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'Scandalous' video of Lions players flying conditions goes viral
A viral video over the weekend has shed light on the cramped conditions that some Lions rugby players have had to endure when travelling to Europe.
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The video appears to show two forwards from the South African URC side – 203cm Reinhard Nothnagel and 198cm Ruben Schoeman – sitting in economy-class seats with their legs pointing out the sides due to a lack of space.
The clip was apparently taken on trip the Lions made to play Benetton in Italy at the end of March and isn’t from this weekend’s Challenge Cup match with Glasgow. The video has since been widely shared on social media, with many expressing concern for the well-being of the players featured.
The video sparked a debate about the treatment of professional athletes, particularly in the rugby industry. The Lions players in question were likely already tired and potentially injured after their match, making the cramped conditions even more challenging for them.
While the players clearly see the funny side of it, it depicts the reality of travel for big-body rugby players in an industry where international air travel is a significant cost.
Rugby youtuber Riaan Louw, who posted the Tik Tok video on Twitter, wrote: “Who needs legs to beat Leinster this Saturday?”
Who needs legs to beat Leinster this Saturday? ???#LIOvLEI #lions4bloodclots pic.twitter.com/I6DGJlKxb3
— Riaan Louw (@Ringo26) April 9, 2023
One fan wrote: “Bloody ridiculous. Being treated like 2nd class citizens. Wonder if Quins and Racing had to fly economy last week,” while another simply wrote ‘Scandalous’.
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Another made a counter-argument, blaming the Lions for the less-than-ideal conditions for the players: “SA teams made the decision to join the ‘European’ circuit, and if your clubs are too cheap to fly their players in business that’s their problem. Doubt you had any issues with Glasgow having to play the Lions in SA with 17 players missing on Scotland duty.”
Given a business class flight from Glasgow to Johannesburg – for example – costs in the region of £4,000 one way, the total cost of flying a 23-man rugby team would be in excess of £90,000 – an amount few rugby union sides could afford. In contrast, an economy seat is as little as £250.
Indeed the video plays into a narrative this weekend around SA sides competing in Europe, with some fans suggesting the onerous travelling requirements mean Saffa sides are at a significant disadvantage when competing in Europe on away days.
Comments on RugbyPass
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
43 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
43 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
43 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
6 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
6 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to comments