The Irish News Review Lions Squad
The Lions squad to Tour Australia will be announced by Warren Gatland and his lieutenants tomorrow at 11am – Tuesday April 30th - and 38 players will Tour. The announcement will end the speculation that has been rife since the start of the Six Nations. The European semi-final weekend just gone was the final chance for the players to audition for the trip Down Under. Most of the plane is filled at this stage, but last weekend the coaching team split up for the final time to cast their eyes over proceedings in the RDS, Montpellier and Twickenham and the players in contention had one last opportunity to squeeze their way into the famous red jersey. Akin to the attention paid to tennis player’s Wags during Wimbledon, the cameras honed in on the faces of the Lions coaching staff at each break in play in order to spot a giveaway look, or nod of approval, that would signal someone had done enough. But further speculation was all that could be garnered from the steely expressions and early exits. Now the playing is over and it’s an agonising wait for those involved in marginal calls. Gatland and his henchmen will come together again today to finalise selections before facing the media and breaking the squad tomorrow – Tuesdays are rarely this exciting. After it’s announced the difficult work begins as they hope to become the first Touring side to record a Test series victory since Ian McGeechan’s men in South Africa in 1997. The Lions, as a sporting brand, needs to win but they face an Australian side that will be bolstered by their club’s best domestic Super rugby form in years , all their stars are fighting tooth-and-nail for a Test spot against the visiting Lions. What a Summer Down Under awaits! Read more
We met up on the first weekend in January to start our preparations for the 2013 RBS Six Nations. It was great to see all the old faces (no retirements) and plenty of new faces too. It was clear from the first session that there was going to be great competition for places. On the weekend sessions we would do two pitch sessions a day and then you would have an array of meetings. It can be quite intense and tiring both physically and mentally.
