The Lions

WumBuster

Does anyone really care about this team? I dont think it merits the hype it gets. For those not familiar with Rugby, its a team made up of the best rugby playing Irishmen, Englishmen, Welshmen and Scotsmen that gets together and tours down under every 4 years. I find it all a bit cringey really. Dont see the purpose of it.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Nobody cares about anything.

Phill Ewinn

'tis a busmans holiday.

HigginsJ

WumBuster wrote: »

Does anyone really care about this team? I dont think it merits the hype it gets. For those not familiar with Rugby, its a team made up of the best rugby playing Irishmen, Englishmen, Welshmen and Scotsmen that gets together and tours down under every 4 years. I find it all a bit cringey really. Dont see the purpose of it.

Then ignore it and move on.

Some people do care about it and enjoy it.

Pudsy33

WumBuster wrote: »

Does anyone really care about this team? I dont think it merits the hype it gets. For those not familiar with Rugby, its a team made up of the best rugby playing Irishmen, Englishmen, Welshmen and Scotsmen that gets together and tours down under every 4 years. I find it all a bit cringey really. Dont see the purpose of it.

FYP

Mr.Prodston

Dey tewk arr bod :eek:

Nodin

WumBuster wrote: »

Does anyone really care about this team?.

Obviously, yes. Not one of them meself, but there ye go. It's better than field hockey, I suppose.

OhHiMark

Does anyone really care about *thing that I don't like*. I mean, I don't like it so I just don't get the fuss.

Ilik Urgee

Dis is de noicest soopersplit oi've ever had

DEFTLEFTHAND

Is this just because they dropped Drico or did you always consider the Lions Tour pointless and outdated?

I agree that it gets hyped too much up here alright, the south hem probably wouldn't be too bothered if it stopped happening. It's not going anywhere though imo, it goes back over 100 years and the jersey still holds a lot of pride for any Briton or Irishman selected to go.

Banjo String

Hitler cares.

Mint Sauce

WumBuster wrote: »

Does anyone really care about this team? I dont think it merits the hype it gets. For those not familiar with Rugby, its a team made up of the best rugby playing Irishmen, Englishmen, Welshmen and Scotsmen that gets together and tours down under every 4 years. I find it all a bit cringey really. Dont see the purpose of it.

Are South Africa and New Zealand classed/consider as down under, because they also tour there. They wont be back in Australia until 2025 (assuming format continues as it is).

But clearly people are interested, considering the number who go to the games, watch/follow it, and the amount of debate re BOD being dropped from the last test tomorrow.

Peregrine

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Are South Africa and New Zealand classed/consider as down under, because they also tour there. They wont be back in Australia until 2025 (assuming format continues as it is).

I think NZ is considered down under

But I've never heard SA being referred to as 'down under'

To answer your question OP, yes people follow it. People like things you don't..must be a shocker. Yes it's lost some of it's merit in the past few tourrs..especially this tour.

Lelantos

melekalikimaka wrote: »

at the level as BoD - not even close, POC is good but not a legend

POC is a god!

Lelantos

Is OP head of the Warren Gatland appreciation society?

Grandpa Hassan

So what do you care about OP? Music? Art? I'd guess it's something that I couldn't give a cr^p about!!

Mint Sauce

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

I think NZ is considered down under

But I've never heard SA being referred to as 'down under'

To answer your question OP, yes people follow it. People like things you don't..must be a shocker

That was my point to the OP referring to it as 'Down Under'. I wondered was he aware that they also toured other countries in the Southern Hemisphere, including at one point Argentina. as I too never heard of SA (or Argentina) being referred to as 'Down Under'.

Binge101

People are very happy to keep their head in the sand regarding drugs in sports such as rugby and soccer.

Soccer is currently getting exposed,with the the investigation happening at Barcelona.

Why wouldn't ruby players dope?The testing is nothing compared to cycling.

In saying that BOD doesn't strike me as a doper,but there is always a doubt.

Ruudi_Mentari

Dya feel that; feeling in your stomach

Those are nerves....

