1979 England rugby union tour of Japan, Fiji and Tonga


In 1979 an 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 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 and Mike Slemen.
The visit to Tonga was the first time that a major rugby nation had visited the country.

Matches

Opposing TeamForAgainstDateVenueStatus
Japan 'B'36710 May 1979TokyoTour match
211913 May 1979Kintetsu Hanazono Stadium, OsakaFirst 'Test'
Kyūshū80316 May 1979FukuokaTour match
381820 May 1979Olympic Stadium, TokyoSecond 'Test'
Fiji Juniors392225 May 1979LautokaTour match
19729 May 1979National Stadium, Suva'Test' Match
37171 June 1979Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nukualofa'Test' Match

Touring party