Hold on a minute, I'm starting to sense a whiff of parochial, nationalistic BS in the air. Playing three tests for the Lions has no more risk to the long-term playing future for a player than playing three tests against the AB's for your national team. I didn't hear anyone say that Ireland wasn't going to win the Grandslam this year because the whole squad was involved in a brutal tour of NZ? or that France were going to win because they only played two matches in Argentina. The reality is that if there wasn't a Lions tour, every union would be negotiating some sort of tour anyway putting there precious, professional rugby players at risk of injury. Ten international matches a year maybe too many but thats a different argument. Personally, I would be gutted if there were no Irish players in the Lions team. I can't wait to see the likes of Healy et al test out the Wallaby metal.and I desperately want to see BOD run out as captain. I am almost certain that the Irish players would be pretty passionate about representing the Lions too. After all, each and every one of them has a choice to go or not. And why shouldn't they? The Lions tour is one of the great events in sport. A team that unites; four nations coming together for a common cause. It's not a tour for the flag wavers but a tour for those who are passionate about the game. I can't wait.
I was disgusted that at the end of a world cup year, when the NH players had been on the go for two years without a break, Ireland were forced by the IRB to play a three test series against NZ. That we are going to get our best players to play for another two years with little or no summer break must have the Southern hemisphere pissing themselves that we are so willing to shoot ourselves in the foot. The French will lick their lips, as always, at the prospect of the inevitable grand slam that follows every lions tour.
And as for no more risk of injury on a national tour? Quite apart from the anecdotal evidence in Ireland of Ferris, Fitzgerald, Kearney, POC, BOD etc (and that is just the last tour) How do the Lions players get on the team in the first place? They beat seven bales of shit out of each other is how, all while the medical/ conditioning staff who know them best are fast asleep in their beds 12,000 miles away. And please remind me how many games the Irish lads played outside of the three test series in NZ? Answer none!!! And how many exercises in futility will there be for the thuggish successors to the likes of McCrae to make a name for themselves on this tour? Answer, seven!!!
Gatland, Farrell, Edwards and Rowntree will not give a flying fuck about the welfare of any of the Irish lads on this tour, witness Fatland playing Lydiate with a chronic ankle injury to see how he has zero regard for player welfare. He wants the NZ job and that is all that matters. The best we can hope for is that they will be hopelessly biased and pick their own team and relations although I can guarantee they will be getting the Irish lads to do the dirty work because they always do.
I don't disagree that all the Irish lads would want to go on the tour although I wish one of them felt able to rule themselves out, if only to prove there wasn't 100% unanimity like some sort of North Korean election. But how many of the self same players would also be happy to play on with concussion even though it will shorten their playing careers? Answer all of them but they are rightly protected from themselves by management. And while we are on the subject of concussion lets discuss McGeechan's disgusting hanging out to dry of ROG in 2009 even though the man had been knocked completely senseless and had no memory of the game, 'all for one and one for all' my fucking hole!!!
I have been arguing against Irish representation in the Lions since we beat Australia in the last RWC, when it dawned on me that we don't need this archaic four to beat one bull shit, we are more than capable of doing it by ourselves. It is a waste of time anyway because if the blessed Lions win the Aussies will just turn round and say "well it takes four of your teams to beat our one" just like they did in 89 and the Saffers did in 97.
As I said before, the tour seems to be important to BOD so let him finish his career filling Murdoch's coffers and helping to prop up aussie rugby, he owes Irish rugby nothing. I feel terrible saying it but a small part of me secretly hopes that Healy gets banned long enough that he doesn't tour and as pissed off as I am about Zebo's injury the only tiny blessing is that hopefully he won't wind up blowing his knees up playing for the fucking lions.
Everytime I am forced to listen to some smug self satisfied prick like Barnes, Morris or Evans wank on about the whole bull shit exercise I am incredulous there are people, in the northern hemisphere, naive enough to buy into this self interested nonsense.
Oh and as a P.S. if being 'passionate about the game' means supporting a team coached by this bunch of arrogant gobshites and containing players like Ashton, Phillips, Tuilagi, Wood, Hartley, Lawes (God help us) etc then I will stick to supporting Munster and Ireland.
At least when one of my team does something wrong, like Healy on sunday, I can be confident that the overwhelming majority of my fellow fans will condemn the action unlike when Calum Clark broke a fellas arm and the Stains rushed to his defence, but then they are probably 'passionate about the game'.
