The East Terrace

Gatland rues missed chance to consult public on Lions team

British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has admitted his squad selection for the 2013 tour to Australia could have been far stronger had he listened to the casual rugby viewing public.

In an unprecedented move Gatland, currently taking a sabbatical from his role as head coach of Wales, sent an open letter to every national newspaper in the UK and Ireland to 'apologise for his short-sightedness' concerning the eagerly awaited squad selection.

The admission, just days after the 37-man touring squad for the ten-match tour of Australia and Hong Kong was originally announced, came after a barrage of criticism for the New Zealander from both the press and public.

"What was I thinking?" pondered Gatland as he surveyed one of approximately 40,000 newspaper headlines on Jonny Wilkinson not being selected for the tour. "Why did I think that I would know best? After all I've only won two Grand Slams, three English Premierships, the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Cup, the Parker Pen Shield and the Air New Zealand Cup.

"I should have listened to Toby Spencer of Richmond who had some great advice on Twitter regarding English backs. Or perhaps to James O'Connor in Limerick who had some superb and balanced views on the issue of the captaincy based on his run as skipper back as a twelve-year-old in the school cup."

Whilst the former All Blacks hooker takes the brunt of the responsibility, he has also implicated his management team in what he now sees in hindsight as a 'hugely arrogant mistake'.

For the full story click here. 

The Lions may be almost irrelevant, but they have a proper mane again

In a rare outbreak of good taste in professional rugby, the HSBC British & Irish Lions have included a real rugby collar on their 2013 jersey.

The jersey will be worn in Hong Kong and the like.

Shock as passionate British man leaves for foreign lands

The rugby world has been rocked by the utterly unexpected decision of former British Lion and England centre Riki Flutey to move to the colonies.

Despite achieving what was no doubt a life-long burning ambition to represent the British and Irish Lions (as he did in 2009) and winning 14 caps for his beloved England, the threequarter has, for some unknown reason, decided to commit his future to the land of New Zealand.

Many are claiming it is the oddest move since Welshman Shane Howarth upped sticks and also headed to the land of the long white cloud.

You can read Flutey’s 2009 Lions’ diary here: 2009 Lions' Diary.

Riki Flutey's Lions' diary - Exclusive

 

Dear Diary,

Tumeke bro! I’m now officially a Lion, got the jersey and everything!

Well, I was a Lion when I was in the reserves for the Wellington Lions, but now I’m a British Lion. Check that out! I asked my Uncle Turoa and he reckoned he’s pretty sure I’m the first guy from my whanau, maybe even my whole iwi to be a British Lion. He’s gonna check anyway, just in case.

But bro, we are shit as, eh? Well, we were pretty shit till I came on, then we scored a try straight away and then I nearly scored one using the old Wainuiomata sidestep, but we got through in the end thanks to a try from one of the forwards called Alan Win Jones. I said to the boys after, we should just pick that Alan Win guy every week, cause then we’ll win, cause it’s in his name. Win? Geddit? Oh, I cracked up anyway. Some of these guys have no sense of humour, eh?

This week I’m sharing a room with a guy called Brian, who’s from a place called Dublin. I didn’t recognise him when I got to my room and he was already in there unpacking his stuff. I thought he was a forward for a start cause he’s a bit fat and looks like an egg, but then when I saw him taking off his T-shirt, and it was half over his head and half on his shoulder and for a second it looked like a sling, and THEN I recognised him!!! I said “Oh, bro you’re Brian O’Driscoll!!!” and he got all freaked out when he heard my accent.

Lions hit hard by economic climate

The East Terrace's latest 'news' article is now online on www.scrum.com.

We reveal the shocking news that the Lions' have had to cut their budget by 70%. This means a dramatic reduction in playing and coaching numbers.

For a direct link to the story  visit: http://www.scrum.com/lionstour/rugby/story/96919.html  

Lions' Mascot may be unable to tour

The East Terrace's latest 'news' article is now online on www.scrum.com.

We reveal the shocking truth about the Lions' famous cuddly mascot.  For a direct link to the story visit: http://www.scrum.com/lionstour/rugby/story/95956.html