Gerry Thornley: Family matters as Lions tour nears its finale

Irish Times

6 days ago

Sunday
Bye bye Melbourne. Another checkout, a last internal flight and a last check-in the day after the night before. 'Robbed' screams one of the back page headlines and one can't help but feel that in such a fiercely competitive sports market for hearts and minds, and eyes and ears, the controversy over the endgame to that brilliant second Test served to keep a focus on the Wallabies and this Lions tour.
Moving on from AFL territory in Melbourne, it's quickly clear from the screens in bars that Sydney is all about rugby league.
Monday
The Lions have a 'down day' and so after penning the column there's a chance to stroll down to Darling Harbour and see some of Sydney's sights, all the more necessary given forecasts of gloomy weather later in the week.
Tuesday
The last of the winter sunshine and the best day of the week.
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It begins with a 10.30am press conference in the Museum of Contemporary Art, where the great and good of World Rugby and Rugby Australia have gathered. They have invited the media along to unveil the ticketing strategy for the 2025 World Cup in Australia.
There's a frisson of tension in the air as two days beforehand the CEO of Rugby Australia Phil Waugh said he would be seeking 'accountability' from World Rugby, and he was in proximity to the latter's CEO Alan Gilpin.
Gilpin clearly wasn't happy with Joe Schmidt questioning the governing body's 'player safety push' in light of the officials not penalising Jac Morgan for his clear-out on Carlo Tizzano and so disallowing Hugo Keenan's match-winning try.
He said World Rugby supported the officials but, puzzlingly, would not be publicly stating whether the governing body deemed the much-debated decision to be correct or not.
The ticketing strategy was tastefully and stylishly presented. World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson said RWC 2027 would be 'the biggest and most accessible' tournament in history.
To that end, one million tickets will be available for under AUD$100 (€56) and will start at AUD$40 (€22.50) for adults while children's tickets available from just $20. The tournament, to be held in September/October, will be hosted across seven cities; Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Newcastle and Townsville, with the final being held in Sydney.
This launch had been brought forward by 24 hours, ostensibly due to Robinson's busy schedule, and so affords a magnificent view of Sydney's Harbour Bridge and Opera House, especially from the adjoining balcony where Gilpin conducts a briefing with the media.
It would be interesting to know which would be more expensive, two tickets for a New Year's Eve gathering in the Museum of Contemporary Art or the next World Cup final.
From there, it's an Uber to the Lions media day, including an audience with Dan Sheehan.
Even by the standards of exclusive, high fee-playing schools which the Lions have used as training bases, Shore School is on a different level. It's doubtful any school on the planet has a better view of Darling Harbour, the bridge and Opera House.
The Sydney Church of England Grammar School, to give it its proper name, is an independent Anglican school for boys located on Sydney's Lower North Shore. Its 136 years old and effectively has two campuses. Rugby union is its main sport and tuition fees range from €24,325 to €26,000.
Wednesday
The rain comes. Some go whale watching, but fail to spot any whales, while a gang of us take a train to Bowral for a lunch in the Centennial Vineyard, which has an open fire and a very Christmas-like feel.
Great lunch, great company, great day, so great choice.
A very, very quiet night ensues. Some of us bump into Dan Sheehan's parents, Sinead and Barry,
our new sometime and entertaining diarist in The Irish Times
. This ensures an even quieter night.
Thursday
Dual team announcement day, and this week they don't clash. So first an Uber to the Wallabies' hotel, the Intercontinental Double Bay, a 15-minute drive across Sydney to the Financial District for an audience with Joe Schmidt. His mood still seems a little down, although he palpably perked up when asked a couple of questions about Tadhg Furlong, whom he identified as a future star in the making and fast-tracked him into the Irish team.
But he conceded: 'It's an incredibly deflated group. Tuesday was tough actually to get them up off the canvas and today there was a little bit of an upswing. We've just got to keep that momentum. Hopefully they can be sharp at the captain's run tomorrow and then springboard their way into the Test match.
'It is a challenge because all that emotional and psychological energy that was expended, the way things finished, the sense of frustration. It's almost like a grieving process by the time they've gone through those first few days. Giving them time to breathe a bit and then try to elevate the spirits and the tempo.'
Maybe he's playing possum?
There follows an Uber to the Lions team hotel, the Intercontinental Sydney, which Google Maps says is an 18-minute drive away. It's not. In addition to the rain, it transpires there's been a crash on Sydney Harbour Bridge, reducing traffic to one lane, and the ripple effect combined with the weather reduces the city to gridlock.
We abandon our driver, who could still be there, to instead walk. He apologises but it's not his fault. We make the audience with Andy Farrell and Tadhg Furlong. It's the same hotel where the Lions stayed 12 years ago, where Ireland stayed five years ago and where Farrell held a press conference after calling up his son Owen four weeks previously.
We then go to the same restaurant we were in that night. Four weeks. It's flown. It's been a blast really.
Friday
A bleak, miserable, rain-sodden day. You wouldn't put the cat out. Lie low and work. Families are such a huge part of tours and Farrell, who was always amazed that they were largely peripheral in his playing and coaching career in both codes, goes out of his way to make them a big part of the experience.
Bumped into the McCarthys – Joe senior, Paula, and brothers Paddy, a Leinster prop of huge potential, and Andrew, a Leinster 'Culture Captain'.
In contrast to, say, the travelling Ringroses and van der Fliers, who must have spent a small fortune to ultimately console Garry and Josh, the McCarthys are phlegmatic about Joe being restricted to just the first 45 minutes of the series. So too, seemingly, is Big Young Joe, as Farrell once called him.
And who knows, maybe the McCarthys will be in New Zealand four years hence, supporting two of their boys in the Lions squad.