Lions Memories - A Fans Point of View

For this Lions Fan one of the most enduring parts of any Lions tour is the memories they leave. Moments of brilliance from players you normally would be cheering against, instances of great teamwork coming from four separate unions, separate unions that just over two months previous were battling each other in Europe’s flagship tournaments, the Six Nations and in more recent times the Heineken Cup.

1989 passed me by. My only memories are of my father staying up extremely late or waking up crazily early to catch the games. Being a seven year-old boy I was too busy playing transformers and this tour is barely remembered except for the odd occasion when my mother shouted at the old man for twilight silence. Watching the old videos from that tour, the magnitude of the achievement is hugely apparent, as many of the Aussie players seemed to be in an almost professional shape, physically at least.

The 1993 tour gave me my first vivid memories of Lions rugby. Being a fresh faced 11 years of age the memories are sparse but they constitute more than Mum shouting at Dad. Memories of Brian Moore and Fitzpatrick staring each other out, seeing for myself and learning from my father about the ferocious Kiwi style of sprint rucking, or as he put it, ‘giving him the good old Fred Astaire.’

For some reason there are two moments that have stuck with me from that series, firstly seeing the man mountain that was Va’aiga Tuigamala, or ‘Inga the Winger’ as he is better known. The now Funeral Director was a revelation to me. Never had I seen a winger like this, I was used to wingers along the lines of Simon Geoghen and Ieuan Evans not 16 stones of Samoan muscle brutalising the Lions defensive line. It was as if the All Blacks were from a different planet, something that was also apparent on the 2005 tour to Aotearoa.

The second memory comes from the second test. The Lions had to win to keep the series alive, we had been close to the All Blacks in the first test losing only by two points. I was at home watching it with my family, I remember the physicality was something I had never witnessed before, but the one moment which stays in my mind was Rory Underwood scorching down the wing to score in the corner and to seal the win much to the joy of the entire family.

After a brave start to the third test the Lions looked strong surging into a ten point lead. This was in vain as the Kiwi’s, now playing an open attacking style of rugby to combat Bayfield’s 6’10’’ lineout presence won the decisive test 30-13.

Four years had gone by. I had not really given the Lions much thought since 93, but I was to learn over the summer of 1997 how special a Lions series really can be.

I remember being about fifteen years old, and had been following the build up with an almost obsessive tendency. The press had completely written of the 97 Lions, and after seeing the then Super 10 tournament I was worried too. How would we, the Northern Hemisphere with our slow forward orientated rugby, compete with our super-fast and über-physical southern cousins.

The squad showed some excellent selection choices. I was so happy that Martin Johnson was captain - once again McGeehan had shown that he was ahead of the game by appointing MJ as captain before he skippered of his nation. Greenwood who had been the form youngster of the English domestic game was chosen and in doing so joined the prestigious Lion-before-international club. Also selected were soon-to-be-legends such as Paul Wallace, Keith Wood, John Bentley and Matt Dawson to name but a few.

I remember how the tide turned after the Lions put the Natal Sharks to the sword. The voices of encouragement came from many and varied angles, a prominent Kiwi coach was quoted as saying the Lions were playing an attacking style of rugby that had not been seen in the SANZAR arena for some time, and that no team in the super series could match the intensity of the Lions.

One of the biggest memories for me was the injury to Rob Howley. Up until his injury he was one of the form players of the tour and I was most gutted when he had to go home. As a fan I was concerned that we didn't have a scrum-half to challenge Bok legend Joost Van Der Westhuizen - the guy who had helped South Africa win the '95 World Cup and the player who could stop Lomu! Who would have thought that Matt Dawson would become such a part of Lions folklore with the school boy dummy that rooted no less than 5 South Africans to the spot and left him with a simple stroll into the unchallenged corner.

There are so many other memories, Jenks metronomic boot, Keith ‘The Potato on Speed’ Wood, Scott Gibbs steamrolling the supposed unmovable Os Du Rant, Bentley’s midweek rant before the game against Orange Free State and then going on to score four trys and play himself into the test squad.

1997 was a tour worth remembering and on a personal note a moment in my life that made me believe in the Lions concept and that it had a place in the modern game. Seeing my local rugby club and fans from all corners of the home unions celebrating together made me realise the galvanizing power that a successful Lions tour can have on the British and Irish public.

One personal memory from 1997 related to the ‘Living with Lions’ tour documentary. It was a brilliant film and was packed with a plethora of great moments, My favorite was Keith Wood chatting to Dawson before a game. It went along the lines of ‘If they're going to get to you give me the ball. I’ll take the shoeing, not you’. The week after watching it, I was running out for my club U15 side. I turned to our scrum half prior to the game and gave him the exact same chat.

Although many say that 1997 was the first full pro-tour, to me 2001 felt like the first genuinely professional tour. A foreign coach, a veritable scrum of media coverage, players already starting to show the fruits of full-time rugby in strength, physique and power. The stadia was amazing and the country even better - Australia, a completely sports-mad nation.

I always felt this tour lacked some of the soul that the 1997 tour offered, although the rugby was of an exquisite standard. We now had the emergence of new legends to bestow our worship upon, Brian O’Driscoll the Irish wonder kid, Jason Robinson fresh from rugby league and not to forget the genuine star in the making Johnny Wilkinson. Although new legends were present the tour was powered by old heroes such as MJ, Dallaglio and Keith Wood, along with the invigorated Rob Henderson. Amazing for a player who reportedly smoked 30 Marlboros a day.

I have many memories from this tour, not least the anger regarding the adjudicating at scrum and ruck. For me, the 2001 tour highlighted the fundamental differences in refereeing between the two rugby hemispheres.

The loss against Australia A was a huge disappointment and seeing the brutality of some of the tour matches signified that this tour was personal. I will never forget or forgive Duncan McRae's assault on Ronan O'Gara. Robinson's five try haul in one match was a highlight as was the performance in the first test. BOD’s try was magical and deserved to be on the highlight reel from a winning series.

Another moot point that stuck with me was the moment when Australian centre Nathan Grey hit Richard Hill late. Not only was it late, it was also high and contact was made with the elbow. If you watch the moment in slow-mo it almost seems as if Grey looks back to make sure he hit his target.

For me the 2001 tour has always felt like ‘the one that got away’ as the Lions were easily on a par if not better than their hosts.

I think the less said about 2005 the better, all I can say is that I hope 2009 provides half the memories that 1997 did. If it does then I am sure the Lions will get the result we crave so much.

Gareth Rise - Friday 29th May 6.27PM