Blood & Mud

Review: Lions 2009 - Living With The Pride

The good people at Lace have given your favourite rugby blog a sneak look at the new two-disc Lions documentary before its release on 19th October and here's our view of it.  

"Lions tours are special, and to be a Lion in South Africa is even more special." these were the words spoken by Ian McGeechan in the opening to 1997's "Living With Lions", perhaps the most seminal sports documentary ever made. And, while it's impossible for anything to have the impact of the original, when the Lions defied the rugby odds, this is the same coach in the same country 12 years later, so expectations are high.

The documentary has everything we have come to expect: rousing speeches, players' off-the-field shenanegans, confessional player-cams, and a peek inside the changing room on matchdays, all of which remain as moving and entertaining as ever.  One big addition in 2009 is a peek into selection meetings where we see the management team wrestling with the same selection issues as all of us; this footage really brings home how heavy the responsiblity lies on them and the agonies it causes McGeechan in particular

Stars of the show are Donncha O'Callaghan, a fabulous tourists and genuinely warm and funny bloke; the kitman "Rala" O'Reilly and his eccentricities; Andy Powell, perpetually having the piss taken out of him; conditioning coach "Bobby" Stridgeon and his comedy videos; and in his own way Shaun Edwards.  The Wasps and Wales coach smiles approximately zero times in three hours of footage, uses the "C" word liberally, and the very personal rage he feels at every conceded try crackles from the screen. 

One criticism is that there is very little reaction to Ronan O'Gara's infamous boot-and-chase in the dying moments of the second Test, other than Shaun Edwards' very apt shout from the touchline in the immediate aftermath. Given that this was arguably the defining moment of the whole tour it is a glaring omission. 

As expected, the heart of it all is McGeechan.  His passion for rugby and the Lions in particularly cannot fail to raise the emotions as you watch, and while at no point does he shout, the authority and respect he commands is palpable.  For those who maybe felt that the third Test was an irrelevance, something not worth sports betting on, or perhaps question the whole Lions project, I invite you to watch Geech's speech on the eve of that final Test and what happens to him afterwards

The worry with this documentary, now in its fourth iteration, is that it may stray into being repetitive of the others, and while there is certainly some of that here, there is more than enough compensation from the new features and the openness that was lacking in 2001 and 2005.  Moreover, these documentaries have always been less about any gimmicks and more about great characters, games and scenarios - there is plenty of all three here.  The doc - like the tour - is painful, funny, heart-breaking yet ultimatey inspirational and I loved it.  Any and every rugby fan will

Disc 2 Extras:  Training Sessions, Speeches, More Player-Cams, Fan-Cams. The training sessions are great as you can see each specialist coach working with the players.

Have a look at the trailer here or pre-order it here with 40% off!

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Review: Lions 2009 - Living With The Pride

The good people at Lace have given your favourite rugby blog a sneak look at the new two-disc Lions documentary before its release on 19th October and here's our view of it.  

"Lions tours are special, and to be a Lion in South Africa is even more special." these were the words spoken by Ian McGeechan in the opening to 1997's "Living With Lions", perhaps the most seminal sports documentary ever made. And, while it's impossible for anything to have the impact of the original, when the Lions defied the rugby odds, this is the same coach in the same country 12 years later, so expectations are high.

The documentary has everything we have come to expect: rousing speeches, players' off-the-field shenanegans, confessional player-cams, and a peek inside the changing room on matchdays, all of which remain as moving and entertaining as ever.  One big addition in 2009 is a peek into selection meetings where we see the management team wrestling with the same selection issues as all of us; this footage really brings home how heavy the responsiblity lies on them and the agonies it causes McGeechan in particular

Stars of the show are Donncha O'Callaghan, a fabulous tourists and genuinely warm and funny bloke; the kitman "Rala" O'Reilly and his eccentricities; Andy Powell, perpetually having the piss taken out of him; conditioning coach "Bobby" Stridgeon and his comedy videos; and in his own way Shaun Edwards.  The Wasps and Wales coach smiles approximately zero times in three hours of footage, uses the "C" word liberally, and the very personal rage he feels at every conceded try crackles from the screen. 

One criticism is that there is very little reaction to Ronan O'Gara's infamous boot-and-chase in the dying moments of the second Test, other than Shaun Edwards' very apt shout from the touchline in the immediate aftermath. Given that this was arguably the defining moment of the whole tour it is a glaring omission. 

As expected, the heart of it all is McGeechan.  His passion for rugby and the Lions in particularly cannot fail to raise the emotions as you watch, and while at no point does he shout, the authority and respect he commands is palpable.  For those who maybe felt that the third Test was an irrelevance, something not worth sports betting on, or perhaps question the whole Lions project, I invite you to watch Geech's speech on the eve of that final Test and what happens to him afterwards

The worry with this documentary, now in its fourth iteration, is that it may stray into being repetitive of the others, and while there is certainly some of that here, there is more than enough compensation from the new features and the openness that was lacking in 2001 and 2005.  Moreover, these documentaries have always been less about any gimmicks and more about great characters, games and scenarios - there is plenty of all three here.  The doc - like the tour - is painful, funny, heart-breaking yet ultimatey inspirational and I loved it.  Any and every rugby fan will

Disc 2 Extras:  Training Sessions, Speeches, More Player-Cams, Fan-Cams. The training sessions are great as you can see each specialist coach working with the players.

Have a look at the trailer here or pre-order it here with 40% off!