The British & Irish Lions are in rude health thanks to Warren Gatlands brave selection and the depth of rugby talent in Wales, England Ireland and Scotland.
As ever Australia was a tough place to tour and with just two losses The 2013 tourists can be well pleases with their trip. So what were the high points of the tour. Top of the list must be winning the third and final test and with a good display of power, pace and precision. 16-41 is a big win in any game but against Australia it is momentous. Couple that with the demolition of the Wallaby scrum, something that had been threatened but until now had not happened to a level to cause mayhem. Another high point was the way in which the whole party gelled and the new boys who came in stepped up to the plate. The midweek teams although not producing thrills and spills rugby did the job apart from the loss to the Brumbies. The game plan developed over the whole tour and as mentioned eventually led to a top test performance.
What of the low points, first must be the number of injuries pushing players in and out of the tour. The amazing work of the medical teams in getting players fit was however a bonus. The attitude or the Perth based franchise Western Force in not putting out their strongest team, though had they done so it would probably have made no difference in the game.
So what of the future well hopes will be high as the next tour travels to New Zealand in 2017. Before that there is a little matter of the Rugby World Cup and perhaps some new names to join the youngsters from this trip who could well feature in New Zealand. The British & Irish Lions roar on and the fans with them. Amazing times thank you Australia for making it a magic trip and with good weather most of the time.
Results
Saturday 06th July 2013 Australia 16-41 British & Irish Lions
Saturday 29th June 2013 Australia 16-15 British & Irish Lions
Tuesday 25th June 2013 Melbourne Rebels 0-35 British & Irish Lions
Saturday 22nd June 2013 Australia 21-23 British & Irish Lions
Tuesday 18th June 2013 Brumbies 14-12 British & Irish Lions
Saturday 15th June 2013 Waratahs 17-47 British & Irish Lions
Tuesday 11th June 2013 NSW-Queensland 0-64 British & Irish Lions
Saturday 08th June 2013 Reds 12-22 British & Irish Lions
Wednesday 05th June 2013 Western Force 17-69 British & Irish Lions
Saturday 01st June 2013 Barbarians 8-59 British & Irish Lions