The British And Irish Lions Tour - Heavy Duty Entertainment
The British And Irish Lions Tour - Heavy Duty Entertainment. The Lions Tour - The Countdown has already begun, The British And Irish Lions Tour to South Africa will happen this June. Thousands of British And Irish Lions fans have already bought their tickets and made reservations to confirm their presence at the event. It will be undoubtedly the biggest and the best sports event of the year.
The Lions Rugby Team is a rugby union team which is made up of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Initially called the British Isles Team, the name British Lions came up during their tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950. Since their jerseys and ties had the emblem of a lion, journalists used it as a nickname. Ever since the tour to Australia in 2001 they have been called the British And Irish Lions.
The first tour took place in 1888 when a squad consisting of 21 players from Scotland, England and Wales visited Australia and New Zealand. They won 27 matches against the teams from Victoria and South Australia in the 35-match tour. Three years later after first match tour, the English rugby team was invited to tour in South Africa and today it is a major sporting occasion.
The summer tour of the British And Irish Lions Rugby Team is happening again in South Africa after a 12 year break and the rugby fans worldwide are anticipating an eventful clash between the two giants. Can the British Lions strike the current champs who are also regarded as a stern challenge to the tourists? The British Lions touring squad will be having a well-balanced squad with players from the Six Nations and Guinness Premiership whom will be captained by Ireland???s Paul O’Connell.
The fixtures will be as follows:
30 May - 14.00 hrs Highveld at Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg
3 June - 14.00 hrs Golden Lions at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
6 June - 14.00 hrs Cheetahs at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
10 June - 18.10 hrs Sharks at ABSA Park, Durban
13 June - 14.00 hrs Western Province at Newlands, Cape Town
16 June - 14.00 hrs Coastal XV at Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Eliz.
20 June - 14.00 hrs South Africa at ABSA Park, Durban (1st Test)
23 June - 18.10 hrs Emerging Springboks at Newlands, Cape Town
27 June - 14.00 hrs South Africa at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (2nd Test)
4 July - 14.00 hrs South Africa at Ellis Park, Johannesburg (3rd Test)
Since rugby is a confrontational sport there have been many unsavoury incidents throughout the past years. However The International Rugby Board will be monitoring the matches through video technology and will carry out necessary punishments for any foul play.
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour of South Africa is much awaited with great expectation and is considered to be one of most highly charged and physically demanding contests and the matches will definitely be a thrilling experience for the rugby fans. It will be indeed interesting to see what tactics the British Lions of 2009 will use in the games while Ian McGeechan is coach. It is also food for thought that British And Irish Lions won the last series in 1997 in South Africa when Ian McGeechan was their coach.
