MANE ATTRACTION FOR LION-HEARTED
IT was an early – and tough – start for Lions fans watching from the UK yesterday morning, as the All Blacks showed why they are world champions.
New Zealand swept to a crushing victory over the British and Irish Lions in the first Test of the series in Auckland, with a score of 30-15.
Fans made their way to pubs and cafes up and down the country for the early morning kick-off, including in Cardiff’s Bierkeller.
But it wasn’t the start to the weekend they hoped for, as two tries from Rieko Ioane and another from Codie Taylor were enough for a comfortable win over the tourists, who scored a stunning try of their own through Sean O’Brien.
Meanwhile, fans who travelled to New Zealand to watch the tour in person were pictured enjoying the atmosphere before the match.
And police in New Zealand were full of praise for fans attending matches, with a well-behaved and enthusiastic crowd at Eden Park yesterday.
Inspector Gary Davey, of New Zealand Police, said there had been very few issues with the capacity crowd at the stadium, or at the various fan zones and bars where fans congregated before the game.
Police evicted three people from the ground and arrested another person – a New Zealand supporter – for invading the pitch after full time.
He said: “Other than that, there have been no issues and we’re really happy with the crowd.”
He said police staff were guiding the large crowd after the game along the fan trail back into the city centre and extra staff would be on duty until bars closed to help keep people safe.
There was plenty of reaction on Twitter following the game.
Roundhayman said: “Some great moments and first try was scintillating but basically NZ played better for 60 mins. Big step up needed to get close next Saturday”
Glen Stringer said: “Great game but the All Blacks were sharper. Two more tests to go though and Tuesdays match too. Come on Lions!”
While Duncan Shaw said: “Don’t think the @lionsofficial played badly, I think they played fantastic, just hard to beat the greatest sports team of all time”
And Rob Kennard tweeted: “Good game by @lionsofficial. Take chances and cut out mistakes scores would have been a lot different .. looking forward to game 2”
British and Irish Lions tweeted thanking the All Blacks for “a great contest” and thanking the “alwaysbrilliant Lions fans” for their support.
IT’S a stuffed, cuddly toy, but the British and Irish Lions’ official mascot is almost as big a part of Lions history as the famous red shirt. The tradition has stretched back decades and, while the mascot has changed numerous times throughout the years, it has always been a lion – and when it comes to the responsibility of looking after the mascot, that belongs to the youngest player on the tour.
Photographs from over the years show the tradition being kept, with some of the game’s best-known players – including Phil Bennett, Gareth Edwards, and Finlay Calder – pictured with their tour mascots, while players including Leigh Halfpenny and Keith Earls – who shared the role in 2009 – have been tasked with keeping an eye on the mascot in more recent years.
Leo, the mascot who originally appeared in the late 1990s, was forcibly retired from international duty in 2013 after almost two decades of duty, to be replaced by the current mascot, BIL – known as Billy to his loved ones.
It took more than a year to find a suitable replacement for Leo, and eventually, BIL – short for the Brit- ish and Irish Lion – was discovered lurking in an airport shop in Geneva.
British and Irish Lions bosses were said to have wanted a meanlooking mascot so, stopping short of getting an actual lion, they settled on BIL, who is one of the biggest mascots the team has had.
The appointment of the oversized cuddly lion was much to the dismay of Stuart Hogg, who was tasked with looking after BIL for the tour that
He’s an important part of the Lions team – but what is the story behind the cuddly mascot which accompanies the players on tour? Katie Sands finds out...
year, carrying him around everywhere along with his Lions kit. It was reported that Hogg complained that he was suffering from an allergic reaction to the cuddly lion.
This year, aside from head coach Warren Gatland and his coaching staff, BIL was the only other tourist guaranteed a place on the flight to New Zealand for the 2017 Lions tour and BIL is set to have a VIP seat at the side of the pitch for every one of the Tour matches in New Zealand.
The 2017 tour is BIL’s second international tour and his first to New Zealand.
As the youngest member of the 2017 party, Saracens and England second row Maro Itoje has the job of minding BIL this year, taking him to all functions and on all trips – a task easier said than done when BIL has been known to go missing on oc- casion, as senior players kidnap him and part him from his keeper.
Earlier this month, Itoje spoke about how the challenging guardianship had gone so far.
“It has been interesting and a bit challenging at times,” he admitted. “That’s probably part of the parcel of it.
“It has its good moments, as any relationship does. It has its highs, it has its lows. It goes miss- ing an awful lot and I am thinking of ways to keep it close.”
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg, charged with babysitting BIL in 2013, clearly still has an attachment to the soft-toy mascot, with Itoje identifying him as the main culprit when it comes to hijacking antics.
“One would think he would be a little bit sympathetic, but he is the absolute opposite,” revealed the England forward.