Welcomed by beautiful winter sunshine, Nik and Kev arrived in Perth, the sporting gateway to Australia.
England’s cricketers will play their opening Ashes fixture on the west coast in November, but this week it has been home to the Lions.
Here is what the guys got up to in the first episode of Roar & Uncut, in association with Dr Squatch.
Mail Sport’s Kev Quigley and Nik Simon are going behind the scenes during the Lions tour
Sunday
Perth Airport was a hive of activity as the Lions touched down for rugby’s greatest tour. Maro Itoje led the team through arrivals and he was followed by Henry Pollock, carrying BIL the Lions teddy.
Like the Lions, we arrived in style, travelling in Qatar Airways’ luxury Qsuites. The guys even managed to FaceTime Lions legend Dan Biggar over the airline’s Starlink wi-fi.
The Lions touched down for rugby’s greatest tour in Perth following a Qatar Airways flight
Like the Lions, we arrived in style to Perth, travelling in Qatar Airways’ luxury Qsuites
Monday
The Lions were welcomed to Australia with an indigenous First Nations ceremony at Kings Park.
Overlooking the spectacular Swan River, there were digeridoos, boomerangs and a ‘smoking ceremony’ where players and media inhaled burning sandalwood to connect with the local earth.
The Lions were welcomed to Australia with an indigenous First Nations ceremony at Kings Park
Players and media inhaled burning sandalwood to connect with the local earth at the ceremony
Tuesday
We set off on a once-in-lifetime trip to the Pinnacles Desert. There was a sandboarding trip on route, flying down the spectacular dunes with limited success!
Once we reached the Pinnacles, it was time to explore the other-worldly limestone formations, before enjoying a BBQ underneath the stars.
We set off on a once-in-lifetime trip to the Pinnacles Desert, with a sandboarding trip on route
The Pinnacles Desert contains thousands of other-worldly limestone pillars
Wednesday
Time to explore the suburbs with Western Force and Wallabies star Nic White.
He took us the leafy Subiaco suburb, where he convinced us to join him at the barbers. White is famous for his crazy moustache – and now we have one too!
We explored the suburbs with Western Force and Wallabies star Nic White, who is famous for his crazy moustache
White convinced us to join him at the barber and we now have crazy moustaches too
Thursday
After Andy Farrell’s team announcement, we invited a few friends over for dinner at our beautiful hotel, the Perth City Intercontinental.
IHG are the official hotel partner of the Lions tour and they pulled out all the stops, with the chefs at the Ascua restaurant cooking 15 dry-aged steaks over open flames.
Friday
With 19 beaches in easy reach of the city, it was finally time to check out the city’s postcard destination, Cottesloe Beach.
The perfect place for a sunset swim at the end of a busy week, watching the surfers glide into the weekend as we tucked into our fish and chips!
We checked out the city’s postcard destination, Cottesloe Beach, at the end of a busy week
The beach had previously provided a backdrop to Lions assistant coach Simon Easterby’s chat with the media
Saturday
Match day at the Optus Stadium, which is only a short walk down the river from the Intercontinental.
Our moustachioed friend Nic White scored early for the Western Force, but the Lions had too much firepower as they raced clear in the second-half.
On his way off the pitch, White had one final message: ‘Look good, feel good, play good.’
Our moustachioed friend Nic White scored early for the Western Force at the Optus Stadium
The Lions had too much firepower as they raced clear in the second-half of the match
Roar & Uncut comes to you in association with Dr Squatch, ensuring Nik and Kev are the best-smelling guys on tour.
For more information on visiting Perth, go to www.westernaustralia.com.