Use them, to remove yourselves from the ballpark because real lions don't get nervous you deluded fools

Frosty McSnowballs

I.DONT.GIVE.A.FCUK.ABOUT.RUGBY

Dancor

I don't get why they are called the lions. They should be renamed to something native to the Celtic/British isles region like "the jack russles" or something.

melekalikimaka

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You can't compare a lock to a centre, both excel in their respective positions.

BoD is internationally recognised as a player of a generation...POC as a Munster hero

SeaFields

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

Dey tewk arr bod :eek:

No they didn't! Therein the problem apparently.

WindSock

Javion Brave Neck wrote: »

Nobody cares about anything.

Wrong! Everyone cares about nothin'.

RobertKK

I would love to be on the Lions team, it is an expenses paid foreign holiday that last for weeks.

humanji

I've had to delete several posts and replies to those posts. It really shouldn't have to be said that you don't go making libellous accusations about people.

Potential-Monke

I don't fall out with it. It's not my interest really, rugby. People give out to me because i didn't jump on the bandwagon when Munster started winning everything back a good few years ago. Even being from Limerick i never even knew of games of rugby being played until the plastic supporters jumped on board and everyone was suddenly a rugby historian!

However, i am quite PO'd with the amount of **** on bookface about that O'Driscoll lad. God it annoys me so much...

Duckworth_Luas

The Lions goes back to the 19th century. Back then it wasn't really possible for Ireland, Scotland & Wales at least to find the players who could all take 6 months of work to travel to SA or NZ. Instead they picked a "British Isles" team which had the added bonus of being able to compete, on paper at least.

The name British and Irish Lions is fairly recent. Up to 1993 the were called British Lions or British Isles. This wasn't popular with players from the Republic of Ireland so they more PC moniker is now used. On occasion God Save the Queen has been played by the host nation as the Lions anthem, which has been embarrassing for some Irish players.

The team symbol, the Lion, was bestowed on them by a South African journalist when they toured there many years ago. It has nothing to do with any royal or English symbols. BTW those "three lions on my chest" are not lions, they're actually leopards.

Historically the Lions was never a particularly big deal for the casual fans at home in Ireland and Britain. This all changed with satellite TV after the hugely successful tour to SA in 1997. Sky have the rights so, like with all sports they broadcast, they hype the $hit out of it. It seems to work. This is what non-soccer fans have to put up with for 10 months of the year.

O'Driscoll was dropped. The manager has a job to do and he has put his reputation on the line with the team he's picked. If they lose he'll be vilified in Ireland and England. If they win well he's one of the few Lions coaches to have a winning tour.

WumBuster

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Is this just because they dropped Drico or did you always consider the Lions Tour pointless and outdated?

I agree that it gets hyped too much up here alright, the south hem probably wouldn't be too bothered if it stopped happening. It's not going anywhere though imo, it goes back over 100 years and the jersey still holds a lot of pride for any Briton or Irishman selected to go.

Well Im not happy at the fashion one of Ireland's greatest sporting heroes has been humiliated, at their expense. Thats for sure. Also, the premise of the Lions bugs me. Why not include french and italian players and just make it a ''best of six nations'' lions. I think its become outdated in that sense. But i dont see the need for it anyway. I find it irritating when i hear players saying ''its the crowning moment of their career'' lining out for the lions. No, their crowning moment of their career should be playing for their country. Can you imagine a joint British/Irish representative team in any other sport? perhaps its that uniqueness that appeals, but it wouldnt appeal to me at all.

mackg

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/gatland-s-dricectomy-matters-the-lions-winning-doesn-t-1.1453007

Good article in the irish times about this today. Short version: all people care about is that their players get picked of everybody else and no one really cares if they win or not. I agree to an extent, I'm more pissed off about BOD being dropped than I would be if they lost the series. Saying that I do still want to see them win.

WumBuster

mackg wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/gatland-s-dricectomy-matters-the-lions-winning-doesn-t-1.1453007

Good article in the irish times about this today. Short version: all people care about is that their players get picked of everybody else and no one really cares if they win or not. I agree to an extent, I'm more pissed off about BOD being dropped than I would be if they lost the series. Saying that I do still want to see them win.

That article sums it up perfectly. I'd watch it for the sake of watching something or out of curiosity but whether they win or lose is futile to me. If anything I'll be going for Australia.

