Once Were Lions

[Ramon Rojo]

Watched the programme last night and thought it was really good.

Yes the tour itinerary and the results could have been better but the behind the scenes insight was both intriguing and entertaining.

What came across was the humble hard working attitude of the players and staff and how much they cared about doing their utmost to best represent the shirt.

Ok there was a bit of swearing and the daft song they chose to sing was embarrassing but the programme certainly captured how genuinely serious the camp felt about representing British Rugby League abroad.

Compare that to our show pony plastic footballers who spend International trips breaking covid rules, moaning about being tired, partying & taking girls back to the hotel.

Very rare we get anything like this from the BBC. I reckon we should applaud the effort and show how welcome it was.

[Keith989]

5 hours ago, Hughsehhh said:

You know as well as I that Northern Ireland use GSTQ though, so suck it up, accept Norn iron will always be part of the UK and take you anti English bigotry elsewhere.

Bizarre reply to a genuine question. 

[Bedford Roughyed]

14 hours ago, gavin7094 said:

This documentary portrayed it as a parochial game stuck in the past.

So pretty accurate then?

[jacobus]

I have read mixed reviews on this but its Wine Wednesday at our house so I have downloaded it and will have a watch later

[Scubby]

20 minutes ago, jacobus said:

I have read mixed reviews on this but its Wine Wednesday at our house so I have downloaded it and will have a watch later

It is enjoyable to watch as these things are rare in RL but it felt as if the squad/management weren't overly co-operative with it being filmed. So the "fly on the wall" bits seem vague/short and it looks like the rest is padded out with filming over recent months in the UK with old players etc.

[Hughsehhh]

Seems you can't please some people. It was free on the national public broadcaster ffs. 

I thought it was brilliant, behind the scenes footage, in depth interviews, game footage, wider social context, the historian was excellent, as was the doctor.  

[Stuff Smith]

On 24/11/2020 at 23:27, gavin7094 said:

However, the most irritating things for me were a) this perpetual narrative of the decline of the industrial North and b) the repetitive personal histories of players from 'troubled' backgrounds who were brought up in depressed areas and who, if they hadn't been saved by rugby league, would inevitably have drifted down the path of disaffection and underachievement.  The game (and the North) needs to leave these tired clichés behind now.

100% agree.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 25/11/2020 at 07:47, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Hopefully that is the end of the GB Lions, they are a team of a bygone era, like bringing back Yorkshire v Lancashire attempting to take the game back is not progressive, we need to move the game forward, the future of internationals is England in tier 1 and the other hone Nations as tier 2 sides. 

The best part of the documentary was the PNG section, the popularity of the game there is incredible. It’d be great to see England go over and do a tour of PNG, playing a 3 match test series and a couple of regional warm up games. Would the tour make a profit? Probably not PNG is a poor country, but it should be done anyway. 

I think a 3 match tour would be great

[DC77]

On 23/11/2020 at 18:15, Celt said:

Why not just concentrate on getting the whole of England to support you? The apathy among your own public meant virtually nobody from England travelled over to support you from there (especially when we compare to other sports, like cricket). Virtually nobody from the south of England is even aware of your national team. 

But yes... By all means include the half of Northern Ireland who might follow your flag (because let's be honest here... The other 50% won't appreciate your decision to "include" them).

As for your last sentence... I don't even know where to start with a response to it.

This is actually not cut and dried. I’m in that 50% (or 43% ish) that you would be referring to that would be more inclined to support an all Ireland team. However, I support the Lions in RU, and supported GB when Carney played (I remember recording his fabulous try in the Manchester test). Think if you went back 30 years and more then it would definitely be what you state, but times (and progress) have changed things.

On 24/11/2020 at 14:16, Hughsehhh said:

Mate leave the politics out of it. The Norn Ireland lads have to go down to Dublin and listen to an anthem that isn't theirs when they represent the whole of Ireland in various sports, with limited fuss. When they've played games in Belfast, the southerners all of a sudden say they won't play as GSTQ will be played as the anthem. Hypocrisy at its finest

Depends which “Norn Iron” lads you are referring to. There will be a percentage (like me) whose national anthem is Irish, others will be GSTQ. While GSTQ isn’t my anthem I would respect it. 

On 24/11/2020 at 16:20, Mr Frisky said:

Yet the "Irish" football team that played in "Ireland's" greatest ever match V Italy in the 1994 World Cup only had 4 Irish players in it. The rest were British as well as Big Jack of course - when it suits they can say it's an Irish team but when its suggested that Brian Carney dared to play for a GB RL team ( officially called the British Isles 13 when he played) loads of Irish fans are saying how disgusting it was. Same people who hounded Rory out of Olympics golf a few years ago. You cant win what ever you choose.

