Three times the Lions got big decisions badly wrong

As the 2025 Lions tour prepares to launch, anticipation is high and the mood is overwhelmingly positive.
However, history teaches us that it pays to be cautious heading into these expeditions, the heightened exposure and pressure-cooker environment can ruthlessly expose cracks in the operation, leading to bad decisions.
Here are three examples from the last 40 years when the Lions got it badly wrong… Will Carling (centre) and the rest of the team wait for a Waikato conversion attempt. Pic: Anton Want/Allsport
The midweek team is essential to all successful Lions tours, providing playing and morale-boosting support to the Saturday or Test side.If the midweek team is winning, it boosts overall confidence as well as players with a spring in their step if called into Test action. Conversely, if the midweek team flops, the knock-on effects can be disastrous – as happed in New Zealand in 1993.On that tour, England were by far the dominant force and it created a somewhat disgruntled midweek side, made up primarily of Scottish players who lost interest fairly early on and suffered fefeats by Otago, Auckland, Hawke's Bay and a hammering by Warren
Gatland's Waikato. Richard Webster charges past Waikato players. Pic: Dave Rogers/Allsport
The Scottish contingent were exposed as way off the pace but there were good players dragged down with them – notably the English pair of Stuart Barnes and Will Carling while Ireland's Mick Galwey, who had done superbly well to make the tour during a difficult period for Irish rugby. was also affected by the midweek malaise. Mick Galwey with the Lions in 1993. Pic: Dave Rogers/Allsport
It was a hugely damaging experience with a chunk of players going 'off tour' – prioritising the social side over results as a rift grew within the party.
'Attitudes left a lot to be desired,' recalled Test wing Ieuan Evans years later. Ieuan Evans rounds Sam Doyle of New Zealand. Pic: AllsportUK/Allsport
'Too many were content with merely being a Lion instead of pushing themselves to the limit – they gave the impression they were on holiday.
'Some of those who played against Hawke's Bay didn't give a monkey's. They simply weren't trying. It was as if they were saying to themselves, 'We're not bothered. We're not going to get a Test place so we may as well enjoy ourselves'.'
Having done superbly to tie the series 1-1, the midweek fiasco took its toll by the time of the decisive third Test and a talented Lions side lost a series they should have won. Martin Johnson, Andy Robinson and Graham Henry in 2001. Pic: Dave Rogers/ALLSPORT
The 2001 Lions squad that travelled to Australia was one of the most talented groups of players ever assembled. When you look at some of the names – Martin Johnson, Brian O'Driscoll, Keith Wood, Jonny Wilkinson, Richard Hill, Jason Robinson – it was a collection of World XV icons, brimming with belief and natural ability. However, while there was no issue with their playing resources, there was a serious problem in another key area – the coaching ticket.
Graham Henry is now revered as one of rugby's best-ever coaches and his record of success with Auckland and New Zealand stands up to any scrutiny. But Henry was entirely the wrong choice as coach of the Lions. Matt Dawson in action for the Lions in 2001. Pic: Adam Pretty/Allsport
For a start, he was the first southern hemisphere Lions head, a fact which did not sit well with a lot of people — including a cohort of his players. His personality (stereotypical gruff Kiwi) was also at odds with creating the right spirit to mould four cultures into one over a short period.Henry's sense of 'humour' veered more towards put-down than punchline, which quickly created a gap between the head coach and his players that was never bridged.
And, to top it off, Henry's coaching philosophy — in tandem with his equally intense assistants Andy Robinson and Phil Larder — was to work the players into the ground, to the point where injuries proved corrosive and players clearly ran out of juice as the tour progressed. Austin Healey playing for the Lions against the ACT Brumbies in 2001. Pic: Dave Rogers/Allsport
