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As Warren Gatland prepares to name his squad for the upcoming British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, we take a look back at the last time the men in red ventured to the home of the All Blacks and ask – what the hell happened to them? We open with a look at the men who started the first test in Christchurch, starting with the back line…
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15: Jason Robinson
Arguably the most successful cross-code converts winning trophies and accolades across both League and Union, Robinson announced his international retirement post-tour to focus on his family and his club career. It proved to be a shrewd move when he led Sale Sharks to the 2005/6 Guinness Premiership. He returned to the England side in 2007, though a horrific injury in the World Cup Final against South Africa accelerated his already impending retirement. He would turn his hand to coaching with long-time club Sale in 2009, though briefly revived his playing career for a spell with Fylde in National League Two in 2010/11. He’s now doing the rounds on the reality TV circuit, having appeared on celebrity paralysis-factory The Jump, and is serving as an ambassador for several brands and admirable causes promoting ethnic diversity in sports.
14: Josh Lewsey
One of the few Lions players to emerge with much credibility from the tour, Lewsey continued his try-scoring form with England en route to the 2007 World Cup semi-final, where he limped off with a hamstring injury which ultimately ended his international career. He was named Wasps’ Player of the Year in 2008/9, after which he retired from rugby. However, Lewsey’s CV outside of rugby is arguably more impressive – prior to dedicating himself to the game full time he was a Troop Commander in the Royal Artillery, and in 2005 completed a postgraduate diploma in law. He managed to keep an expedition to K2 in the Himalayas in 2006 secret from his club lest he incur their wrath, though nearly died in 2010 after running out of oxygen 500 feet from the summit of Mount Everest. He spent a few years in increasingly corporate sounding roles with various high profile businesses before being appointed as interim CEO at Cornish Pirates, then spearheading grassroots campaigns as Head of Rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union. He now runs the incredibly lah-de-dah sounding SkyBar, which produce pop-up bars billed as “an après sea event” around the South West of England.
13: Brian O’Driscoll
His Lions tour ended prematurely due to what was either a freak accident as the result of a legitimate clear out, or a vicious attempt at murdering the captain by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu depending on your allegiance. Nonetheless, BOD ended his career in 2014 as arguably one of the greatest players of all time. He captained the side on the subsequent Lions tour of 2009 and became only the third player in history to tour four times after being selected for the 2013 trip. He’s won more trophies than I’ve had nervous breakdowns, though the 2011 Heineken Cup Final comeback victory was surely the result of some sort of witchcraft. World Rugby Player of the Decade (2000-2009), O’Driscoll has been awarded honorary doctorates from both Dublin City University and Queen’s University of Belfast, had dinner with the Queen, written(ish) an autobiography and now serves as a pundit, analyst and professional Dallaglio-mocker.
12: Jonny Wilkinson
One of the greatest 10s ever to set foot on a rugby field lined up at 12 for the opening test to accommodate Stephen Jones. Wilkinson spent the next couple of seasons accumulating various injuries for Newcastle and England before heading to Toulon in 2009/10 held together primarily with gaffer tape and bits of Lego. He traded international records back and forth with Dan Carter alongside winning various honours and adulation over in France. He firmly established himself in the side, delivering team talks in French and becoming known as Sir Jonny and so adored by locals he could probably go around Toulon punching kittens and no one would care. He ended his career by leading Toulon to back-to-back Heineken Cup victories and a Top 14 title, launched his own clothing line in 2011, and just to rub in the fact that he’s simply better than you, now spends his days helping kids at Great Ormond Street Hospital and advocating for mental health charities.
Part 2 coming soon…
Watch every game of the Lions Tour of NZ streaming live on rugbypass.com, home of the best online rugby coverage including news, highlights, previews & reviews, live scores, and more!
Comments on RugbyPass
Pot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to commentsCouldnt agree more. SA sides need to show more committment and really have a go at the Champions Cup. Its quite possibly the most prestigious title in Europe and SA sides need to respect that prestige and serve up their best. EPCR needs to do more to ensure that sides from South Africa and sides travelling to and from SA have a better chance in this competition. The Bulls were put in a really difficult position of having to travel there and back in one week. One could argue that this is what the SA sides signed up for and that La Rochelle didnt complain or send out weakened sides despite having to travel to SA and back and play on successive weekends but surely the situation is also unfair on La Rochelle as well and so EPCR needs to think about successive gameweeks and the travel effect of the competition
19 Go to comments