The British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand will be one of the main sporting events of this summer.
Depending on how Ireland fare in the upcoming Six Nations, there could be up to 15 players from our shores selected to take on the All Blacks in The Land of the Long White Cloud.
Ireland captain Rory Best is in the mix to lead the touring squad – made up of the best Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales have to offer – while there have been a couple of canny suggestions that Conor Murray could also do the job.
Over the course of five weeks, the Lions will play 10 times in New Zealand with a three-Test series near the tail-end of the gruelling itinerary.
As tough as it will prove, each and every player that gets the email and phone-call from the Lions letting them know they made the cut will forever cherish the moment.
It is a long way away from the letters received by those selected for ‘The British Lions’ in 1929.
Those included in the squad, and able to give up six months of their life, would travel to New Zealand and Australia from mid-April to mid-October in 1930. Players were told to bring between £50 and £75 for ‘incidental expenses’.
Invite to tour NZ in 1930. Inspired our vintage British Isles XV collection. pic.twitter.com/6okVshZf8X
— Ellis Rugby (@ellisrugby_) January 8, 2017
There were five Irish players in the 29-man touring party, 12 English and a mixture of Scottish, Welsh and uncapped but promising club players.
Led by England’s Doug Prentice, the Lions lost the Test Series 3-1 to the Kiwis and 1-0 to Australia. Then it was back on the boat and homeward bound.
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