For Rugby Players, Lions Matches Leave an Indelible Mark

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/sports/rugby/British-and-Irish-Lions-Leave-Indelible-Mark-on-Rugby-players.html

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WELLINGTON — It has been billed as a tour 12 years in the making: a once-in-a-career chance for Australia’s elite — and not-so-elite — rugby players to take on the might of the British and Irish Lions.

The Lions, a team featuring the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, tour every four years, rotating among Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

This series began with a stopover in Hong Kong for a money-generating match against the Barbarians on June 1. By the time the 125th anniversary tour ends with the final test match on July 6, the Lions will have played nine matches in Australia, including three tests against the national team, the Wallabies. Playing six matches against Australia’s state sides harkens back to an era when teams went on long tours overseas, instead of the hit-and-run trips now commonly associated with international rugby.

It is a tradition that is embraced by the players and supporters of both sides. Around 20,000 Lions fans are expected in Australia during the tour. Tickets to the test matches sold out within 15 minutes.

So what is the enduring appeal of the Lions? Why do players still covet the famed red jersey? For Gareth Edwards, the legendary Welsh scrum-half who played on three Lions tours and won series in New Zealand and South Africa in 1971 and 1974, the answer is simple.

“The Lions legacy has been historically and traditionally a way of playing, and the phenomenon of guys beating the hell out of each other, coming together for a couple of weeks and actually forming a team spirit that stands the test of time,” he said.

That special bond binds Lions players together long after the blood, sweat and tears have been spilled.

“When you are a Lion, you can actually feel it and sense it,” Edwards said. “When you meet, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you met one another; you become Lions again, and you become so close again. You’ve got to be one to sense it and feel it. These players are joining a unique band of players.”

A tour of this length means enduring friendships can be formed, even among rivals for the same position.

Edwards made his Lions debut in 1968 in South Africa and became such good friends with his rival Roger Young, of Ireland, that Young named Edwards as his next of kin on a hospital form when he was being treated for broken ribs.

Edwards later became a godfather to one of Young’s daughters, and the two remain in regular contact.

“There isn’t a couple months go by without an e-mail or something from Roger,” Edwards said. “We’ve maintained that friendship, and I know there are many of those within the Lions setup”

The history and an appreciation of those players that have gone before them is also a huge part of the Lions legacy.

For those, like Edwards, who were part of winning series, their deeds are etched in sports folklore.

Only the 1997 Lions in South Africa, captained by England’s Martin Johnson, have won a series since the game turned professional in 1995.

And for Brian O’Driscoll, an all-time great of the game who is on his fourth Lions tour, a series victory is the one thing he wants most after missing out in 2001 (Australia), 2005 (New Zealand) and 2009 (South Africa).

“Until you win a series, it’s difficult to place yourself in that elite group of great Lions players,” he said.

“It’s not enough to produce one-off performances or be nearly men,” he added. “You’ve got to win a series to be properly remembered.”

That applies equally to the Lions’ opposition — they get a shot at glory only once every 12 years.

For John Eales, that opportunity came in 2001 when he captained Australia to a 2-1 series victory over the Lions.

“It was such an important series in Australia for a number of reasons, too, because it was a series that caught the imagination of a lot of people outside of traditional rugby people as well,” Eales said. “We’d come from being a fairly average team to a team that won the Bledisloe Cup back from New Zealand. We’d won the World Cup in 1999 and then the Tri-Nations.

“Beating the British and Irish Lions in a series was something no Australian team had ever done. It was a huge year.”

It was also the first time many of the Australian players had experienced a “home” crowd dominated by opposition supporters cheering and singing so passionately.

In the first test match in Brisbane, fans swathed in the Lions colors were described as a “sea of red.”

“It startled our team initially,” Eales said. “There would always be a few supporters from the different teams we played, but there is no doubt we were surprised by how unified and on-song those supporters were and how many there were.

“It really struck us to the extent that when we ran out the tunnel, all we could see was this grandstand full of red.” That support, and superb tries by Jason Robinson and O’Driscoll, lifted the Lions to a comfortable 29-13 victory.

In the second test in Melbourne, Australia was again trailing at halftime.

“But the room was buoyant,” Eales recalled. “We really felt that we were doing a lot of things well it just wasn’t falling our way. But we felt it was about to happen.

“Then early in the second half Joe Roff got an intercept try, and I think that was the real signal for us of the turnaround. We won that game really well, 35-14, and then went to Sydney.”

The final test went down to the wire, and Australia needed two tries from Daniel Herbert to tie the score, 23-23. Matt Burke then kicked two penalties to put the Australians in front, 29-23, before Justin Harrison, who was making his international debut and had been described as a “plank,” a “plod” and an “ape” by the Lions player Austin Healey before the match, leaped in front of the captain Johnson to claim a crucial line-out steal to seal the victory — and the series triumph.

“We went into it looking forward to it and knowing we could win,” Eales said. “But we also knew it was going to be exceptionally tough, which it was.”

This test series is likely to be just as tight and tough as 12 years ago.

“The Aussies know the reputation of the Lions. They are all waiting to put one over them,” said Edwards, who is now an ambassador for HSBC, the Lions’ major tour sponsor. “But with the quality of players the Lions have got, if they can get this team ticking along and getting the best side out, I think they are going to be a formidable side.”

Eales, not unsurprisingly, is backing Australia. “I think it will be an exceptionally close series whichever way it goes,” he said. “There are not going to be a lot of points in any of the test matches. But I’m definitely picking Australia can do it.”