Mind games are part of Lions' folklore - and here we go again

BBC News

22-06-2025

Verbal jousting on British and Irish Lions tours is as much a part of the deal as the rugby itself - and the mind games started anew in recent days.Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt (a Kiwi) on one side and Lions general manager of performance David Nucifora (an Australian) on the other. The psychological bunfights have begun.Schmidt described Sione Tuipulotu (Melbourne-born) and Bundee Aki (Auckland-born) as the "southern hemisphere centre partnership" in the Lions' opener against Argentina on Friday night. And they are. But was it an innocent remark or one with a bit of edge? Bet the house on the latter.He would know well that this is a touchy subject for some in Lionsland, most notably the great Willie John McBride, who is not on board with so many 'foreigners' playing for the Lions. In the squad there are two South African-born players, three born in Australia and four born in New Zealand.Nucifora had a little jibe of his own, all before the Lions plane took off for Perth. "I'm sure that lots of mind games will go on..." he told the Daily Telegraph, while mentioning the "mental spar" of Lions tours.He called Schmidt a "deep thinker" which he is. "Sometimes, if you think too deeply you'll confuse yourself," he added. "So, hopefully he gets confused overthinking things." Another grenade thrown.It's hard to pinpoint the precise moment when mind games began on Lions tours, but we have an impeccable witness in plumping for 1896 in South Africa.England's Walter Carey was on that tour. As well as being a rugby player he became the Bishop of Bloemfontein in later life, so if a man of the cloth says that the trash talking began in 1896 then who are we to argue?Carey wrote about South African psychological tricks, one of which centred around a man they would play in upcoming games. Wrote Carey: "We were told that the great Jack Orr, supposed to be a regular man-killer, was waiting to put us all in the hospital."Shots fired, as we say these days. Orr got injured before he could annihilate anybody so, mercifully, nobody ended up in the emergency ward.So this stuff, in many different forms, has been going on for 129 years. And here's more of it.
Erasmus and the hour-long video of woes - South Africa 2021
A mind game, not against the Lions directly, but psychological pressure stacked on top of officials who were in line to referee the Boks in the second and third Tests.After the Lions won the first Test in 2021, the Springbok director of rugby went to war on referee Nic Berry and his assistants with a stinging attack by way of video.He used 26 clips that, to his eyes, showed injustice against the Boks on the part of Berry and his colleagues. On top of myriad claims of poor decision-making he also said that Berry had treated the two captains differently, stating that Bok captain, Siya Kolisi, wasn't given the same respect as Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones.There was some truth in what he claimed and much victimhood nonsense. The whole thing was deeply unsavoury. Erasmus was later suspended for 12 months. Was it an effective mind game? Did he get in the heads of the officials in Tests two and three? Well, they won both of them, so it could be argued that way.
Hansen tries to kill the Lions with kindness - New Zealand 2017
Mind games come in different shapes and sizes and in 2017 in New Zealand, the All Blacks coach came at it on multiple fronts.In love-bombing the tourists and saying how great they were he attempted to put the burden of expectation on them. "I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time," he said.Like all good mind games, there was a large degree of truth in it. The 2017 crop was an extremely strong one.Hansen then went for it: "It's going to be a very good side and they'll come with a lot of expectation which I think is going to be interesting to see how they cope with that... a lot more expectation than they've been used to, because people expect them to win."The 'kindness' didn't last, of course. The better the Lions looked the more Hansen spoke. He criticised their style of play, questioned their demanding schedule of games and wondered aloud about the potential mistake of not picking England's Dylan Hartley for the tour. Approaching the Test series he said: "We'll see if he [Gatland] has anything up his sleeve apart from his arm." That was pretty desperate and transparent - everybody could see that the Lions had plenty going for them. It was quite a performance from Hansen and quite a sensational series, which famously ended in a draw. Did Hansen's mind games knock the Lions off their stride? No.
Andrews tries to get inside Johnson's head - South Africa 1997
The big Springbok lock had won the World Cup two years earlier, an achievement that appeared to confirm his legendary status in his own mind."I don't believe in false modesty," said the admittedly brilliant Andrews. "I can, without blushing, say that I'm the greatest forward in my position on the planet."He was then asked about Lions captain Martin Johnson. This is when Andrews began to lose the plot. "I've heard a lot about him," replied the Bok bruiser. "I just hope he can live up to what is written about him. He could get very demoralised if it doesn't work out."When the real stuff happened, Johnno didn't seem too bothered about Andrews in word or deed. He was immense in leading his team to a storied series win. So, yes, it did work out and, yes again, he did live up to what was written about him. Mind game fail.
Farr-Jones sounds a warning after the Battle of Ballymore - Australia 1989
A decisive third Test is always going to have an incredible preamble but few of those occasions could hold a light to the final game of the 1989 tour.The Lions had made it 1-1 in the Battle of Ballymore, a Test marked by wholesale punch-ups and all-round fury. The Australia media launched rockets at the violent tourists in the wake of the game, with a lot of justification.Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer questioned some of the injuries his boys suffered - 'are you listening, third Test officials?' - while the Australian Rugby Union went into emergency session about the ugliness of it all. The Wallaby captain went a lot further, though."To me, basically, it's open warfare," said Farr-Jones before the final Test. "They've set the rules. They've set the standards. As far as I'm concerned, if the officials aren't going to control it, we're going to have to do something about it."You've been warned, was the crystal clear message. "I don't care if I get 100 stitches as long as we are on top on the scoreboard at the end," added the captain.Part rallying cry to his own players, part message sent to the heart of the Lions, it didn't work. The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese.
Connor writes off the Lions before they arrive - New Zealand 1971
It was Barry John's tour but it began badly. Hungover from an almighty boozing session in Hong Kong, the Lions took a hellish flight to Brisbane for a warm-up game against Queensland. Exhausted from the high-living and heavy travelling, they played appallingly and lost."I wanted to lie down and die," said lock Gordon Brown. "We had no idea what time, day or place it was," remarked Gareth Edwards. "I wouldn't say I was playing, but I was on the field," said McBride.Des Connor was the Queensland coach. As a player he had won 12 caps for Australia and another 12 for the All Blacks. With the Lions now heading to New Zealand for the tour proper, Connor was euphoric."These Lions are hopeless," he trumpeted. "Undoubtedly the worst team ever to come here."Er... By the mid-point of the tour the Kiwi public were shocked at how mesmeric the Lions were and by the end-point, with a historic first and still only Lions series win on New Zealand soil, they were eulogising them as the greatest team they'd ever seen.Connor's epic mind game fail was a reminder that judging the Lions on early performances is unwise. It was daft in 1971 and, after Friday night's loss to the Pumas, Andy Farrell will be hoping that it's just as daft more than a half a century later.