Spare some thought for Gatland’s Forgotten 4
WE are constantly told that it’s a 23 man game these days but that principle appears to have been sidestepped this week with the announcement of the 835 Lions players who are to be awarded Lions caps, albeit many of those caps will be posthumously presented to the surviving families of those who blazed a trail many decades ago.
It’s basically a great idea so credit where credit is due, but the case of the ‘Geography Six’ has proved difficult and the Lions committee has decided that only the two players from that call-up group – Finn Russell and Alan Dell – who came off the bench against the Hurricanes in Wellington should be awarded their caps.
Harsh. The ‘forgotten four’ – Cory Hill, Gareth Davies, Kristian Dacey and Tomas Francis – all prepared assiduously for that match, trained in the week, went through the warm-up and sat on the bench for the entire game.
Warren Gatland used only Dell and Russell, right, but does anybody doubt that those four lived and breathed every moment. They were part of the match, their names are in the programme, they weren't just there to hold the tackle bags.
The purists argue they hadn’t been picked on merit but by that criteria you would have to look very carefully at all the tours up to World War II when selection mainly depended on whether you could afford five or six months off work or if you went to University with the captain or manager.
And there is precedent. The surviving family of Jack Clowes – if they can be traced – will also be entitled to a cap. Clowes was accused of professionalism and banned just as the original 1888 tour party departed for Australia and New Zealand but he travelled anyway although he didn’t play once.