The 2001 Lions tour documentary is highly watchable (the last one that is) and it is clear from that account just what a slog it all was.It seems mad now in the era of micro-managed media but, back in 2001, players were allowed to produce newspaper columns that did not need to be cleared by managementEnglish scrum-halves Matt Dawson and Austin Healey were two who had such columns and both laid into the touring experience with the coaching, and Henry in particular, getting a proper kicking.
The passage of time has not lessened the sense of just how 'off' it all was and, just to add to the 'what were we thinking?' vibe over appointing Henry, four years later he coached the All Blacks to a 3-0 series romp against the Lions. All Black match captain Richie McCaw and coach Graham Henry during the All Blacks captain's run at Lansdowne Road in 2005. Pic:Perhaps Henry's rank unsuitability for the 2001 task was summed up by a speech he gave on that tour, captured on the tour documentary, in an attempt to motivate his squad.He spoke about how the Lions were not respected or rated in Australia and New Zealand, how people did not think they were skilful enough, fit enough or strong enough.'And I should know,' Henry concluded, 'because I am one of them.' Inspiring stuff. Lions coach Ian McGeechan (centre) in 2009. Pic:After the 2005 calamity, there was a lot of pressure on the Lions heading to South Africa four years later.
Ian McGeechan was the safe pair of hands entrusted with getting the Lions back on track and he immediately brought the tour back to basics.The tourists lost a superb series 2-1 and, although their sole victory came in the dead-rubber third Test when the Springboks had rotated their team, there was lots of respect for how the Lions had played as credibility was restored.However, if you place sentiment to one side and subject McGeechan's performance to some clinical scrutiny, his selection for the first Test in Durban has to be seriously questioned. Lions forwards Alun-Wyn Jones, Paul O'Connell and Lee Mears in 2009. Pic:The Lions had gone extremely well in the build-up but the Test series was always going to be a different beast and the dogs in the Durban street knew the Boks were going to bulk up to bully their opponents.That 2009 South Africa team was enormous, packed with leviathans like 'Beast' Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies — and that was just in the forwards. In order to beat them, the Lions needed to muscle up in the forwards before they could even think about playing rugby but McGeechan went for the more mobile route that had worked in 1997.That meant starts for the front row of Gethin Jenkins, Lee Mears and Phil Vickery with Alun-Wyn Jones also picked in the second row and Tom Croft at blindside flanker.
All good players but they could not compete their opponents when it came to size. South Africa's Jean de Villiers with teammate Bismarck du Plessis tackles Brian O'Driscoll. Pic: Duif du Toit/Lee Mears was a solid hooker and good at the basics but Mears was only 5ft9in tall up against yjr 6ft3in Bismark Du Plessis.Jones in the second row was early into his career and not ready for the raw power and nous of Bakkies Botha, who was three inches taller and nearly three stone heavier.
Tom Croft was a superb top-of-the-ground backrow but only weighed in at 94kg, against the likes of Smith and Spies who were both around the 118kg mark. Springboks take part in a film shoot on Table Mountain ahead of the Lions tour. Pic: Carl Fourie/The frustrating aspect to it was that there were bigger Lions alternatives available. Loosehead Andrew Sheridan was a 6ft5on, 20st beast of a man, second row Simon Shaw was 6ft9in and pushing 20st, while Adam Jones at tighthead and Matthew Rees at hooker were big lumps also. The Lions also had access to the likes of Nathan Hines and Donncha O'Callaghan who had experience of playing in the backrow and the size to match the Boks.But McGeechan opted for 'Lions Lite' and got caught out.As it turned out, the Boks blitzed the Lions in the first 25 minutes and by the time the tourists got over their shell-shock, there was too much ground to make up — although they gave it a valiant try. For the second Test, the penny dropped and the Lions bulked up considerably — dominating the Boks for large chunks of the game and looking set for a famous win save for a freak Morne Steyn penalty.
McGeechan did so much right for the Lions over the years, but his 2009 first Test selection was definitely not his finest hour.

