The Roar of the Lions
Captain BOD
By Ed SCott
June 5 2013
With the longer days and (apparently!) better weather, I always look forward to the summer months; I simply feel happier, more relaxed. There is however always a blot on the landscape, and that is the end of the rugby season.
Perhaps more on here would understand (my wife certainly doesn’t!) but I just feel a bit empty when Bath aren’t playing. For me there isn’t a better place in the world than The Rec, and even though I love this time of year, I can’t wait for September to come around again. This summer however, we have something truly exciting to look forward to.
I’ve always loved watching the Lions, but the genuine love affair was up and running during the 1997 tour of South Africa. All the home nations coming together, everyone in the pub, an almost carnival atmosphere, there was nothing like it. OK, I was at university at the time, so the majority of those days were spent in some kind of delirious state, but it’s a tour that I’ve never forgotten.
The true enjoyment behind that series comes from owning “Living with Lions”, the behind the scenes film documentary of that tour. If there is anyone who loves rugby reading this who hasn’t seen this magnificent DVD (it was a video back then of course!) you should head to your nearest internet browser, select a retailer of your choice, and make the purchase. From Jim Telfer’s speeches, to the socialising, the banter, and the passion, nothing compares to watching warring adversaries coming together as one to become brothers in arms for six weeks.
Sadly for Lions fans, 1997 was the last time they won a series, victorious in the first two tests. In 2001 they came so close, but failed to capitalise when they needed to squeeze the jugular. Clive Woodward did a shocking job in 2005 against a quality Kiwi side, and in 2009 a physical tour schedule and stupid errors consigned the Lions to their third lost series in a row. In fact, in the last three tours, the Lions have only won two of the nine tests up for grabs.
The main challenge of course is to bring together players who are normally trying to smash each other to pieces, together as one. Not only do they have to learn calls, defensive strategies and game plans, they also need to get to know each other personally. Selection is not always necessarily going to be based on the best individual players, but on how quickly different combinations get to know one another and gel.
Unsurprisingly, the largest contingent of the tour is made up of Welsh players. There is an element of nepotism with Warren Gatland as the coach, but it’s more of a reflection of the fact that Wales have been the Six Nations Champions for the last two years and totally outplayed England in the final match of the tournament. The concern with this situation of course is that Wales have quite frankly bottled it against Southern Hemisphere opposition in recent years, but after their performances against the Barbarians, few would doubt the credentials of players such as Mike Phillips and Jamie Roberts (to name only two).
The mental toughness needed in rugby is most relevant in Australia, where the media will really go to town on the Lions to try and unsettle them. Their off the field behaviour will be closely scrutinised, whilst every ex-player will be out to publically take a pop. Let’s hope that the Sydney Morning Herald will be forced to eat their words as they did in 2003 when England won the World Cup.
Australia are not without their own problems. Currently some of these come in the form of injury and in the behaviour of three of their top players: James O’Connor, Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale. All have been suspended or dropped by either their Super Rugby teams or the ARU in the last 12 months, which must be unsettling to the dynamic of the squad, as well as creating an element of division. Beale has made it back for just one appearance from the bench for the Rebels before sadly going into rehab for an alcohol problem. I don’t revel in this, he is a wonderful player who has clearly travelled too far down the wrong path. The worry for the Lions however is that both he and O’Connor showed real moments of brilliance in the time when they have played. If they can get their heads right, they could tear the Lions to shreds in the blink of an eye. Their pack is also not the powder puff effort that it used to be, so no one should expect that we will bully them upfront and dominate with ease.
The Australian squad members will be rested by Robbie Deans for the tour matches against the Lions in an attempt to minimise injuries and keep the players fresh. With the number of players missing already, they could easily be rather thin on the ground by the time the tests start. The Lions will of course have no such luxury, and injuries of some sort are inevitable, but they need game time in order to bond. There is also a chance that the Aussies could be caught a bit cold come the first test, so only retrospect will tell us whether that is a wise decision or not.
For me the real tour starts against the Rebels, but it’s a shame that they are not putting out a full strength side. Perhaps the tour organisers should have thought less about their sponsors (HSBC and playing a game in Hong Kong – coincidence?!) and arranged to play them on Saturday when the Rebels had a bye week in the Super 15, instead of a humid stopover against the Barbarians.
I look forward to watching the tour develop over the next few weeks and previewing the tests. There are always a few surprise performances and selections, and I hope we see some well contested matches before the ‘big games’ start. I’ll leave you with this quote from Ian McGeechan which sums up the way I feel about the Lions. They are some of the words he used before the second test in 1997 against the Springboks (more quotes to follow in the other previews for those of you wanting to hear the Jim Telfer Everest speech!):
"There are days like this that many rugby players never have, they never experience it. It is special. Jim (Telfer) and I have been involved in rugby a long time. I can tell you that these are the days that you never believe will come again. It has. And I can tell you that I've given a lot of things up. I love my rugby. I love my family. And when you come to a day like this, you know why you do it all. You know why you've been involved in this. It's been a privilege, it is a privilege, because we're something special. Because you'll meet each other in the street in 30 years time and they'll just be a look and you'll know just how special some days in your life are.”
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:07:30:10:33:35 by TCM2007.
But - Rebels?
Force I'd reckon
Cheers
Did you like my SIM quote Bod?!?!?! We know what a fan you are!
Bath Rugby wasn't
Aussie 24 Lions 18
Lions got me properly interested in rugby 1989; and it's never taken me this long into a tour to get excited (first since 89 I can remember not being excited when the team leaves)
RAEBURN SHIELD
Apparently competition for the all is illegal now.
The scrum however...
RAEBURN SHIELD
AWJ distracted by the call of advantage over, knocks on Genia cuts us open
RAEBURN SHIELD