They should be proud Carney represented the Lions.

If Ireland produced the next Hanley or Burgess those fans would rather they never get a shot at the Lions team just to spite their own faces.

Live and let live - I for one hope the likes of LMS or Kyle Amor play for Ireland again to help their own grown lads progress.

Five. Bonner, Irwin, Staunton, McGrath, Keane. We were missing Niall Quinn (injured) so that’s six starters who are bona fide Irish in our best XI, playing the highest profile and most played sport on the island. Now compare this to the “Irish” RL team. 

On 25/11/2020 at 06:27, Keith989 said:

Why would they play GSTQ though? They don't even use it for the commonwealth games, do they? In fact, officially Northern Ireland has no national anthem that represents just the North.

Is it Danny Boy? I pay little attention to Norn Iron related stuff, as being a manufactured state I don’t recognise it’s existence. When the line was arbitrarily drawn across six counties a century ago as it ensured a Protestant majority, my own Catholic majority county almost didn’t make it in. Three from Ulster didn’t make the cut, as that would have wrecked their “Protestant state for a Protestant people.” No matter which way you slice it, Norn Iron is a bigoted, backward concept. Ultimately it’s an embarrassment. The Orange Order, these folk have no shame.

While I don’t recognise Norn Iron (and no sane person should), I wouldn’t be voting for a United Ireland anytime soon. The thought of Mary Lou McDonald and co. running the place is a terrifying prospect. In political terms the UK is far more advanced than the backward, tribal embarrassment (that word again) that exists here. Stormont is a glorified council building, that’s it. Westminster calls the shots thank Christ. Grown ups should always be in charge.

[Hughsehhh]

5 hours ago, DC77 said:

When the line was arbitrarily drawn across six counties a century ago as it ensured a Protestant majority, my own Catholic majority county almost didn’t make it in. Three from Ulster didn’t make the cut, as that would have wrecked their “Protestant state for a Protestant people.” No matter which way you slice it, Norn Iron is a bigoted, backward concept. Ultimately it’s an embarrassment. The Orange Order, these folk have no shame.

 

You do realise that this fantasy Ireland you dream of has never existed as a country? It was an amalgam of warring counties/ areas that was never unified, until the British came along and civilised it (I'm sure you'll disagree with terminology, don't worry). Now, the republic of Ireland is the most unified it ever was and is ever likely to be.

[Mr Frisky]

5 hours ago, DC77 said:

 

Five. Bonner, Irwin, Staunton, McGrath, Keane. We were missing Niall Quinn (injured) so that’s six starters who are bona fide Irish

4 - McGrath was born in England - just to get the facts correct.

[Harry Stottle]

On 19/11/2020 at 03:41, nadera78 said:

Nope. Next time someone wants to resurrect this team, based purely on nostalgia and (an admittedly lovely) badge, I'm going to loudly remind everyone of what an absolute disaster this tour was.

Speaking of which, have the financials been announced yet? 

Well I went on the tour, thoroughly enjoyed it and if another was annouced tomorrow for 2022 would not hesitate in booking immediately, much better than sitting on the couch moaning.

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Hughsehhh said:

You do realise that this fantasy Ireland you dream of has never existed as a country? It was an amalgam of warring counties/ areas that was never unified, until the British came along and civilised it (I'm sure you'll disagree with terminology, don't worry). Now, the republic of Ireland is the most unified it ever was and is ever likely to be.

All down to the Celtic Tiger roaring.

[17 stone giant]

2 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Well I went on the tour, thoroughly enjoyed it and if another was annouced tomorrow for 2022 would not hesitate in booking immediately, much better than sitting on the couch moaning.

Would you go if everything about the tour was the same, except that we were playing as England instead of Great Britain?

[Harry Stottle]

9 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

Would you go if everything about the tour was the same, except that we were playing as England instead of Great Britain?

I would go whatever the team was named, in the international schedule that was laid before us in '18 GB were to tour Australia in '24 albeit it could be '23, I have not seen any retaction from that.

[gavin7094]

4 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Well I went on the tour, thoroughly enjoyed it and if another was annouced tomorrow for 2022 would not hesitate in booking immediately, much better than sitting on the couch moaning.

Agreed.  I too went and loved it. 

I think it would be a mistake to abandon this just because we lost this time.  The Lion's have a rich history and we'd be wise not to discard it lightly. 

The documentary featured several ex-Lions saying how a Lions tour was among the highlights of their career. 

Why would we deny that to current/future players?

 

[Hopping Mad]

On 19/11/2020 at 08:10, Ramon Rojo said:

Will certainly be a more intriguing watch than a show off in by far the fastest car blubbing how fab he is...