Juniorhurler

WumBuster wrote: »

Well Im not happy at the fashion one of Ireland's greatest sporting heroes has been humiliated, at their expense. Thats for sure. Also, the premise of the Lions bugs me. Why not include french and italian players and just make it a ''best of six nations'' lions. I think its become outdated in that sense. But i dont see the need for it anyway. I find it irritating when i hear players saying ''its the crowning moment of their career'' lining out for the lions. No, their crowning moment of their career should be playing for their country. Can you imagine a joint British/Irish representative team in any other sport? perhaps its that uniqueness that appeals, but it wouldnt appeal to me at all.

I am only going to post once on this as I don't want to get into a to and fro argument. I think all this hyperbole about O Driscoll is rubbish. The man made himself available for selection for a team. The coach picked him 2 of 3 games and not the other one. That is not humiliation, that is sport. Every great sportsman must close each chapter some way and I would have liked to see him do ot on his own terms too, but he couldn't. What has he got to be humiliated by? Still a great player who would be on a lot of peoples best world team of all time.

kraggy

If the Lions win tomorrow, I don't see why it will be considered an achievement.

It's the best players from 4 countries in which rugby is a prominent sport and whose combined population amounts to approximately 60 million

Vs

A single country in which rugby is only the 4th most popular sport and whose population is only 20 million.

Would still watch it if I had Sky Sports, but I don't, so I won't.

BBDBB

kraggy wrote: »

If the Lions win tomorrow, I don't see why it will be considered an achievement.

It's the best players from 4 countries in which rugby is a prominent sport and whose combined population amounts to approximately 60 million

Vs

A single country in which rugby is only the 4th most popular sport and whose population is only 20 million.

Would still watch it if I had Sky Sports, but I don't, so I won't.

that's because you are missing out a couple of important factors that make it an achievement

1) Its from 4 different countries, ie these players don't play together a great deal, usually they play against each other

2) Lions wins over SH opposition are quite rare (wins by their own home nations are quite rare vs SH opposition)

but your lack of interest is perfectly understandable regardless

Sulla Felix

WumBuster wrote: »

Does anyone really care about this team? I dont think it merits the hype it gets. For those not familiar with Rugby, its a team made up of the best rugby playing Irishmen, Englishmen, Welshmen and Scotsmen that gets together and tours down under every 4 years. I find it all a bit cringey really. Dont see the purpose of it.

Course people care. Even the opposing teams care. There was an australia player crying when the whistle blew last week because they were still in the running for the series.

WumBuster

Sulla Felix wrote: »

Course people care. Even the opposing teams care. There was an australia player crying when the whistle blew last week because they were still in the running for the series.

Uhg... sports people crying i find neusiating. last years Olympics was like watching the x factor.

dd972

maybe they just like playing Rugby OP

Was in Eamon Rea's near Heuston Station once, and half the pub were cheering them on and there were other's booing them for obvious reasons.

castletownman

I shudder to think of a possible sporting scenario tomorrow.

If the Lions lose, the whole fallout and reaction to the defeat will inevitably turn to the omission of O'Driscoll, and how it was an insult how he was treated in the twilight of his career etc. There will be loads of newspaper pages devoted to the debate in this country.

On the same day, Kilkenny may lose to Tipperary (don't see it happening myself but it is a possibility). That may signal the end of one of the greatest teams in the history of Irish sport, and two of Ireland's greatest every sportspeople Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody may call it a day (again I don't see it happening but you never know). But there won't be half the reaction in the national press should that scenario pan out, even though it's our preceived national game.

Why? Because sure the BRITISH AND IRISH Lions is the hottest ticket in town right now. Frankly, everything about it sickens me to the tits

Sulla Felix

castletownman wrote: »

If the Lions lose, the whole fallout and reaction to the defeat will inevitably turn to the omission of O'Driscoll, and how it was an insult how he was treated in the twilight of his career etc. There will be loads of newspaper pages devoted to the debate in this country.

In fairness, there'll be pages devoted to it in several counties around the world, since there certainly has been in pretty much every major rugby playing country the last few days.

