Lions players ‘will set own rules’ on use of

Blanket ban on Twitter and Facebook rejected Team also allowed to decide drinking policy

The British and Irish Lions will allow a “committee” of players to produce a social media policy for the squad during their tour to New Zealand, one of the men in charge of the trip announced yesterday. As exclusively revealed in The

Daily Telegraph’s Talk of Rugby column last month, Lions chief operating officer Charlie Mcewen confirmed there would be no blanket ban on the use of the likes of Facebook and Twitter during the six-week trip.

He also revealed that a panel of players would have the final say on what rules – if any – the squad would have to abide by and would even be given a veto on what was published by tour organisers.

Speaking at the Telegraph Business of Sport conference yesterday, Mcewen said: “The team will have a social media and content committee. Made up of players. Absolutely 100 per cent.

“From a British and Irish Lions perspective, we’ll be putting content out there every single day that will be telling a story, but we’ll get the support from the players to make sure that what we put out is what they want us to put out.

“Equally, we’ll look to them, through their own channels and own networks, to manage what they’re doing for themselves.”

The original Lions contract sent to players ahead of last month’s squad announcement had a clause prohibiting the use of any form of social media during the tour’s 10 matches, during a “specified period of time prior to the kick-off and after the conclusion of a match”.

However, it quickly emerged that the clause, used by some clubs and national sides to cover the 36 hours before and after a match, would be invoked only in extreme cases, unless the players, under captain Sam Warburton, were to decide otherwise.

The 41-man squad have since received a “social media pack” including guidelines about not publishing sensitive squad information, such as injuries, before they are publicly announced, or making negative comments about opposition players, coaches or match officials.

“We’ll educate the guys on what those guidelines will look like, but it’s up to them to determine what they actually are,” said Mcewen, who declared the same would apply to any drinking policy.

“Going out for a beer is a great way to break down barriers. You’ve got four different cultures coming together in one jersey. It’s important they set their own guidelines.”