Rumble In The Jungle
How do you prepare for the toughest assignment in world rugby? Three of the 2017 British and Irish Lions decided to go off-roading at Eastnor
Three of the British and Irish Lions prepare for the 2017 New Zealand tour by going off-roading at Eastnor
Every four years the British and Irish Lions rugby team go on tour. They rotate these tours between South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. There is no tougher place in the world to play rugby than New Zealand as it really gets cold, wet and windy during the winter months. The local crowds are very knowledgeable when it comes to rugby and their national team, which are affectionately known as the Kiwis or All Blacks. They hardly ever lose at home or when playing abroad.
Allow me the opportunity to try and explain the power of All Black rugby by numbers. New Zealand have won three Rugby World Cups, South Africa two, Australia two and England one. Not bad for a couple of small islands in the middle of nowhere.
The British and Irish Lions have toured New Zealand 11 times and only managed to win a series there once, way back in 1971. Will they be able to repeat this feat in 2017?
To prepare them for this mission virtually impossible, Land Rover, the Principal Partner of the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2017, invited three of the Lions players to Eastnor Castle for a few off-road challenges. The three rugby players were Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny. Billy and Owen play for England while Leigh plays for Wales. Leigh has already been on three Lions tours, one of only two players in the 2017 Lions squad to have achieved this remarkable feat. In fact, I remember watching him on his first Lions tour to South Africa in 2009 when they lost the series 2-1. All three players in attendance are Land Rover Brand Ambassadors and all drive new Range Rover Sports.
Their 2017 tour to New Zealand is one of the biggest sport stories of the year and I feel a little out of my depth alongside TV crews from major sports channels such as ESPN, CNN and the BBC. There are also rugby writers from all over the planet in attendance. As we head out to the first of several offroad challenges I ask Owen if he remembers his first-ever Land Rover experience. “It was at my club Saracens when I drove with George Kruis in his Defender. Another one of my club teammates, the no-nonsense South African Schalk Burger has a Defender, which is at his home in Cape Town.”
This is the sixth time that Land Rover will be supporting a Lions rugby tour. Not only are Land Rover the Principal Partners to this British and Irish Lions team, they are also the team’s official vehicle supplier. So the players, officials and administrators will be driving around the land of the long white cloud in style. With a tour group of 41 players and many more officials, this support will definitely come in handy.
When it comes to rugby, Land Rover don’t only support the British and Irish Lions. They also support the sport at
“As he lowers the Discovery one of the rear wheels gets some serious air”
grassroots level, while at pro level they sponsor the English Premiership tournament and the World Cup. Land Rover also back the premiership team Wasps, who recently moved to the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry – which is close to Land Rover’s HQ, factory and engineering centre.
In the past, Billy and Owen have both won the Land Rover Discovery of The Season awards. This is awarded to the best young talent in the premiership. After Billy won his award a few seasons ago he went to the Land Rover Experience at Luton Hoo for his first proper introduction to the brand. He now owns a Range Rover Sport.
The first driving challenge is a blindfolded one, Owen gets behind the wheel while senior statesman Leigh is given the responsibility of trying to guide him from outside the vehicle. The obstacle starts with a steep climb up some stairs. Fortunately there is a Land Rover Experience instructor next to Owen and he helps to put the all-new Discovery into low range before choosing the correct Terrain Response option. Owen only does as Leigh tells him to. As he lowers the Discovery slowly onto the first side slope one of the rear wheels gets some serious air. Some of the obstacles are tight and Owen has to take two reverses to miss the poles, but still he performs impressively. “The new Discovery is just awesome off-road. While you can feel the severe angles and wheel lifts from inside the cab, I still felt in control.”
Next up behind the wheel is the big Billy, while Leigh resumes the guiding duties. Billy is nearly two metres tall and weighs over 120 kg; he is one of the hard men of world rugby. If I was to compare him to a Land Rover then it would have to be a big old Forward Control. His calves are the size of my head and he struggles to find pants that will go over them, so he is in shorts today. While he might be able to run over or tackle some of the biggest rugby players on the planet, the thought of driving a new Discovery while blindfolded looks like it might have him a little rattled. Billy tries to drive it like he plays rugby and as a result he also flattens a few poles in the process; going backwards is not an option for him. Still he gets to the finish without damaging the Discovery. Finding out who is the fastest around the course does not matter; not only is this an important PR exercise for Land Rover, it also serves as an opportunity for the players to get to know one another. This will stand them in good stead on the arduous tour to New Zealand. Billy gives us his thoughts on the new Discovery: “I don’t really trust myself off-road but this was an easy drive, you can just take your feet off everything and point it in the right direction. It won’t stop at anything. A bit like me really.”
After the blindfold session the players are given the opportunity to test the impressive wading depth of the allnew Discovery before they tackle a tricky obstacle course. The aim is to touch the tennis balls, which are hanging on a piece of string, with only the side mirrors. Tricky when the terrain is anything but flat. While this might seem like a bit of off-roading fun and a chance for Land Rover to show what their products can do, it might prove to be a little more than that. If it helps to improve the camaraderie between these three important Lions players, it will definitely stand them in good stead during the tough moments that they will encounter when in New Zealand. The time has come for the Lions to defeat the mighty All Blacks again.