Free Lions shirts (All entrants must be within 1,478 miles of New Zealand)

After all the media coverage of this topic this week I feel you may already know what is about to be discussed if you have been following Rugby news recently. I'm obviously referring to the tactical genius that is the great Warren Gatland. So in case you missed this for some reason I'll briefly sum up the current situation in the Lions camp: After recent Lions games they have lost a few players to injury resulting in Warren Gatland calling up 6 new players to the squad with 4 of them having a distinct lack of experience in international rugby.

Many Pundits and experts have voiced their opinion over this issue and the results are overwhelmingly negative towards Warren Gatland. The main argument being raised is that the call up of such inexperienced internationals over the option of established and potentially world class internationals has devalued the famous red Lions jersey. I could not agree more with this argument if I tried as when I was growing up as a young rugby fan the concept of the Lions seemed like such an amazing concept that the best players from each of the the four nations would unite to take on the superpowers of the southern hemisphere. When a young fan discovers their ambitions and dreams upon playing for the Lions one day as well as playing for their nation as they see it as the greatest experience and opportunity within Rugby for British players. This is echoed throughout the generations and is even reflected in many inspirational speeches from those involved in Lions tours over the years. The two quotes that stand out for me when thinking about what has happened are from Lawrence Dallaglio in 05 and Andy Irvine in 2013. Dallaglio's speech took place before the NZ Maoris game in 2005 and consisted of him talking about the sacrifices that everyone involved in his rugby journey had made to get him where he is and how it is the proudest moment of a rugby players career. I believe this is just the total opposite of what Gatland has done as many international players such as Joe Launchbury have worked and grafted in the international game over a number of seasons and deserve the honour of representing that shirt instead of the 4 players that have not even established themselves at that level of Rugby and are yet to reach the pinnacle of their career. The only two that hold a fair argument are Finn Russell and Gareth Davies as Russell has shown his class on the international stage and is one of the form fly halves in Europe.I also feel Gareth Davies is less of an issue than the other 4 as he performed well for Wales in the 2015 World cup but the debatable decision to pick him ahead of Danny Care has to be questioned as Danny Care is a phenomenal impact player that would add a lot more diversity to the selection of scrum halves in the lions squad. It can also be argued whether we need another scrum half in the squad with three 9's already in the squad. The other quote by Andy Irvine that also supports these points raised is from the first squad gathering in 2013 in which he says the line "You're all here because you're regarded as the best of the best". This is a statement I feel summarises the Lions traditional perfectly as it just shows the quality that the squad should be the standard of rugby that everyone expects to see.

I also find it ironic that the tour of Australia in 2013 reasserted the legacy and concept of the Lions with all rugby fans with Warren Gatland in charge and yet four years on it is the same man that is making the lions a laughing stock with his poor organisation of the squad and tour with the 2 losses to the Blues and Highlanders after fielding below par sides with a lack of leaders and complaining about the issue of jet lag before the first game after they put up a limp performance in against the NZ Baa Baas. I'm no expert on serious jet lag as I've never ventured out of Europe or far enough for the times to make a difference but surely if you want the players to give their best performance you fly out earlier to let them settle in to their environment and adapt to the time zone. As I say I'm no genius but if I can see that surely a man that has been coaching at top teams for 20 years would be able to see the obvious.

Another thing I think that should be discussed is an Facebook post (below) today suggesting we should boycott the Lions.

I feel this is obviously not going to happen but I feel he raises some good valid points. The first point I agree with is that Wales had a lackluster 6 nations and the selection of most of the players in the squad selected from Wales is not justifiable never mind the 4 new players that have been called up. The amount of England, Scotland and Ireland players that played terrifically during the 6 nations and during the season for their clubs. Some players such as Danny Care will feel especially hard done by as they have never managed to make a Lions tour and this could well be their last chance as who knows where they'll be in 4 years time. I also believe that the timezone issue is irrelevant as any player would go above and beyond to get to a Lions tour as its the biggest accolade that any British player can achieve and only the very best are fit to wear the shirt because at the end of the day there are Rugby matches that need to be won against the best team on the planet so saying you'll do anything to win a test series then pick those players instead of the likes of Mike Brown, Joe Launchbury and Cian Healy just sickens me as it's making a mockery of what all young rugby fans grew up believing in. The point he raises about Warburton is also very true as he wasn't a certain choice for captain in the first place so to select him over the likes of Chris Robshaw. Finally players should always be selected by merit not geography there is no excuse. He should've contacted the best players from England a week before and get them to New Zealand early to overcome jet lag. Distance is no problem when a Lions series is on the line.

My only satisfaction from this is thinking that if it goes downhill from here then Warren Gatland will surely not be coach in 2021 but for the teams sake I hope they perform well in the rest of the tour and this high risk high reward concept will pay off even though they will not play that bigger part in the tests.

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