Frank Black

Supporting or 'caring' about the Lions is no more ridiculous than caring about any other sporting event.
Logically, all sport is a stupid, pointless exercise that makes no difference to the spectators life. But we seem to get wrapped up in the emotion of it anyway.
So even though a part of me realises that watching the Lions tomorrow is completely meaningless, the other part of me will be wearing my replica jersey (thanks Bargain Alerts), and cheering them on.

osarusan

I've never really got it myself, as I don't really see what the Lions are supposed to represent, and why I should support it, in an age where all the teams make their own individual tours regularly.

I can understand why Horwill was crying, as from his position, it's a huge achievement, but from the Lions perspective, they've everything to lose and little to win.

Why shouldn't the best combination of players from 4 countries beat the players from one country with a much much smaller population?

And the argument that because they're a collection of players from different countries they don't know each other all that well doesn't hold water either. It just sounds like a ready-made excuse in case of defeat.

I'll still watch it though, as options on Japanese TV on Saturday evenings are limited.

Pug160

I've never played rugby but I think it's a better game than football in theory. Football requires the same type of athletic ability throughout the entire team, whereas in rugby there are big guys, little guys, fast guys, all sorts playing a specific role. It's also much more of a man's game, despite the fact that it's associated with middle class people.

Grandeeod

Dancor wrote: »

I don't get why they are called the lions. They should be renamed to something native to the Celtic/British isles region like "the jack russles" or something.

Three Lions on a shirt...Jules Rimet still gleaming...

And all that ****e!

Edit: Some South African lad did it. Leopards...Lions....I don't know anymore.

Grandeeod

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

The Lions goes back to the 19th century. Back then it wasn't really possible for Ireland, Scotland & Wales at least to find the players who could all take 6 months of work to travel to SA or NZ. Instead they picked a "British Isles" team which had the added bonus of being able to compete, on paper at least.

The name British and Irish Lions is fairly recent. Up to 1993 the were called British Lions or British Isles. This wasn't popular with players from the Republic of Ireland so they more PC moniker is now used. On occasion God Save the Queen has been played by the host nation as the Lions anthem, which has been embarrassing for some Irish players.

The team symbol, the Lion, was bestowed on them by a South African journalist when they toured there many years ago. It has nothing to do with any royal or English symbols. BTW those "three lions on my chest" are not lions, they're actually leopards.

Historically the Lions was never a particularly big deal for the casual fans at home in Ireland and Britain. This all changed with satellite TV after the hugely successful tour to SA in 1997. Sky have the rights so, like with all sports they broadcast, they hype the $hit out of it. It seems to work. This is what non-soccer fans have to put up with for 10 months of the year.

O'Driscoll was dropped. The manager has a job to do and he has put his reputation on the line with the team he's picked. If they lose he'll be vilified in Ireland and England. If they win well he's one of the few Lions coaches to have a winning tour.

Right. That's killed the thread for me. Screw Wikipedia anyway! Must delete my last post or at least edit it!

Grandeeod

Juniorhurler wrote: »

I am only going to post once on this as I don't want to get into a to and fro argument. I think all this hyperbole about O Driscoll is rubbish. The man made himself available for selection for a team. The coach picked him 2 of 3 games and not the other one. That is not humiliation, that is sport. Every great sportsman must close each chapter some way and I would have liked to see him do ot on his own terms too, but he couldn't. What has he got to be humiliated by? Still a great player who would be on a lot of peoples best world team of all time.

I am also amazed at the hysteria.

Duck's hoop

Why is this left open but 3 days ago a Tour De France thread was closed?

It's the utter inconsistency on here that bugs me.

BOD being dropped? Gatland is a terrible, heartless monster obviously. Poor Brian.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I hope we can all get over this perceived slight and support the boys today. It could be the first series win since 97.

Xavi6

C'mon Australia!

The Aussie

It's lucky there is so many Economic Refugees in Australia at present to show support......

Sprog 4

Dancor wrote: »

I don't get why they are called the lions. They should be renamed to something native to the Celtic/British isles region like "the jack russles" or something.

The British and Irish Sheep Agree that Lions is a poor name and in no way representative of the region.

DEFTLEFTHAND

The British and Irish Badgers.