Categories

British and Irish Lions coaches taking inspiration from 1997 documentary in bid to win first …

3 days ago
4 Views
British and Irish Lions coaches taking inspiration from 1997 documentary in bid to win first ...

“John Bentley was the star of that show and he was a rugby league boy that I played against.And the coaches want to replicate the camaraderie around the ‘97 squad that played such a vital role in triumphing over the Springboks. 7Farrell is taking inspiration from the Lions’ 1997 success into their series with Australia […]


“John Bentley was the star of that show and he was a rugby league boy that I played against.And the coaches want to replicate the camaraderie around the ‘97 squad that played such a vital role in triumphing over the Springboks.

Farrell is taking inspiration from the Lions' 1997 success into their series with Australia this summer7
Farrell is taking inspiration from the Lions’ 1997 success into their series with Australia this summerCredit: Getty

7

The Living with Lions documentary gave fans a great insight into the squad’s triumph in South AfricaCredit: Getty
Farrell has previously been Lions assistant head coach at the 2013 and 2017 tours7
Farrell has previously been Lions assistant head coach at the 2013 and 2017 toursCredit: Getty

7

Jeremy Guscott’s drop-goal secured the series win for the Lions in the second Test matchCredit: Getty

7

Living with Lions is regarded by fans as one of Britain’s greatest ever sports documentariesCredit: Getty

7

The Lions have emerged victorious in just one Tour series since 1997Credit: Getty

7

Martin Johnson is England’s first – and only – Lions-winning captain since 1936Credit: Getty

Only Farrell has coached twice on previous Lions tours, while Simon Easterby, one of the assistant coaches, was a Lions player appearing in two Tests on the controversial 2005 series loss to New Zealand in which captain Brian O’Driscoll was injured by an illegal clear out in the first Test, consequently sidelining the star for the rest of the series.”For me, the front row – Tom Smith and Paul Wallace, with Keith Wood in the middle of them – they weren’t huge props, but had enormous fight and were part of a pack taking on a huge South African pack.The groundbreaking film gave fans the inside story of the Lions’ 2-1 series victory over South Africa.

Read More on talkSPORT

Those sentiments are backed up by John Dalziel who was inspired by the 1997 Lions fly half Gregor Townsend, who he now works with in the Scotland coaching box.”I remember Rob Jones having a scrap with Nick Farr-Jones at a scrum put in, and Ieuan Evans, who scored the winning try in the deciding game.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *