The accidental Lion: how an Irish Queenslander ended up in a red jersey
Ahead of this year's British and Irish Lions series, players nervously tuned into a live squad announcement at the O2 Arena in London in front of fans who had paid $135 dollars for the privilege.
The last time the Lions visited these shores, 12 years ago, Queenslander Tom Court's call-up to the iconic invitational team was slightly different. The former Ireland prop was on holiday on the Gold Coast, about to tuck into a Thai takeaway, when he got a call that changed his career.
Court had grown up in rural Queensland as an elite shot-putter with dreams of making the Australian Olympic team before he took up rugby at university at 23 years old on the advice of a friend and eventually transformed himself into a seasoned prop for Ulster and Ireland.
Court's late arrival to rugby left him largely unfamiliar with the nuanced history of the game, completely unaware he was about to become only the second Australian to represent the Lions in Australia after Alec Timms in 1899.
After winning the first Test in Brisbane, the Lions were battling injuries, including first-choice loosehead prop, England's Alex Corbisiero, having damaged his calf. As the Lions searched for a solution, coach Warren Gatland found out that Court happened to be on holiday in the same state with his family.
'I never really even thought about the Lions,' Court said. 'I know it sounds trite, but I didn't grow up playing rugby, I always saw it as so far out of reach, it wasn't realistic. I genuinely hadn't thought about it at all. I just wanted to get a good run for Ireland.
'I had a missed call from [British and Irish Lions director of operations] Guy Richardson, but I thought it was some of the Irish boys just taking the piss. I heard the voicemail and I was like, 'Yeah right, OK, nice one', and then just left it.
'About an hour later I had a call from Mick Kearney, who was the team manager for Ireland at the time and I had his number saved so I knew it was him and he called and pretty much said Gats [Warren Gatland] had a couple of injuries and they need you to come down [to Brisbane] and it was just surreal. I remember it was slow motion when he was telling me because it wasn't even excitement, it wasn't fear, I was sort of frozen.'
The Lions had a single midweek fixture to complete against the Melbourne Rebels ahead of the final two Tests and needed to keep their remaining props fresh.
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"Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited," US Tennis Association CEO Lew Sherr said. "It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it." The attraction for many singles players is the shortened format and the timing, the event being played in the "Fan Week" before the main draw. Most matches will be best-of-three sets played to four games instead of six, with a deciding point played at deuce. Tiebreakers would be at 4-4, while a first-to-10-points match tiebreaker would replace a third set. The final would be played to six games but still with no-advantage scoring and a 10-point match tiebreaker. This format, the selection criteria and the clash with singles qualifying, are reasons why established doubles players were unhappy. "Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it," Perez, a players' council representative, posted on X at the time of announcement. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who have entered but will need a wildcard given their singles rankings, said the changes were a "profound injustice" that disrespects doubles players, describing the new event as a "pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show". "Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations," they added. 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Most matches will be best-of-three sets played to four games instead of six, with a deciding point played at deuce. Tiebreakers would be at 4-4, while a first-to-10-points match tiebreaker would replace a third set. The final would be played to six games but still with no-advantage scoring and a 10-point match tiebreaker. This format, the selection criteria and the clash with singles qualifying, are reasons why established doubles players were unhappy. "Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it," Perez, a players' council representative, posted on X at the time of announcement. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who have entered but will need a wildcard given their singles rankings, said the changes were a "profound injustice" that disrespects doubles players, describing the new event as a "pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show". 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