I am late to the lions (and it's history), so am curious about the 'back catalog'. I guess it is semi autonomous in many ways? It would have it's own, dunno, steering committee? A law and body unto itself?
How was gatland selected as coach for example, the 'Lions board' did the interviews and selections? A vote between the various bodies that make up the lions? How does it get funded, from these various unions (and so is subjected to all the internal politics) or..what?
I read in the roar about them 'taking the underdogs' tag, or wanting it, pointing out the difficulties of having members from different countries.
“The difficulty of a Lions tour is that you’re bringing the players from four countries together with a limited preparation and you’re playing away from home against one of the best three countries in the world,” Gatland said in a teleconference to Australia.
How real is that do you think?? On first glance to me it seems a bit stretched, is there really that much difference with that than simply selecting guys from different clubs?? Is there any less preparation than it would be for say a wales tour, or an england tour? Why is there less prep for a lions tour, and why does it make that much difference because they come from different countries than simply different clubs/franchises.
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I guess I could try to give a little history to the Lions for you, although I doubt this is going to be brief. A lot of this is from memory of watching many Lions specials and reading books etc. so if I get any details wrong I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can correct me.
Origins
The first Lions tour was actually an unsanctioned commercial venture. A group of players drawn from England, Wales & Scotland toured Australia and New Zealand. They only played club sides as there was no sanction for test matches and the tour lasted 6 months.
The first sanctioned tour is seen as the 1891 tour of South Africa. The Lions played South Africa 3 times and won all 3 tests. This tour was also the origins for the Currie Cup, not the competition but the trophy itself. The Lions presented the Currie Cup to Griqualand West as they were adjudged to have given the Lions the best game from the club and provincial teams.
Name
Originally the team was called the British Isles as it was a team that represented the political area know at the time by that name. After the Irish war of independence the meaning of the name was changed to represent the geographical area rather than a political area.
The name the Lions originated from a tour of South Africa in 1924 where the press referred to the tourists as the Lions due to the lion on the ties that they wore. Ironically this was also the first tour where the crest worn today (a quartered crest with the crests of the 4 unions) replaced the Lion on the shirts.
The team name later became the British Lions but was subsequently changed as it was felt it might be offensive to the Irish contingent. The name was change to the British and Irish Lions for the 2001 tour of Australia.
Tour Committee
The Lions tour is organised by the tour committee who are an autonomous body responsible for organising the tours, sponsors, coaches etc. The current chairman is Gerald Davies a former 2 time Lions tourist. The committee sees little political interference from the home unions.
However while home union politics stays out of the Lions, Lions politics doesn't necessarily stay out of the home unions. An example of this would be Graham Henry's tenue as Lions head coach for the 2001 tour. Due to what was seen as a snub to his Wales players in his selections for the Tour he found he had lost the dressing room when he returned to coaching Wales and was shortly after out of a job following a record defeat to Ireland in 2002 6 Nations.
Jersey
The Jersey has been through a number of incarnations with the earlier Jerseys being various hooped version of the British flag in red, white and blue. The colour of the jersey has also been dark blue and red at various times.
The current red jersey has it roots in a 1930 tour of New Zealand when the Lions jersey at the time was dark blue. The clash of jerseys meant that, as per protocol, the home team would have to change. So for the first time the All Blacks became the All Whites. The NZRU weren't very happy about this and there was a big fuss. So the next time the Lions toured New Zealand the Jersey was red to avoid a clash and has remained so to this day.
The Shorts and socks have also changed colour down through the years. When the red was first adopted the shorts and socks were white and blue. A green turn-down was later added to the socks to ensure that Ireland were represented on the kit also.
Coach
The initial tours had no coach and it was left to the captain or one of the other players to devise tactics etc. It wasn't until the 1960s that the first coach was appointed. It's only been in the professional era that there's been a coaching squad rather than just a lone coach.
The recent trend is for the coach to be picked from those in charge of the home unions. 2001 Graham Henry was Wales coach, 2005 Clive Woodward from England and 2013 Warren Gatland of Wales. The recent exception has been Ian Mc Geechan who coached the 2009 tour to South Africa. Although Mc Geechan also previous coached the Lions while head coach of Scotland in 1989 and 1993.
This trend can create problems as I've already pointed out for Graham Henry following the 2001 tour. On the flip side in 2005 the problems were for the Lions when Clive Woodward seemed to think it was still 2003 and selected a bloated squad that included almost the entire 2003 World Cup winning England squad, many of whom were long past their best in 2005.
Time will tell if Gatland's appointment has an effect on his tenure as Wales coach. One thing that is known is that there is animosity between Gatland and the Irish players. This in part stems from his time as Ireland coach and also from remarks that he made a few years ago about the Welsh players hating the Irish players. The exclusion of Rory Best is rumoured to be connected to this animosity although with Best it's a little more personal and Best is said to have decked Gatland at an after game dinner.
The coach is selected by the touring committee. They decide who to interview rather than inviting candidate to apply for the position. A coach will normally throw his hat into the ring via the media in the season or so before the coach is selected. Generally for recent tours it's been an open secret who the coach will be long before any announcement.
Test History v Australia
The Lions have played 20 tests against Australia winning 15 and losing 5. The last test series against Australia was in 2001 when the Lions lost 2-1.
The Lions haven't won a test series since 1997 when Jeremy Guscott kicked a drop goal to win the 2nd test 18-15 securing a 2-0 lead in the series against South Africa. The Lions lost the final test but won the series 2-1.
The 1970s is seen as the golden age for the Lions and their success then is in stark contrast to the professional era where the Lions have struggled to gel.
Difficulties in moulding the team
I believe Gatland is correct when he says that the Lions are at a disadvantage. The modern era sees complex patterns in many areas of the game including attack, defence and lineout calls. Due to the limited time available and the players unfamiliarity the lions have to stick with simple structures and calls.
To put it in context 24 of the 37 man squad will be on debut for the Lions this summer. Yes some of them play together at international level and there's 2 groups of 6 players from Leicester and Leinster respectively. However these are players who are used to intense rivalry rather than combining as a harmonious team.
The players generally are of a very high standard which makes the gelling on the field easier than it would otherwise be. However the team also need to gel off the field and create a team spirit in a very short space of time. The players have to feel they can trust the guys to either side of them. The tours that have had some success in recent times are those that have largely managed to do this. In contrast the 2005 tour was an absolute disaster with fractures and cliques all over the squad.
They are facing a team that are ranked in the top 3 in the world and for all Robbie Deans short comings are the favourites. The Wallbies already have their structures in place and won't have to create them from scratch. With the exception of new members to the squad the players will know the structures, attacking and defensive patterns, calls etc. and will have a team spirit already there from previous test matches.
The Lions have to put all of that in place with players who are coming off a very long season. They've been playing and training with their clubs and countries since August and they'll continue to do so until shortly before the Lions leave for Hong Kong. Gatland and his coaching team then have to somehow mould them into a team that has a chance of winning the test series.
At the same time they've got to keep the players busy so that those who feel they've been overlooked for games don't become discontented and cause problems in the squad. The off field activities and team building stuff is going to be just as important as the onfield and I just hope that we can get it right.
The Lions really need to win a test series to breathe some new life into the whole concept whose existence many question in the professional era. For me I hope it continues and I hope we do actually put one over Aus, although I'm not confident just hopeful.
, him and Daily (I think the kicking centre anyway) stood out in the backs for me.
