Picture of the day - April 11
British & Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll and coach Sir Clive Woodward posed for the media after a press conference on April 11 to announce the captain and the full squad for the tour of New Zealand later in 2005.
They were all smiles in the pictures but Woodward’s announcements caused controversy. At a time when many were calling for smaller Lions squads, Woodward named a 44-strong party to head to New Zealand, including some 20 Englishmen two years on from the Rugby World Cup, but only 10 of the Wales team who had won the Six Nations Grand Slam months earlier.
Adding to the sense of an unwieldy set-up, Woodward was at the head of a 26-strong management team in which the midweek side had their own coaches, while ex-Downing Street media man Alastair Campbell was added to the press team.
Not that Campbell could spin the results once the Tests started. Having already suffered a first ever loss to the New Zealand Maori, things got worse for the Lions once they faced the All Blacks.
O’Driscoll suffered a dislocated shoulder just two minutes into a 21-3 rout in the opener, the victim of a controversial tackle from All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and hooker Keven Mealamu, who escaped action in the short term but were criticised by the IRB some four months later.
Dan Carter then accounted for 33 of the All Blacks’ record points haul against the Lions as they won the second Test 48-18 before the tourists’ misery was completed with a 38-19 loss in Auckland, completing New Zealand’s first whitewash over the Lions in more than two decades.
British & Irish Lions captain Brian O´Driscoll (L) and coach Sir Clive Woodward pose for the media (David Davies/PA)
