Don’t turn tour into a stag do
THE Lions have been warned not to treat their four-day camp in Queenstown as a ‘stag do’ after the dwarf-tossing scandal of 2011. Warren Gatland’s squad will spend three nights in the infamous ski resort, where England’s 2011 World Cup was derailed when photos of drunk players emerged from a local nightclub. Lions CEO John Feehan has supported the decision to hold the mini-camp, which starts tomorrow, but revealed they had selected an out-of-town base to avoid a repeat of previous controversies. ‘Win, lose or draw on Saturday, it’s a chance for the players to de-stress and get bit of headspace,’ Feehan told Sportsmail. ‘They can have a night or two to unwind a wee bit, but not a stag do.’ Gatland decided against a
strict curfew or alcohol ban on his players but has encouraged a system of self-policing. The squad will train in Queenstown, before flying up to Auckland on Wednesday afternoon for the final leg of the six-week tour. ‘Guys might be out at 3 or 4am drinking water or orange juice, but it’s the perception of being out until that time that creates the controversy,’ said Gatland in April. ‘It won’t be my call but I think the players might say they can go out for a couple of hours and no one is going to mind them having a couple of beers. With Wales at the 2011 World Cup we got back to the hotel after a night game at about 11 and we said to the players you can go out for a few hours but be back by 1am. The bar will still be open if you want to have a few drinks and I just think we will say that to the Lions.’ The Lions held similar mini-camps before the third Test in 2009 and 2013. The squad were given down-time for activities including a safari in Johannesburg and surfing in Noosa. ‘Why are we doing it?’ said Feehan. ‘We’re doing it because it works. We did it in South Africa and Australia, where we played extremely well in the final Test. ‘Some (non-rugby) tourists go down there with the purpose of going on the lash, or whatever you want to call it, but it’s also a wonderful venue for outdoor life. It’s a chance to unwind the players.’ Meanwhile, Kieran Read said the second Test has the feel of a World Cup final. The All Blacks captain has won the Webb Ellis Cup twice and, on the eve of claiming his 99th cap, he compared the special build-up to the Wellington Test to those weeks before the main global showpiece. ‘In a sense it compares in terms of the one-off nature of the game — they win, they level the series, we win, we win the series,’ said Read. ‘It is pretty special and comes round every 12 years.’