Legacy of the Lions: Lessons in Leadership From the British & Irish Lions by Gavin Hastings

Author:Gavin Hastings [Hastings, Gavin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781913538385
Google: mvoxEAAAQBAJ
Published: 2021-06-10T03:41:03.478440+00:00

FIVE

WHEN MORE, MORE, MORE

EQUALS LESS, LESS, LESS

2005

‘DO WE HAVE to talk about 2005?’ asks Brian O’Driscoll.

‘Would you rather we didn’t?’

‘I think I could probably go the rest of my life not talking about 2005 again. There aren’t too many great memories from that.’

The hurt is etched on every aspect of Drico’s face. 2005. A Lions tour to New Zealand. O’Driscoll as captain. The core of his squad World Cup-winners with England just two years earlier. An ultra-modern head coach promising that no stone would be left unturned in pursuit of victory. It should have been a fairy tale. A dream. But it turned into a nightmare.

John Eales described the Lions tour as a juggernaut in 2001. By 2005, it was a behemoth. There was more fan interest, more media attention, more travelling support, more shirt sales, more corporate backing, more players, more coaches, more back-room staff, more, more, more . . . Too much.

Having led England to the pinnacle of the game at the 2003 World Cup, Clive Woodward (now Sir Clive) had fallen out with his RFU employers and resigned – but not before he had been appointed as head coach of the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand.

He would later say his appointment was mistimed, believing that he should have been given the job in 2001 when he and his first-choice players were at their peak. But that was only one of myriad reasons for the failure of the class of 2005.

In fairness to Woodward, he analysed the reports from previous head coaches, examined the playing schedule in New Zealand and looked at the state of play in northern hemisphere domestic and international rugby. He realised that any player he selected would be on the verge of exhaustion after yet another long season, that the arduous travel to and around New Zealand would only add to this, that the rugby challenge would be mighty, and that of all the places that the Lions tour, New Zealand is the hardest country to fly replacements out to should there be any injuries. As such, he concluded that the best way to deal with all these challenges was to take a larger squad of players than ever before so that every position was covered and the players wouldn’t be overplayed.

Woodward’s success with England had been based on a no-excuses environment: if he provided his players with the best facilities, the best coaches, the best medical staff and the best back-room support, then they had no excuses for not performing on the field. And it worked – England became the best team on the planet. Surely this approach would also work for the Lions? Consequently, Woodward took almost as many support staff as he took players. There were two sets of coaches (one for the Saturday team and one for the midweek team), a vast medical department, a squad of media gurus led by former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, a chef, a lawyer, a referee . . . it went on and on.

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