SING WHEN YOU’RE WYNNING
Skipper Jones is getting his Lions in tune for South Africa tour... with choir practice
THE British and Irish Lions began their preparations for the summer series against South Africa last night – with choir practice.
While some of the sounds emanating from their Jersey training camp may have been frightening in their own right they are unlikely to strike fear into the Springboks.
But captain Alun Wyn Jones – who has one of the best voices in the group – sees the Lions choir as a way of bonding the squad in their two months together – just as it did in New Zealand in 2017.
“Four years ago we had an individual choirmaster from each country and four separate songs. I think we’ll go down a similar route,” said Wales hooker Ken Owens, who taught the squad ‘Calon Lan’ in 2017.
“It is an opportunity to learn about the culture of the other nations and it is a way of having a bit of fun as well and spending half an hour in the evening just having a bit of a laugh and a get-together.
“It is not just the players, but the backroom staff and the management that are here on tour and getting everyone together. Singing, generally, does that.”
The 2021 Lions will need all the off-field distractions they can lay their hands on having been given an early taste of life on tour in the pandemic after arriving in the Channel Islands at the start of the week.
Owens added: “We’re basically hotel-bound and just bussed up to training and back so we’re pretty restricted at the moment.
“We’re not allowed to leave the hotel. That is what it is and something we have to accept to protect ourselves and the wider public here.
“Then it will be exactly the same as we move on up to Edinburgh for the Japan game and on to South Africa.
“It is going to be pretty restrictive, but we’ve got some great hotels and plenty of spaces that we can go in and mix, in and around the team room, and hopefully we will get an opportunity in the latter part of the week to get out and see a little bit of Jersey.”
Louis Rees-Zammit (below), 20, as the youngest member of the squad, is in charge of the mascot lion.
Fellow wing Josh Adams said: “I’m waiting to see whether he can keep it up for the full eight weeks, because I know a few of the boys are keen to hide it. We’ll see, but he’s done really well with it so far.”
Forward James Ryan, left out of the Lions, will captain an Ireland squad lacking the rested Johnny Sexton, Keith Earls and Cian Healy in next month’s Tests against Japan and USA.
Wasps hooker Gabriel Oghre joined up with the England squad in Teddington yesterday for this training camp as a replacement for Jack Singleton, who was forced to withdraw after a close contact tested positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Exeter will find out tonight if forwards Dave Ewers and Sam Skinner will be available for this weekend’s Premiership play-off semi-final following disciplinary hearings.
Skinner was sent off against the Sharks on Saturday while Ewers was cited for a dangerous tackle.