If Lions don’t defeat Australia, it won’t be due to lack of socks

Kit is such a big part of the ­modern British & Irish Lions tour that a whole day is dedicated to it: “Admin Day”.

Sure, that first get-together for the squad also involves a few meetings, some coffees to break the ice, a bit of social media content and some posed celebrations for Sky Sports to use after a try has been scored. But the kit is the real story, players departing the venue with bags fit to burst.

One of the videos posted on the Lions social media accounts from that day followed the England and Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith as he was being sized up for his match kit, along with trying on training tops, vests, hoodies and gilets. Plus there was a suit fitting by sponsors Charles Tyrwhitt. Not forgetting that, to avoid chaos with the laundry, every item of clothing has to be embellished with the initials of each player.

Spare a thought for Mark Beels, the Scotland kit manager now fulfilling the same role for the first time with the Lions in Australia. Beels is replacing a ­modern Lions legend in Paddy “Rala” O’Reilly, the veteran of the past four tours viewed as a grandfather figure, the person to go to for a chat or a laugh during what can often be a gruelling time away from home.

You may be wondering how much kit is in each player’s bags. Well, while there are no official figures to work with, a glimpse into Conor Murray’s bag four years ago before the Lions left for South Africa gave some idea, with Murray pulling out four pairs of red training socks alone. Start applying that formula to the rest of the items in the bag along with their potential colour variations and, well, you get the idea.

The sport has been unrecognisable from how it was played in the amateur era for some time, but even so it is striking watching the modern Lions player head for the airport with a couple of large holdalls each, when you think about how the great squads of the past used to travel for months with only a small number of shirts and boots, never mind the ­disparity in off-field personnel.

During a visit last year to the home of Sir Gareth Edwards – one of the greatest Lions and certainly Wales’s greatest ever player – he recalled when the Lions travelled to New Zealand in 1971, the last time they won a Test series against the All Blacks. Perhaps the kindest word to describe the resources available to one of the greatest Lions squads of all time would be “limited”.

“We were 30 players, a couple of management, a rub-a-dub man who would take us to the local hospital for treatment after the game. We didn’t have the medical staff,” said Edwards. Little had changed by the early 1990s. Speaking to a player this week who was part of the 1993 squad to tour New Zealand, they recalled being given two training shirts, two pairs of shorts and socks, one waterproof, with a couple of polo shirts and T-shirts thrown in.

Unsurprisingly, the ultra-­professional and well-paid Lions of today – each player is set to receive about £100,000 – landed in Australia this week with slightly more than “a rub-a-dub man” in their arsenal.

The backroom staff starts with the head of athletic performance, Aled Walters, previously employed by South Africa leading to great success with two World Cup wins.

Then you have a head of ­medical, a team doctor, three physio­therapists, two ­massage ­therapists, and so on. In fact if you tally up all the off-field staff, from the director of legal and risk to a mental skills coach, nutritionist, four videographers and three security managers, there are 45 backroom roles. “The Lions is all about being the best of the best – and we have that with this backroom team,” head coach Andy Farrell said when the touring party was confirmed.

Key lessons have been learned along the way. While Edwards was recalling 1971, he quipped: “We didn’t have the luxury of Sir Clive’s army of personnel on tour.” He was referring to 2005, when World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward led a bloated party to New Zealand on the most disastrous tour of the ­professional era.

Woodward took a massive squad of 44 players, two coaching staffs – one to prepare the Test side, one for the midweek tour matches – and, of all people, Alastair Campbell, brought in as a media consultant having left Downing Street the previous year. Not that you could blame Campbell for the Lions being pummelled by a margin of 67 points over the three Tests by one of the great All Blacks sides.

Still, Woodward’s tour did show future coaches that less is more. Streamlined in terms of personnel, while not exactly running low on shorts or socks, the Lions of 2025 could not be better prepared off the field. Now to deliver on it.

Lions watch: Ben Coles’s verdict on British & Irish Lions 54-7 Western Force

Who is playing well?

Finn Russell’s stock was not exactly low, but there was at least a possibility Fin Smith could squeeze past him into the No 10 shirt. We can park that for now.

The Western Force are not Argentina but even so, Russell had some delightful touches, starting with his cross-field chip to Dan Sheehan and followed by some quick-thinking to tap a penalty and break, leading to Elliot Daly’s try. His defence was impactful as well.

Henry Pollock might make this section every game. Athleticism, composure in abundance. Ignore the yellow card, this was impressive.

Who needs to improve?

The Lions’s struggles were more team-based, battling issues with the restarts and their defensive discipline in the first half.

A chunk of the blame could be pinned on lock Scott Cummings, for being out of position or failing to get up high enough, with the Force easily winning back possession. Cummings was viewed as someone who could fix the lineout, but his 48 minutes were underwhelming.

Hopefully, Tomos Williams’s hamstring injury is not serious, because the Wales No 9 could push Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park to start in the Test side.

A moment not to miss

Two trends are worth monitoring. Garry Ringrose, at outside centre, was tasked with flying out of the defensive line to try to disrupt the Force before they could find any width. When it works, melting the player in possession, it looks great. When it doesn’t, tackling thin air, you open yourself up to danger. Ringrose was on the money more often than not.

Using athletic forwards in wider channels is another Andy Farrell/Ireland trait, and it worked early for Sheehan’s try, with Joe McCarthy also roaming out wide. More of Pollock in those areas is certainly appetising.

Photograph by Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images