SUDDENLY our cup over-runneth with Lions previews not to mention retrospectives, podcasts, books and specials dealing with the glories of 1997. Bloody marvellous isn't it?
We like to think that we at The Rugby Paper are leading the charge and rest assured we have only just started but if you want to occasionally listen and hear, rather than read, I can heartily endorse an outstanding ten part podcast series, Inside the Tour, the Lions of 97 which has just kicked off.
The plane from Heathrow hasn't even taken off yet. The 97 Lions are still nursing a huge hangover after a Fran Cotton-organised pub lock-in in Weybridge while various characters, not least Austin Healey, are mostly concerned with gathering as much stash as possible. The glories of the 2-1 series win are a fair few episodes down the line.
Presented and researched by BT Sport commentator Alastair Eykyn, written by Jonathan Overend and produced by Mark Sharman and Danny Garlick this is a high quality, unhurried, deep dive into a momentous tour which somehow managed to be both the last amateur, as well as the first professional, Lions tour.
It's great strength is going straight to the horse's mouth and among those interviewed at length are Matt Dawson, Keith Wood, Sir Ian McGeechan, Jim Telfer, Will Greenwood (and his Mum Susan), Doddie Weir, Fran Cotton, Dr James Robson, Scott Gibbs, the two cameramen who filmed the Living with Lions documentary – Duncan Humphries and Fred Rees – and of course John Bentley, who became such an integral part of the tour and indeed documentary. I've been lucky enough to hear most of the episodes in advance and there are some real treats in store as those at the sharp end recall a tour which almost to a man they describe as the greatest sporting experience of their lives. Even if, as Healy quips at the start, initially it was the £30,000 fee that attracted him most.
One or two highlights to look out for in the immediate future is Woodie describing in excruciating detail what it was like to be at the receiving end of Telfer's infamous scrummaging session in Pretoria and a great tit-for-tat discussion between Dawson and Healey as to who should have replaced the injured Rob Howley for the first Test in Cape Town. It's easily forgotten in the excitement of John Bentley's wonder try against Gauteng that Healy also produced a fine try scoring performance at Ellis Park that night. It must have been a very close call for Newlands. For your twice weekly 1997 fix check out: auddy.co/shows/row/inside-the-tour/
