Rugby and Cricket News
Living With The Lions Sports Travel

We have a number of Falcons travelling with us again and the number is steadily growing just like in 2005. I know many know each other, but some will be new faces. Can we get together and introduce ourselves here - maybe we can meet up at KP for a home game somtime before Xmas????

The newly appointed Lions assistant coach Warren Gatland has warned Grand Slam winning players that they will have to earn their place in next year’s team for the rugby tour of South Africa.

Gatland, who is originally from New Zealand, was named the Lions forward coach on Wednesday in Dublin. Of course there were plenty of accusations against him for taking up the job, as he is also the head coach for Wales, but Gatland was quick to dismiss them. Although Gatland is quite a young coach, he feels that this experience from the South African rugby tour will help him to grow and gain knowledge as a coach.

Gatland stated that he although he coaches the Welsh team, it does not mean that he is going to go easy on them. In fact, he has said that the Welsh players will have to work extra hard. He also stated that he was surprised at the number of Welsh players selected and that there were not too many Irish players on the team. The final team which will consist of 35 players will be announced this coming April following the Heineken Cup quarter finals.

One of the latest players to get injured is Chris Jack of Saracens, who has suffered a knee ligament injury. As a result of this, Saracens will suffer during the EDF Energy Cup match against Northampton on Sunday. Jack got injured during the second half of Saracens’ 35-12 European Challenge Cup victory against Viadana in Italy on Saturday.

Although, this may be seen as a major setback for Saracens, all hope is not yet lost, as David Seymour, the openside flanker, has recovered from a knee injury and will be allowed to play in this Sunday’s match. Seymour is glad to be back, and is full of enthusiasm and has been training hard. Another player to return to Saracens is Tom Ryder who was on loan to New Zealand’s Taranaki.

The past few weeks have been quite good for Saracens, and although the loss of Chris Jack has been a bit of a blow, it is simply something they will have to take in their stride. But with the return of players like David Seymour and Tom Ryder, the team may just cope in the coming matches.

Welcome to our new Lions supporters chat room. Please keep your eyes on this area as we will from time to time be posting any interesting news regarding our trips here that may be of interest. We are so excited that so many of you have chosen to travel with us next year and we promise that we are already working really hard to make sure it is a trule memorable trip. So why not  get to know your fellow tourists. We already know of 2001 and 2005 supporters that meet up all around the country, so if you are travelling to an away game, why not see who might be there? And if you see Bentos or Robert Jones at the game, well Bentos likes a Guiness and Jonesy a pint of Brains SA!

Never mind the credit crunch that the UK is facing, die-hard rugby fans will still support their team. An expected 50,000 fans will follow the British and Irish Lions to South Africa for the three-test rugby tour. This figure is approximately 20,000 more than the last tour to New Zealand. The Lions have indeed become something of an enterprise and the whopping crowd expected to follow them is proof of that.

The Lions do indeed have a high brand value. All the supporters feel like they are part of a movement and wish to support it as best they can and what better way to show that support than to tag along on the tour.

This is indeed a very big event, as a Lions tour happens only every four years. The last one that South Africa hosted was in 1997. Thus, it is no surprise that there are so many supporters and followers.

The tickets which are part of official packages, cost quite a pretty penny, ranging from flight and match tickets, costing around £2,200, to a full 38-day experience at over £7,000. While some people have that kind of money to dish out, the rest will have to make do with their own travel and ticket arrangements.

David Moffett is back in the news after a long hiatus. The former Welsh Rugby Union chief is back to fight a rather nasty war with his former employers. He was the chief executive of the union from 2002 to 2005 and left on grounds of ill health. The reported pay-off for his leaving was the princely sum of £240,000.

Moffett has now returned as the head of Regional Rugby Wales who represent the Scarlets, Ospreys, Blues and Dragons in their battle against the WRU. He has always been a controversial figure in the game of rugby. Not only did he found regional rugby, but also converted the then nine clubs into five new ones. Now he has been called back to war against his former employers by the four Welsh regions.

The WRU will certainly be aware of him, as Moffett has already blasted the union, in particular, targeting his successor Roger Lewis. Moffett has always been known for his aggressive tactics and has already proved in his first tirade against the union that he will not take the situation lightly. He has already held Wales coach Gatland responsible for the player release issue and Roger Lewis for the participation agreement.

If the WRU is expecting a peaceful reconciliation, they could not be more wrong, as Moffett has already declared war. The fact that the four remaining regions have appointed a new chief executive is bad enough for the WRU, but the fact that it is Moffett just makes it worse for them.

In a nail biting match, the Cardiff blues completely destroyed any hopes that Gloucester had of getting ahead in the Heineken Cup. In a dramatic and exciting game, they won 37-24, and Gloucester left the field with absolutely nothing.

The crowd came in pretty good numbers to witness Sunday’s spectacle, and all those supporting Cardiff did not leave disappointed, although Gloucester’s supporters surely left with a tear in their eyes. The home side put on an excellent show for all to see while they clobbered the living daylights out of the opposition.

Critics state that Gloucester were not able to reach the level they had been able to attain during last season. The crowd saw them running after shadows during the first ten minutes. Their first points were scored only when the match drew close to the first quarter.

Although they started off at a quite pace, Cardiff had quite a great start. They shifted their point of attack without much effort and scored with ease. All in all it was a big day for the Welsh boys, and if they continue to win their games in sort of style it could be a big season for the Blues.

Mike Tindall and the rest of his boys at Gloucester are well aware of the importance of this Saturday’s match against Cardiff. It is crucial for both Cardiff and Gloucester to win this if they want to continue making their way to the Heineken cup finals this season.

Both teams have done quite well this season and kicked off with wins. Cardiff mercilessly beat Calvisano 56-20 and Gloucester thrashed Biarritz 22-10. But who will win when they face each other? For this, both the anxious teams as well as spectators will have to wait and see this Saturday.

Although the Cardiff Blues have not been seen much this year, the Gloucester captain, Mike Tindall knows that it will not be as easy as it looks. What he does believe, though, is that if the entire team focuses on giving their best shot, winning the match should not be a problem at all. He also acknowledges that this is probably going to be one of the most important games in the pool stages of the Heineken cup.

It is these kind of rugby tours, the games get everyone excited, everyone will have to wait till this Saturday to see what lies in store in terms of the fate of both of these great teams.

Good luck tonight Newcastle Falcons against our old favourites Brive!

For those not travelling its on Sky Sports 1 at 1930 tonight.