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April 20, 2009

Posted on 04/20/2009

The joy of selection for the Lions

Here are some great soundbites from various Lions who recall how they found out they were selected for the elite tourists:

Gareth Edwards (1968, 1971 & 1974)
"A brown envelope came through the door and it said something along the lines of 'Dear Edwards, you've been selected for the British Lions' which you read three or four times just to make sure you hadn't made a mistake!"

Andy Irivine (1974, 1977 & 1980)
"I was driving to a business meeting and I heard it on the radio as I left that morning before the mail came in. I have to say it was just a tremendous sensation because you really felt like you had made it."

Willie-John McBride (1962, 1966, 1968, 1971 & 1974)
"The Lions team was announced on radio and that's how we learned, and then you got a letter. But prior to that you were obviously asked 'would you be able if selected to go to South Africa for four-and-a-half months'. Now, if that's not better than working I don't know what is."

Mike Teague (1989 & 1993)
"I think it was Clive Rowlands, the manager, who phoned me and said 'Is that Mike Teague, British Lions rugby player; it was just a call, he didn't say who it was, but it was a Welsh voice saying that to me so then I knew."

Will Greenwood (1997, 2001 & 2005)
"At the time I was living with everybody's favourite pal Austin Healey; I came down for breakfast and he was reading his letter, jumping around the house and saying 'oh well, unlucky kid'.

"There were rumours that I may have made the tour so I was obviously hugely disappointed. Then he asked me to give him a lift to Welford Road, so I drove Austin into the car park and there was Graham Simmons from Sky and he said 'Well done, Will'. I nearly smacked him - I thought he was being a sarcastic little so-and-so.

"Then Austin pulls something out of his top pocket and says 'I think you are looking for this'; so I found out in a roundabout sort of way - those are the perils and dangers of living with A Healey.”

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