Flat whites in the car park, a team social and a kit giveaway... Inside the British & Irish Lions' first get together ahead of summer tour of Australia

Daily Mail​

18-05-2025

The coffee van in the car park of the Richmond Hill Hotel did a roaring trade on Sunday morning. The venue's clientele was certainly different to normal.
Flat whites were the order of the day as the British & Irish Lions squad for this summer's tour of Australia met for the first time.
The sight of Sale and England's Tom Curry sipping coffee with Glasgow and Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu summed up everything that is great about the Lions concept.
Usually on-field rivals, in the months to come Curry and Tuipulotu will be brothers in arms as Andy Farrell's travelling party attempt to take down Joe Schmidt 's Wallabies in their own backyard.
'It's like a first day of school,' Leicester and England lock Ollie Chessum said of the 2025 Lions' initial get together in London.
'I've chatted to a few of the boys over a coffee but not spoken to everyone.
'It's a little bit awkward. I'm sure everyone will settle in soon. We've got a team get together tonight, so that'll be nice to get to know everyone better.'
This was the first time many of Farrell's squad had met and it did, inevitably, have a slightly uncomfortable feeling. But if there is one way to bring modern rugby players together, it is through coffee. Soon enough, national allegiances began to dissipate.
Scottish and Irish players, many of whom had been involved in the Leinster-Glasgow United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday, arrived in the same minibus.
Unsurprisingly, it was superstar fly-half Finn Russell who was stopped first for a picture.
The slightly off-white nature of the Lions official socks was discussed.
Maverick England prop Will Stuart had gambled on receiving new trainers.
When he realised a set wasn't part of the arrival pack, he was left to partner his training gear with an unusual pair of brogues.
'This is the pinnacle of rugby for a UK and Irish-based player,' said Chessum, one of 13 Englishmen in the 38-man squad.
'But when you're here, you want to be involved in those Test matches and perform on the biggest stage.
'When you make your international debut, you want to keep building to the next step.
'But making my international debut, I thought 'I am so out of my depth here. How do lads go from international rugby to being the best of that bunch?' That's what this is.
'Four years ago, I would probably have laughed in your face if you told me I would be here.'
Head coach Farrell confirmed his Lions party on May 8. The next step was a two-day camp which began on Sunday at which all 38 players were present at one point or another.
The squad took part in head shots for commercial and television purposes, got to know each other, and received some of their Lions kit for the first time.
A team social was planned for Sunday night.
'I haven't got one yet, but apparently there are a few goodies in there,' Ireland wing James Lowe said of the hotly-anticipated stash of Lions clothing.
'Someone said we get an iPad, so if we can make sure there is one of those in every bag that would be great!'
With Farrell's players involved in domestic games all over Europe and even further afield this weekend, the squad arrived in dribs and drabs.
Marcus Smith hotfooted it across West London on Sunday evening, making the short trip from Twickenham to Richmond after Harlequins sealed a thrilling win over Exeter at The Stoop in the Gallagher Premiership.
Jac Morgan, one of only two Welsh players in the squad alongside Tomos Williams, was a late arrival on Sunday after flying in from club duty with the Ospreys in South Africa.
Farrell, his assistant coaches and the whole Lions backroom team were all present too. There might be minimal Welsh playing representation on the tour.
But there are Wales members in Farrell's staff.
Analyst Rhodri Bown, doctor Geoff Davies and physiotherapist John Miles all have previous experience of past Lions tours.
'It's awesome to come together with the guys from different clubs and unions,' Lowe said.
'We've come from similar backgrounds and understandings of the game. There's no one you're avoiding. We're definitely going to do our best to socialise with other people.
'Tommy Freeman is an exceptional winger. We've played against each other a few times now and it'll be interesting to chat to him and get to know him on a personal level.
'It's the same with Duhan van der Merwe and Elliot Daly. It's his (Daly's) third Lions tour and he's been around the block and understands how these things work. He has a wealth of knowledge and is a left-footer, so I'll be picking his brains.'
Lowe also welcomed the presence of his former Leinster and Ireland team-mate Johnny Sexton who will be an assistant coach to Farrell on this Lions tour.
The Lions' first game before flying to Australia is against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.
'He's so intense. He's scary as anything, still,' Lowe said of ex-fly-half Sexton who was a Lions Test regular as a player in 2013 and 2017.
'I've never met a man who's constantly so intense. It's funny because Manchester United aren't so flash at the moment and he's United till he dies.
'You can sledge him about that. He's a great lad with a wealth of knowledge and a few tours under his belt. He's so harsh in how he tries to prepare you for a game.
'He's got an aura about him and it's not nice when he's screaming at you.
'You try to get on his good side!'