THIS IS THE TEAM WHO WON. . .YOU SHOULD’VE SEEN THE OTHER LOT!
KNEES bruised and swollen, shins scraped and bloodied, veins bulging, blistered toes, wounds that required soothing with ice and one player with a slipped disc. This remarkable picture is a brutal insight into modern elite rugby. And this was just the start of the tour! Five days after arriving in New Zealand last summer, the British and Irish Lions
defeated the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians 13-7. This powerful competition entry, titled After the Battle, shows (left to right) Alun Wyn Jones, Iain Henderson, Ross Moriarty and Sam Warburton slumped in the dressing room after the final whistle. Lions captain Warburton later led his team to a historic 1-1 series draw, but
then missed the whole of last season because of neck and knee injuries. He announced his retirement from the game last month — at the age of 29. ‘Unfortunately after a long period of rest and rehabilitation, the decision to retire from rugby has been made with my health and wellbeing as a priority,’ he said at the time. Moriarty was out for
six months after this game. He said recently: ‘There were two instances in the game when I felt something pop in my back. I thought it was my hip cracking, but it was obviously my disc popping out of place.’ He missed the rest of the tour having played on for the entire game. The incredible image was captured by
photographer Dan Sheridan and was entered in the Press Photographers Association of Ireland awards. Sheridan has covered two Lions tours with official access. ‘This was the first game of the tour and it shows how much the players put into every game; they put everything on the line,’ he said yesterday. ‘It’s a privilege to have
this level of access to capture the intimate moments that you don’t get to see in a game of rugby. ‘It’s only possible with the cooperation and trust of the players and the personal relationships you try to build. The trick is to be invisible in the moment, so they don’t see the camera and behave naturally.’