The Breakdown | Trash-talk and rough sleeping: following the 2001 Lions’ tour of Australia
The Journey Begins
June 2001. I’m on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup.
Initially there had been no plans to follow that year’s British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years earlier. With my newfound freedom, it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action.
Discovery of a New Star
Unbeknown to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union’s galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents’ XV.
Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. “The only real question now,” wrote a noted journalist, “is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.” As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O’Driscoll – they were most concerned about.
Experiencing the Lions’ Roar
After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium.
The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia left an indelible mark on all who followed it, transforming casual observers into lifelong fans through the sheer drama and quality of rugby on display.