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Sunday World

39 minutes ago

• Sunday World

Conor McGregor parties with two Irish international footballers and ‘The Wig' in Ibiza

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Graham 'The Wig' Whelan and Conor McGregor The ex-UFC champion also posted a picture of him in the famous Pacha nightclub with glamour model Katie Price – along with Dubliners Lee Byrne and Nathan 'Biggie' Little. Lee, is the son of gangster Liam Byrne, and is currently in a relationship with Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly-Ella. Lee's childhood friend Nathan 'Biggie' Little.- described by gardai in court documents as a gangland footsoldier - can also be seen in the image. Troy Parrott, who like Lee Byrne and Evan Ferguson, Lilly-Ella and Steven Gerrard, have no involvement in crime, were also snapped in the same group photo in Pacha with McGregor. Eyebrows have been raised in the Irish football community at the sight of Evan Ferguson in the company of McGregor. Conor McGregor and Evan Ferguson The 20-year-old from Bellewstown Co Meath, who went on loan to West Ham from Brighton and Hove Albion last season, has scored five times for Ireland. 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The 42

an hour ago

• The 42

'Not here to make up the numbers' - Conan keen for his Lions shot

HUGO KEENAN, JAMES Ryan, and Jamison Gibson-Park are down the far end of the sin-kissed pitch in the UCD Bowl, getting through some running as they continue to recover from injuries. Jack Conan appears to have taken some sort of knock too, but he's in the middle of a bunch of kids, leading passing and sidestepping drills. The Leinster, Ireland, and Lions number eight has compression bandaging covering his entire right leg but when he strolls over for a chat, he explains that it's nothing to worry about. 'Bangs and bruises… too many pints on the weekend,' jokes Conan. He and his Leinster team-mates celebrated their URC success heartily last weekend, enjoying a couple of days together before the Lions contingent joined Andy Farrell's squad on Monday, while others headed for Dingle to keep the party rolling. 'Class,' says Conan of the days after the win over the Bulls. 'It was a bit weird in the changing room after, like we didn't know how to win. Lads were a bit awkward or something like that, but it was good craic. Advertisement 'We went to the RDS for a bit which was good and then just pottered into town and everyone did their own thing. We had a great few days, it was nice, a few pints on Sunday as well early doors which was good. It was enjoyable celebrations.' He was home early on the Sunday and on the road at 7am on Monday morning to collect his dog in Bray. The afterglow of URC success vanished pretty quickly as Conan packed up for the next eight weeks on the road with the Lions. He says that going into camp on Monday was like the first day at school. Conan lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Conan trained with the Lions for the first time on Tuesday – 'soul-searching stuff, we had to run out the demons!' – but didn't play in last night's defeat to Argentina, although he did the warm-up beforehand as cover. Conan was among the nine players at yesterday morning's training session in UCD, which involved children from schools in each of the four Irish provinces – Moorefields Primary School in Ballymena, St Columba's National School in Dublin, Clerihan National School in Clonmel, Tipperary, and St Brendan's National School in Galway. Conan was thrilled that Leinster could finish their season on a high with that URC victory, but the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton will linger. That's reflected when he's asked if Leinster's campaign was a success or failure. 'I think any season where you win something can never be deemed a failure,' he said. 'Obviously, we want to go well in both competitions, and I think if it hadn't been for the performance against Northampton, even if we had lost that game, but we performed really well, I don't think people would have said much about it. 'They're a quality side, but I think it was just the way we didn't show up that day and had a bit of a hangover for a few weeks. 'Maybe we don't get the result over the last two weeks if it wasn't for that game. Maybe it was the bit of a kick that we needed. 'The problem is when you win most of the time, it papers over cracks a little bit, so we had to have a good, hard look at ourselves and it was tough for a lot of lads, for everyone in the building. You get to win a trophy at Croke Park with all your mates, at the end of the day, I would have taken that. 'I definitely wouldn't say it was a failure, but there's definitely some more in this club and more in the lads, so hopefully there'll be a few years still ahead of us.' Conan with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Thoughts of Leinster have been pushed aside for now because Conan knows he has to bring his best to return to the starting Test shirt he wore on the last Lions tour in 2021. He says he loved that trip to South Africa, even if the pandemic meant it was like 'eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement' with the squad. This time in Australia will be very different. The injury to Caelan Doris means that Conan is the only out-and-out number eight in the squad, but Ben Earl and Henry Pollock have both played at the back of the scrum. Conan's leadership qualities add to his claims for a Test shirt. He will get his shot next Saturday against the Western Force in Perth. Conan has been rooming with Welsh flanker Jac Morgan this week, enjoying his company even if the Irishman says, 'I need subtitles half the time, it's a strong Welsh accent!' Related Reads 'Johnny is very different than what he was on the field' England's Freeman can be the 'untidy' wing that Farrell likes He knows that the battle for back row slots will be fierce, with Tom Curry and Josh van der Flier also firmly in the mix. 'There's some unbelievable athletes,' says Conan. 'We were training against the lads on Tuesday and the skillset and talent was incredibly high. I look forward to competing with the lads when I get the chance. 'I know Tom from before, I've been spending a good bit of time with Ben the last few days, a good fella and a great athlete. It's great to see them go to work and I'm sure myself and Josh, in particular, are excited to get in amongst them because we've only really had the one training day. 'The competition brings out the best in people and we're not here to just make up the numbers, so we'll look forward to competing with the lads.'

The Irish Sun

an hour ago

• The Irish Sun

Sir Alex Ferguson quickly bounces back from Man Utd axe as alternative venture secures him more than a year's earnings

