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The British and Irish Lions’ tour to South Africa in 1997 is a legendary story in rugby history about how a group of young upstarts banded together to upset the reigning World Champions. Inside the Tour - The Lions of’ 97 now tells that story.
The show is presented by rugby broadcaster Alastair Eykyn and features the coaches from that team Sir Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer, as well as Tour Manager Fran Cotton and players from the successful squad including John Bentley, Neil Jenkins, Matt Dawson, Scott Gibbs, Will Greenwood, Jeremy Guscott, Austin Healey, Rob Wainwright, and Keith Wood.
On the eve of this summer’s British and Irish Lions Tour, a new podcast series has launched providing the inside story of the most famous Lions Tour of them all; South Africa in 1997.
The 10-part series includes over five hours of exclusive interviews of how they upset the Springboks and is published by London-based podcast producer and distributor, Auddy.
Alastair Eykyn says: “It was a privilege to speak to so many Lions’ legends for Inside The Tour. I know that rugby fans, not only in the British Isles and Ireland, but around the world, will love this podcast series. The ‘97 Lions have gone down in sporting folklore; a squad of household names, maybe the greatest coaching team of all time, the thunderous training, devastating tactics, and even the drinking was hard to beat. Not only that but they are a group of incredible storytellers which makes this series even more compelling and engaging.
Sir Ian McGeechan, Head Coach of the ‘97 comments_“_Coaching the ‘97 Lions was the ultimate honour and I feel eternally grateful to everyone involved that the Tour went down in legend. No one who took part in the ‘97 Lions Tour will ever forget it. The memories will live with us all for a lifetime and are as fresh as ever 24 years later. Reuniting with Jim [Telfer] for Inside the Tour was very special and I hope the series rekindles the memories for rugby fans who lived through that Tour and inspires a new generation who might be discovering the special power of the Lions this summer.”
Inside the Tour is a global Auddy Original podcast. Vodafone has partnered with the show in the UK and Ireland. New episodes will be released every Wednesday and Saturday, in line with the 2021 Lions Tour fixtures and they invite you to follow them on Twitter.