Josh van der Flier recalls hilarious first memory of the British & Irish Lions from his childhood
JOSH van der Flier accidentally taped over a home movie to record the Lions' 2005 whitewash by the All Blacks.
But the Ireland flanker is hoping his family can watch footage of a series triumph in Australia this summer.
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The former UCD RFC player missed out on Lions selection in 2017 and 2021
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The Leinster flanker returned from injury to score a try in the URC final
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The Wicklow native has a funny memory around the 2005 edition of the Lions
Credit: Sportsfile
The Wicklow native, 32, was
Before departing for Down Under last Saturday, van der Flier helped host a training session for 90 kids in UCD.
And VDF revealed how there was a VHS mishap as the then-12-year-old attempted to record the
The Leinster star explained: 'We didn't have the channels in my house but my grandparents lived across the road, so we would go and watch the Lions.
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'I would have been quite young. I distinctly remember 2005. We had a family video and we taped over it by mistake! It was Lions against New Zealand that year, would that be right? We didn't have the TV channels and it was on cassettes.
'It was either that or Star Wars or something! It wouldn't have been something I verbalised but I watched games on TV.
'Then you go straight out to the garden and you pretend to be someone who is playing for the Lions or Ireland. It's probably the pinnacle.'
Van der Flier made his Leinster debut in 2014 and earned his first Ireland cap in 2016 against England, going on to make 72 appearances in the green jersey since.
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But for a time in 2021, he was behind his Leinster team-mate Will Connors in Andy Farrell's Ireland pecking order.
A knee injury ruled Connors out for the 2022 season and opened the door for van der Flier, who grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
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So the flanker recognises how much of an achievement it is to get the Lions nod from Farrell now.
He said: It's hard to compare with playing for your country. But it is a very hard thing to do. It's pretty cool.'
The Lions face Australia in the first Test at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 19.
Farrell's troops will travel to Melbourne a week later 26 for a clash at the MCG before the final Test takes place in Sydney on August 2.
Should Van der Flier start, he will be doing his best to counteract a game-plan devised by Australia chief Joe Schmidt, who gave him his Ireland bow nine years ago.
Having faced Schmidt's Wallabies
Van der Flier said: 'They were pretty impressive when we played them in November.
'Joe is an incredible coach. He will have them very well organised and with a few tricks up their sleeve as well. It will be a big challenge.'
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