For the gifted and talented of Britain and Ireland, summer school is officially in session. There may still be a few more important exams for the squad to take with their clubs but most of the Lions class of 2025 gathered for the first time on Sunday with fresh trims and fresh excitement, ready to pick up their new uniform, pose for pictures and begin the bonding process that will be key to their success this summer in Australia.
Excepting those in action on Sunday or in transit after trips yesterday, most of Andy Farrell’s chosen 38 made it to the plush Richmond Hill Hotel, England’s regular match eve base just a stone’s throw from one of the best vistas in all of London over the Thames as it snakes away from the city. Guests are right among the rock stars, too – Ronnie Wood of the Faces and The Rolling Stones and The Who’s Pete Townshend are among the past owners of the Georgian townhouse across the street.
Having dodged the cyclists pushing their pedals on their way out into Richmond Park, the migrating Lions gather at a car park watering hole; flat whites and pastries from a cute coffee stall the first of the freebies to be enjoyed by the fortunate few. Rumours soon spread of rather more fun items stowed in the hotel rooms. “Someone said we get an iPad, so if we can make sure there is one in every goodie bag that’s great!” James Lowe chuckles at Ieuan Evans, chair of the British and Irish Lions and tour manager.
These traditional pre-tour gatherings used to be known as “Messy Monday”, a sharing of a beer or three a great way to cut any lingering tension as foes become friends. This is, of course, a unique exercise but a hugely rewarding one, too – a chance for four nations to come together as one, sharing cultures and knowledge for the good of the touring team. A shuttle bus full of Dublin arrivals closely follow a group from Glasgow, Scots and Irishmen putting rivalry aside; Ollie Chessum and Will Stuart were on opposite sides for Leicester and Bath yesterday in a top of the Premiership ding-dong but are soon catching up. The former gently ribs the latter for prioritising comfort over style with his footwear under the misapprehension that trainers would be among the items included in the goodie bag proved misplaced.
“It’s awesome to come together with the guys from different clubs and unions,” Lowe beams, the Leinster and Ireland wing soaking it all up. “We’ve come from similar backgrounds and understandings of how the game is. There’s no one you’re avoiding.
“You don’t want to congregate back to what you do the whole time. I’m sure everyone will be in the same boat. We’re definitely going to do our best to socialise with other people. Obviously Tommy Freeman is an exceptional winger, and we’ve played against each other a few times now and have never butted heads, we’re just two competitive people. It’ll be interesting to get to chat to him and know him on a personal level, definitely.
“It’s the same with Duhan [van der Merwe] and Elliot Daly – it’s his third Lions tour and he’s been around the block and understands how these things work. He’s a wealth of knowledge and is a left-footer, so I’ll be picking his brains there.”
This is but basecamp yet the work done now will pay dividends if, to borrow from Jim Telfer in 1997, the Lions are to summit Everest come their encounters with the Wallabies. Time is tight before the tour, with those involved in the play-offs in the United Rugby Championship and Premiership set to miss a warm-weather camp in the Algarve at the start of June. While this first assembly is more of an administrative and social event, there will be some rugby thinking; Farrell and his assistants, including Johnny Sexton, prowl the corridors, no doubt already considering their options.
It can be easy to forget just how much selection means to each and every player. Jamison Gibson-Park’s emotions show slightly as he reflects on an unlikely journey from Great Barrier Island, 100 kilometres and a four-and-a-half-hour ferry off the north coast of Auckland, into the famous red shirt, while even past tourists have a spring in their step as the meet mates old and new.
“Four years ago, I would probably have laughed in your face if you told me I would be here,” Ollie Chessum admits. “When you make your international debut you want to keep building to the next step, but I thought no way. Making my international debut I thought, ‘I am so out of my depth here, how do lads go from international rugby to being the best of that bunch?’
“It’s a little bit awkward, like a first day of school, but I’m sure everyone will settle in soon. This is the pinnacle of rugby for a UK and Irish based player. When you’re here, you want to be involved in those Test matches and perform on the biggest stage. I, as well as everyone else, will want to do that.”
The time for selection squabbles will come down the line, with six matches to be played before the first Test squad has to be scribbled in. So much can change between now at that Brisbane team naming, injury sure to strike, the rigours of a long season sure to show, a surprise package or two certain to play their way into contention. For now, though, that is all academic as the first bell of a new Lions term rings.
