Why I love the Lions

I was just reading Jerry Guscott's assessment of the Lions squad and I got to this bit:

(Owen) Farrell does the basics well but he does not offer much of an attacking threat with his running game, he certainly does not go through too many gaps.

It's perfectly true - none of us would claim that Farrell is a running outside half; but as I read that sentence, the thought flashed through my mind of Farrell, in a Lions jersey, crossing for a try on tour. I imagined myself jumping off the sofa and punching the air.

And that's why I love the Lions. I would never normally celebrate an English player scoring a try, nailing a kick at goal, putting in a try-saving tackle; but when he does it in a Lions jersey, thousands of Welshmen, Scots and Irishmen celebrate as if he was one of their own. Because once every four years, he is one of their own.

I love the Lions and I cannot wait for the tour to start.

The eagerly awaited visit to South Africa by touring teams; Italy, Samoa and Scotland, will form a South African Quadrangular Tournament, and for Samoa a warm-up fixture against the Golden Lions a week before their test against Scotland.

Round 1

8 June 2013
15:00 SAST (UTC+02)
Samoa v Scotland
Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Ireland John Lacey (Ireland)

17:00 SAST (UTC+02)
South Africa v Italy
Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
Referee: France Pascal Gaüzère (France)

Round 2

15 June 2013
15:00 SAST (UTC+02)
Samoa v Italy
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Referee: South Africa Craig Joubert (South Africa)

17:00 SAST (UTC+02)
South Africa v Scotland
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Referee: France Romain Poite (France)


Finals

3rd v 4th Match

22 June 2013
15:00 SAST (UTC+02)
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: France Pascal Gaüzère (France)

1st v 2nd Match

22 June 2013
17:00 SAST (UTC+02)
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Ireland John Lacey (Ireland)

This is going to be an awesome tournament against the 2nd ranked nation and Samoa and with Italy improving year on year it will be a fantastic yardstick for the NH form players (in their position) of Grant Barclay Brown Beattie Scott Visser along with the exciting young talent such as Swinson, Ryder, Horne, Dunbar, Tonks to push the likes of Gray Maitland Hogg who will be touring this summer with the Lions. Along with the probable appointment of Johnson and a first look at forwards coach Humphries who has done wonders with the Ospreys pack its going to bode well for Scotland as a nation going into the Autumn Tours and 2014 6Ns. Word on the street is SA are treating this summer very seriously and are encouraging the visiting nations to do like-wise, so for us this cannae be viewed as a development session but more to consolidate the on-going improvement to the 2012 6Ns standing and our success against SH sides.

Looking ahead to a potentially fantastic summer tournament during June and of course the Lions series that is alongside