huw Davies, with 60 points, and the leading try-scorers were John Carleton (9 tries) and Mike Slemen (7 tries).

The visit to Tonga was the first time that a major rugby nation had visited the country.

Matches

:Scores and results list England's points tally first.

class="wikitable"

! Opposing Team !! For !! Against !! Date !! Venue !! Status

Japan 'B'36710 May 1979TokyoTour match
{{Nrut|Japan}}211913 May 1979Kintetsu Hanazono Stadium, OsakaFirst 'Test'
Kyūshū80316 May 1979FukuokaTour match
{{Nrut|Japan}}381820 May 1979Olympic Stadium, TokyoSecond 'Test'
Fiji Juniors392225 May 1979LautokaTour match
{{Nrut|Fiji}}19729 May 1979National Stadium, Suva'Test' Match
{{Nrut|Tonga}}37171 June 1979Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nuku{{Okina}}alofa'Test' Match

Touring party

=Full back=

=Three-quarters=

=Half-backs=

=Forwards=

References

  • {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Vivian |author-link=Vivian Jenkins|title=Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1980–81|year=1980|publisher=Queen Anne Press|isbn= 0-362-02018-3|pages=39–43}}

Notes