British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa in 2009 - Trivia
This page will include fun, facts and trivia on the build up to the Tour. In the meantime, if you have something to say, fill out the form on our contact us page and if your views are printable we will publish them on this page.
British & Irish Lions Tour - Quotes from New Zealand 2005
Reflections on a disappointing tour - an independent view from a South African supporter:
1. The Lions had too many players. No opportunity to get a settled test team.
2. Poor Lions selection. Success of replacements demonstrates this. (Could have told Sir Clive that Lawrence Dallaglio, Richard Hill, Neil Back and probably Will Greenwood also wouldn't last the tour). It was a disgraceful disservice to a legendary player to select Johnny Wilkinson. Brave though he is he wasn't up to it and could only tackle with one shoulder.
3. Appalling reffing. No antipodean ref should handle (or even run the touch) a game involving a NZ or OZ team. Stupidity is pardonable, bias not. I agonised for ages over which of the NZ refs was the worst. They were all much of a muchness in terms of awfulness. Eventually Walsh got the wooden spoon for his arrogance.
4. Infuriating commentary. They were all totally one eyed (if that), excepting Ian Smith. Murray Mixedhead was a great player but can't see the wood for the trees. "The Lions are almost always offside". I've got news for him. The Kiwis were always offside, period.
5. Something must be done about eligibility. I'm damned sure there were more assorted Polynesian playing than Maori and New Zealanders put together.
6. The worst thing was the kudos Henry will take out of the tour. He has reaped where John Wright sowed.
7. Daniel Carter was sublime.
Tour Quotes
"I will definitely be the best-prepared Lions coach ever." - Sir Clive prior to the tour; Humble Pie et all!
"It's actually been a successful tour despite what's been written and said." - You guessed it, Sir Clive again, following the third Test defeat in Auckland.
"We have to be careful in the future that we are sensible about the numbers involved in tours and that they are all there for a relevant reason." - Sense at last from IRB chairman Syd Millar.
"Have you heard the latest from the Lions camp? Clive Woodward is sending Andy Robinson to a fancy-dress party tonight. He's going as a pumpkin. They're hoping at midnight he'll turn into a coach." - Ouch! Austin Healey kisses his England career goodbye.
"The only true judgement of a team is at a World Cup, where everyone turns up properly fit and prepared and the games take place on a level playing field. There is no gulf between hemispheres. Who holds the World Cup at the moment?" - That told 'em Sir Clive
"There is a huge element of frustration and anger at the way it happened. My real disappointment was that he (Umaga) didn't come up as I was being stretchered off which I thought would just be a common courtesy between captains, whether he had been involved or not." - My thoughts exactly! Brian O'Driscoll.
"Bloody hell, I thought this was meant to be our day off." - Response from a nameless Lion on being told that he would be lunching with Prince William.
"Mixing up the players, and giving everyone a crack at the Test side as we had promised before the start of the tour, did affect cohesion." - Really!!!! Eddie O'Sullivan in the aftermath of the first Test.
"It is abundantly clear that this is the worst Lions team to arrive in New Zealand." - Mr Know It All, Laurie Mains.
"There was research done on what is the best colour to wear when you are playing competitive sports and the research came out very clearly that winning teams wear red." - Mr Know Nothing At All, Sir Clive! - Just play rugby why don't you?.
And finally, how about this from an arrogant Kiwi - a particularly undesirable git, who happens to be a columnist with one of the many local rags, described the United Kingdom thus:
"A stiflingly polite middle-class, an agreeably smug upper-middle-class and a breed of teenage male thugs of unrivalled barbarity. Good beer, good books, bad skin."
Here is my response to the ignorant monkey:- New Zealand:
"Great rugby team (with a little help from their Polynesian neighbours), ungracious fans (embarrassing, rude and obnoxious in victory; who knows how they would have behaved in defeat), awful press (unless you're out of toilet paper), appalling weather (and I mean appalling - I shall never again complain about the British winter), one dimensional (there is more to life than rugby you know!), and bad, bad beer (in most cases undrinkable to be fair). In a country that boasts a population of 5 million only 4 million actually live in New Zealand. Which begs the question, why have 20% left??"