SIR ALEX FERGUSON is still earning a pretty penny, despite being ruthlessly axed from his lucrative role at Manchester United. The legendary manager was the biggest casualty of 3 Sir Alex Ferguson lost his Manchester United ambassadorial role last season Credit: GETTY 3 Sir Jim Ratcliffe chopped Fergie's £2.1million-a-year job as part as sweeping club cuts Credit: ALAMY 3 But a business venture he started 42 years ago is helping keep him financially stable Credit: GETTY Fergie was axed from his multi-million-pound ambassadorial role with the club, with the sacking coming into effect at the end of the season. That decision from INEOS bigwig Ratcliffe saw the Scot wave goodbye to a whopping £2.1million a year salary. But the 83-year-old won't be strapped for cash thanks to a business venture he embarked upon over FOUR DECADES ago. Fergie 's personal company, ACF Sports Promotions Limited, recorded profits of £2.7m last year, taking its total assets to £26.9m. READ MORE ON SIR ALEX FERGUSON That figure is up from £24.2m the previous year, although it's not known if the £2.1m Ferguson received from United was paid into the account. ACF is the company that handles all of Fergie 's commercial activities, including speaking appearances. Fergie stepped down from his role as company director in 2014, handing over the reins to his son Mark. The healthy bank balance of ACF, which was set up 42 YEARS AGO , means Fergie won't have to worry about losing his ambassador's role with United. Most read in Football JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS Fergie axe comes at the right time - and he knows it By Phil Thomas IT is over a decade since he left the dugout but Sir Alex Ferguson has lost none of his sense of timing. When to sell, when to buy, when to change and ultimately when to go, Fergie has always been in a class of his own. Over the years there were countless decisions which had everyone scratching their head — but Sir Alex always knew the time was right. Some were more obvious than others. Like the night Manchester United won the Treble on the back of his substitutions. Others less so, like the summer of 1995 when terrace legends Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis were sold at the peak of their powers. The whole of football thought the manager had lost his marbles. But Fergie knew better, as he chose that year to unleash his 'you win nothing with kids' Double heroes. Just as he knew best when it came to right-hand men. Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren, Archie Knox and Co — an endless list of world-class coaches who all came and went. And, of course, the biggest decision of all. Calling time on 26 years in which he had gone from the brink of the bullet to English football's greatest-ever gaffer. The majority of people are convinced Ferguson stepped down because he knew United's era of dominance was over. Maybe not the nosedive to come but certainly that an almighty rebuild was just around the corner. Another mass overhaul, yet not one he was prepared to oversee. Now another end has arrived. Not as dramatic or as out-of-nowhere, admittedly, but an end nonetheless. Next summer Fergie will leave his 12-year role as global ambassador. Many see it as the most ruthless swing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's cost-cutting axe — and they are wrong. For while he is trying to save every penny in making United great again — how's that going, Sir Jim? — Ferguson has not suddenly and callously been told he is surplus to requirements. This decision was a two-way call. An amicable parting. Football's own conscious uncoupling, in Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow lingo. And not, incidentally, a departure which means we will no longer see Fergie at Old Trafford on a matchday. That simply will not happen. He will still be there rain, wind or shine . . . Only now as a high-profile non-executive director, rather than a man with the ear — and the sway — behind the owners' biggest decisions. Like he was when urging United to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Admittedly not his finest hour, rather an indication of the influence he still retained. Back then, until just before Ratcliffe and his Ineos team arrived, in fact, Ferguson had the owners' ear. Almost a hotline to the Glazer family, you could say. And those days are done. Not that Sir Alex is bereft at the thought. For a start, some of the staff sackings have enraged the Scot — long-serving photographer John Peters and kitman Alec Wylie, for example. This is not a cosy-cosy relationship with Ratcliffe being severed. If anything, it is closer to the opposite. And as Fergie the Red, in every sense The Boss — those who played under him still call him that — knows, trousering £2million or so a year in such tight times is not a good look. Fair enough, not an amount anyone would turn down in normal circumstances. Yet when many in the steerage class are losing their livelihoods, it is not something that would have sat well with him. There is also the practical side of things as well. At the end of December, Sir Alex will be 83 years old, albeit still a freakishly fit 83 years old. Yet even though the grey matter remains oh-so-sharp and the mind clear as a bell, the bones grow creakier and even Superman had to put his feet up on occasion. That does not mean you will not see shots of Fergie alongside Ratcliffe at various points — Sir Jim loves too much the associated glamour of being pictured with the greatest. But any idea of Sir Alex having an emperor's thumbs-down power has gone for good — and quite frankly that is something which suits both sides. Fergie was given the role after bringing his legendary 26-and-a-half-year reign at Old Trafford to an end in 2013. He was paid just shy of £26m for his post-managerial gig, which Ratcliffe and Co. deemed to be an unnecessary expense. Sir Alex Ferguson spotted with unlikely TV star pal at Cheltenham again as legendary Man Utd boss bags £65k winner In an interview with the BBC in March, Ratcliffe said of the cost-cutting, which has resulted in hundreds losing their jobs : "We have got a club which was in a level of financial difficulty. " Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year -- by the end of 2025 -- after having me put $300m (£232.72m) in and if we buy no new players in the summer . "If we hadn't have implemented the cost programmes and restructuring that we have done over the last 12 months. "So we have to deal with all those things, and there's only so many things you can deal with at once. "We have a new management team, we have to deal with the financial restructure, then we have to move on to the squad, data analysis, and moving forward. "But we are in the process of change and it's an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans. "But I am not actually surprised where we are in the league because Ruben's only got a certain size of squad he can deal with, and quite a number of those players are injured or not available to him."