The mood at London’s O2 arena was buoyant. The home crowd had an English captain to celebrate, not to mention the crowning of their young starlet. Of all the players announced at Thursday’s Lions squad reveal, Henry Pollock‘s name received the most vociferous cheer from fans in attendance.
The Lions top brass were also jubilant. Andy Farrell beamed, his torturous selection process complete. Ben Calveley, the Lions chief executive, boasted that double the number of fans will travel to Australia than what was seen in 2013.
More than half a million tickets have been sold, he said. They’ll get 100,000 in the door for the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The first game against Argentina, at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, “could have sold out five times over.”
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The positivity was infectious, the vibes circulating between those on the stage and an audience delighted to be drinking gin and tonics at lunchtime on a Thursday. This was, after all, the first time the Lions have announced their squad in front of a real crowd.
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If those running the show are to be believed, this will be the biggest and best Lions tour yet. The numbers certainly are impressive. But who is this all for?
Those skiving off work to attend were initially charged in the region of £60 for the privilege. Two thousand souls were expected beforehand. The arena was not full.
A month ago, Ticketmaster still listed seats for the Argentina game at €180. Not posh ones. These were in the Aviva’s top tier. The IRFU wouldn’t dream of charging that much for Six Nations tickets up in the gods. But the Lions, well, they’ve been snapped up, Ticketmaster now showing no more availability.
“Not everyone gets to go on tour,” said Calveley. “We want to find as many ways we can of bringing fans close to the action.”
Given the prices and proximity to Canary Wharf just across the Thames, not to mention the frequent jokes about day drinking, we can guess which sort of fans will be getting closer than others.
In terms of the live event itself, dragging the arse out of it would be an understatement. Presenters Ugo Monye and Lee McKenzie started with some sort of video game. A live feed of a Lions mural – sponsored by Howden – painted in East London, plus an interview with the artist, Nelly, won’t live long in the memory.
Guests aplenty were wheeled out. Calveley, Farrell, John Fogarty, Aled Walters and even Alun Wyn Jones – he wasn’t a shock out-of-retirement pick, was he? – all made appearances. Monye used the dreaded “we’ll announce the squad... after the break” to dramatic effect. Everyone has their pound of flesh, Sky never taking their eye off the advertising money.
The story of his young daughter accidentally telling the neighbours of his top-secret appointment added to Fogarty‘s appeal
We’re beginning to see who this is all really for: fans with deep pockets, sponsors and rights holders. They weren’t lying when they said the Lions was a corporate beast.
For all the cynicism, snippets of authenticity did insist on breaking through. Fogarty showed one of the reasons Farrell took him on tour as one of his assistant coaches. His ability to hold a room is unrivalled. When Farrell first called to give him the Lions job, Fogarty thought he was in for a “bollocking” after Ireland’s somewhat disappointing Six Nations.
“Is that okay to say?” he panicked, realising he may have just sworn live on Sky Sports. “I’ll use that as a tester,” he reasoned.
“Wherever you’re going next, don’t,” warned Monye. “Bollocking is the limit.”
“We’re okay until two o’clock,” said McKenzie. “Then we go out on national television.”
The story of his young daughter accidentally telling the neighbours of his top-secret appointment added to Fogarty‘s appeal. Touring with him should be fun.
If the Ireland scrum coach brought the house down, Maro Itoje’s entrance earned a standing ovation. His smile as he walked to the stage, wading through the crowd while holding on to mascot Bil the Lion for dear life, was a reminder of why we put up with the corporate shilling. The Lions still matters to the players. Even Gavin Hastings got the phone out to record the moment.
Maro himself wasn’t short of a story, the combination of Farrell’s +353 number and Wigan accent confusing him no end when he heard the news on Tuesday. Like Fogarty, he gave his best effort at replicating his new boss’s northern English tones. One suspects it won’t the last time we hear a Farrell impression.
After yet more dilly-dallying – featuring another trip out to the Howden-sponsored mural, this time with Itoje’s name speedily painted on – Ieuan Evans eventually called out the 38 names. The live audience cheering every selection didn’t help everyone’s patience levels, but it did add to the atmosphere. Based on the reactions, Tadhg Furlong was the most popular Irish pick. Pollock and Fin Smith are the English darlings.
This ultimately was a window into what the Lions is. Flickers of genuine emotion packaged into a product which appeals to a minority of the population but, perhaps due to its scarcity, ultimately sells. The 40,000 travelling fans ticks a big box. Sponsors are happy, TV companies must be too.
It’s a long, dragged-out process to get to this point, let alone the three Tests starting at the end of July. The squad announcement starts a months-long row between online parochial interests, all the way until that first significant game. Then, maybe the cynicism will dissipate, mercifully replaced by meaningful rugby.