So true. The guy in the costliest, speediest car starts at the front of the grid every time then wins race after race after race.

What exactly is the appeal of F1?

I'll catch up with OWL shortly.

[Tommygilf]

I'm kind of dreading watching this now...

[17 stone giant]

12 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

I'm kind of dreading watching this now...

How bad can it really be? It wasn't an Ashes series or a World Cup. We just lost four tour matches, that's all. And not even any against Australia.

Maybe I'm the exception but I didn't care much about any of those defeats. There have been GB and England losses in the past that have been many times worse than that.

[Spidey]

2 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

How bad can it really be? It wasn't an Ashes series or a World Cup. We just lost four tour matches, that's all. And not even any against Australia.

Maybe I'm the exception but I didn't care much about any of those defeats. There have been GB and England losses in the past that have been many times worse than that.

Wayne Bennett made me not care about those GB games after his squad selections.
 

It’s a shame Shaun Wane has landed the job in uncertain times, an ashes series this year would have been excellent prep for the World Cup next year

[17 stone giant]

7 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Wayne Bennett made me not care about those GB games after his squad selections.

Because of the Aussies or because of other selections/omissions?

[Spidey]

12 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

Because of the Aussies or because of other selections/omissions?

Squad balance. Loads of halfbacks no wingers. Ending up with Austin on the wing was a farce

[DC77]

8 hours ago, Hughsehhh said:

You do realise that this fantasy Ireland you dream of has never existed as a country? It was an amalgam of warring counties/ areas that was never unified, until the British came along and civilised it (I'm sure you'll disagree with terminology, don't worry). Now, the republic of Ireland is the most unified it ever was and is ever likely to be.

Think you mean Fantasy island...TV series. Bit before my time.

The most backward aspect of Norn Iron, is the British, represented by the Orange Order. Stuck in the dark ages with their prehistoric beliefs, these clowns were hidden during the recent Open golf tournament played in Portrush as they were, quote, “an embarrassment” to PGA authorities. When folk come here from abroad they don’t ask for anything Brit related..much to the consternation of the loyal brethren. Lol. “Why aren’t they selling British stuff in tourist shops or the airports” is the cry in phone ins, response, “we are a business not a charity shop.”

When the British politicians from Norn Iron get up during PMQs, you can hear a pin drop, the only time of silence during the otherwise 45 minutes raucous proceedings. The others, the grown ups in the room, let them have their 30 seconds of backward nonsense before resuming normalities/hostilities.

8 hours ago, Mr Frisky said:

4 - McGrath was born in England - just to get the facts correct.

Pfft. Boris the PM was born in yanksville, is he a yank? (probably not the best comparison as few here would claim him).

Paul McGrath, is, without question, the greatest Irishman I’ve had the pleasure to watch. I never saw the greatest ever Irishman, Georgie Best (also the greatest ever to hail from these islands), as the great man was way before my time, as noted above.

[Hughsehhh]

53 minutes ago, DC77 said:

Think you mean Fantasy island...TV series. Bit before my time.

The most backward aspect of Norn Iron, is the British, represented by the Orange Order. Stuck in the dark ages with their prehistoric beliefs, these clowns were hidden during the recent Open golf tournament played in Portrush as they were, quote, “an embarrassment” to PGA authorities. When folk come here from abroad they don’t ask for anything Brit related..much to the consternation of the loyal brethren. Lol. “Why aren’t they selling British stuff in tourist shops or the airports” is the cry in phone ins, response, “we are a business not a charity shop.”

When the British politicians from Norn Iron get up during PMQs, you can hear a pin drop, the only time of silence during the otherwise 45 minutes raucous proceedings. The others, the grown ups in the room, let them have their 30 seconds of backward nonsense before resuming normalities/hostilities.

Haha, good luck with that mate. Wasn't one of your brethren jailed today for murdering a prison officer. Nice people those republicans. Nothing embarrassing about terrorists that used to bomb women and children, I'm sure.

Tbh I'm not really bothered, whenever I've been to Ulster I've seen more union flags than anywhere, they love it. A lad from the Creggan estate in Londonderry flies into my office regularly, naturally a Catholic. He'd never vote for a united Ireland in a million years. He elucidates on what the shinners get up to, encouraging fellow kafliks to claim every benefit they can to 'bleed the British state dry'.

As to your views on pmqs, that's funny, aren't there a fair few DUPs etc promoted to the Lord's. I remember bumping into Trimble amongst one or two others when I went there a few years back. 

As to your tourist anecdote, that's fabulous, really opened my eyes, thanks

[Dunbar]

Think I will jump in here before its locked.

Turns out we lost every game. Bummer.