Gerry Thornley: Take criticism of Lions squad make-up with a hefty pinch of salt

Irish Times

23-05-2025

Rarely, one imagines, can a British & Irish
Lions
selection have caused so little argument or controversy, save for predictable sources irritated and maybe even a little flabbergasted by the audacity of the best team from these islands in the last four years actually being the most numerously represented. Eh, seeing as it's little auld
Ireland
. What's happening to the world?
And the temptation is also to avoid giving any oxygen to the headlines or red herring (dilute to taste) generated by Willie John McBride's comments on the inclusion of seven players in the squad who were born in the southern hemisphere.
Yet McBride is a five-time tourist who played in a remarkable 17 Tests for the Lions, and who captained the undefeated side in South Africa in 1974. He also made 63 appearances for Ireland in a virtually unbroken run over 14 seasons, including 11 as captain, and was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2009. There's no doubt that McBride is one of the game's most iconic figures and is regarded as a Lions legend, not least in South Africa.
In his squad for this summer's Lions tour,
Andy Farrell
included seven players – Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Pierre Schoeman, Sione Tuipulotu and Duhan van der Merwe – who were born in New Zealand, South Africa or Australia.
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'One thing that does bother me is that eight (sic) members of the squad are not born in Britain or Ireland,' McBride told South African publication Rapport. 'That's how things have changed over the past 60 years. In my day, the team consisted only of native players.'
Of course, it is faintly ridiculous that the commitment of the aforementioned seven players to their adopted countries could be questioned, or that only 'native' players should be allowed wear the Lions jersey.
Ireland, of all countries, should surely accept the right of, say, Mack Hansen representing the country from which his mother emigrated. Given Ireland's history of forced emigration, be it through famine or economic factors, it should be a welcoming country, one which embraces diversity.
'We've all done our time,' said Lowe. 'I am fully embedded in the culture of Ireland. Sione's captained Scotland. You don't have to question where his allegiance lies. My old man walks around in an Ireland jersey and a Leinster jumper.
'Everyone's got a different story, my story just didn't start in Ireland. But I can see it ending in Ireland. My two kids were born in Ireland. My wife and I are super happy with everything Ireland has given us and we don't see ourselves moving.'
McBride's words probably carry more weight in South Africa (where he has been described as the Burly Britisher) than anywhere else. He has always retained a strong affinity with the country.
Back in 1989, while South Africa was under the reprehensible apartheid regime and Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned in Victor Verstar Prison (he release came the following year), McBride was manager of a World Rugby XV tour to South Africa.
The tour was opposed by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Irish government. It was in clear breach of the UN policy on the sporting boycott of South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the IRFU's support for the tour at a time when black children were being beaten, tear-gassed and detained without trial was 'obscene'.
The IRFU subsequently expressed its regret over the tour but McBride was unrepentant. 'I will maintain that rugby players should be allowed to play against whomever they please, without politics spoiling everything,' he said.
How convenient.
The fact remains that the obscene tour of 1989 flew in the face of increasing global condemnation of apartheid and the sporting boycott of South Africa. More than any other sport, World Rugby's continuing ties with South Africa helped to validate the apartheid regime. More than any other sport, rugby's eventual conversion to boycotting South Africa – McBride and a few others apart – helped bring down the apartheid regime.
So, if McBride is 'bothered' by the inclusion of seven players who happen to have been born outside of Britain and Ireland, then the rest of us probably shouldn't be remotely concerned.