Why Some Rugby Fans Don't Like the Lions
It may be British*, but it's not everyone's cup of tea... (*and Irish)
A few weeks ago, I ran a poll across social media to gauge fan perception in the UK and Ireland towards the British and Irish Lions. I wanted to find out if the level of enthusiasm from the fans matched the media hype.
Over 1,000 fans responded to my poll, which gave 4 options:
The Lions is the best thing in rugby
The Lions is something they find enjoyable whilst it is happening
The Lions is something they are ‘not arsed’ about (neutral at best)
The Lions is something they actively dislike or even hate
The result was that an overwhelming majority (74%) of fans have a positive view of the British and Irish Lions. However, more than twice as many said it was just ‘fun’ than said it was the ‘best thing’.
Immediately, this suggests the prioritisation of the Lions by the media is not echoed by the fans - i.e. the fans do not view it as the foremost event in rugby.
More intriguingly, though, was that the poll found that over a quarter of rugby fans have a neutral to negative view of Lions tours.
This appears to contradict the media narrative. Clearly, a significant proportion of the Lions’ own market do not have the assumed perception.
Below the polls, people left comments explaining why they gave a negative response. In this article, we will group those comments into categories to better understand why some rugby fans do not like the Lions.
Lack of Emotional Connection
Some fans simply do not feel the same of investment in the Lions as they do for their regular teams. Whilst the Lions is the pinnacle of British and Irish rugby from a player’s point of view - the best of the best of the best - it is not always seen as the pinnacle from a fans point of view.
This isn’t too surprising, the Lions play for one and a half months once every 4 years, so it’s difficult to have that emotional connection with them like you would have with the team you follow week in, week out. One commenter offered:
“What I want out of a tour is: Irish players play well, they come back uninjured… I wouldn’t take a series win over a 6 Nations or a World Cup quarter final win. This year’s coaching ticket [being mostly Irish] is making the Irish summer tour redundant… [It] really put a dampener on how I feel about it”
Other teams being closer to the heart was echoed elsewhere:
“I’d rather Munster win the URC than the Lions win the next 20 tours”
“Only concerns are losing our coach and [the] possibility of players getting injured”
It certainly doesn’t help that, for the other 46 and a half months of the time, the constituent nations of the Lions are the bitterest of rivals and generally wish each other ill. Putting aside that animosity for a short period is a complicated and unique emotional challenge.
A Relic of the Past
Another response from people who don’t like the Lions was that, whilst it may have worked in the amateur era, it was not suitable for the modern game:
“I think it’s well past it’s sell by date and is a relic of times long past”
“Relic of a dead era - made sense for amateurs only”
And, most cuttingly:
“Let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for a single video of the SA tour in the 90s the Lions would be dead by now”
Certainly, the concept of playing midweek games against club sides over the course of a month is something that no longer exists elsewhere in rugby. That said, New Zealand and South Africa look to be reprising the concept from next year, so perhaps these tours are in the early stages of making a comeback.
The Media Build-Up is Fatiguing
Possibly the most repeated response was from fans who might well enjoy the Lions, but find the discourse in the run up to the squad announcement grating. The Lions is a feeding frenzy for the media as every single outlet across all 4 nations turns their attention to just one team.
Unquestionably, selection debate is the easiest type of content to create and the easiest way for both mainstream media and content creators to drive engagement - and make money.
From a fan’s point of view, however, that means that all written, video and audio content in a Lions year homogenises around one team, one topic and one format. It becomes repetitive and inescapable:
“[I] Preferred it when I was younger and didn’t have to look at ‘hot take’ think pieces 2 years out and everyone and their granny arguing more and more as the squad day approaches”
“Man, do they overhype the sh*t out of it for too long, I blame SKY”
“Debating who’s in or out is like watching grass grow to me”
Some content creators who I spoke to off the record admitted that Lions content is not what they would choose to make and do find it dull, but the perceived demand for it means they feel they cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity.
Rejection of Britishness
Most divisively, not all UK based rugby fans feel happy to be called British. This is a deeply rooted political issue that extends far beyond rugby, or sport in general. There are independence movements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - to a greater or lesser extent. Plenty of people in all of these countries do identify as British, but others don’t - and feel strongly about it. Some fans did not mince their words:
“I despise the idea of Britishness and [I’ve] always been ‘Welsh’ not ‘British’. Lumping Ireland alongside their historical aggressors makes it even more complex… [I] cannot bring myself to support a ‘British’ team”
“A vestige of empire, but we’re still stuck in it”
“The whole set up of the Lions… just reeks of private school Tory snob”
“Not impressed being lumped in under ‘the jack’”
“I’m Scottish and never British… Hope the Aussies win 3-0”
“Wish the IRFU would just pull out of it and leave it to the three ‘British’ teams”
In 2017, Lions captain Sam Warburton said he identified as British first and Welsh second. That comment lead a member of the Welsh parliament to publicly call for him to lose the Welsh captaincy.
This is a polarising topic that has little to do with rugby itself. It is important to re-emphasise that not all Welsh, Scottish & Irish fans feel this way. However, the strong feelings some people have are triggered by the Lions tour and this negatively impacts their enjoyment of it.
Summary
The social media polls found that nearly three quarters of rugby fans in the UK and Ireland have a positive view of the British and Irish Lions. It was found that more fans classified the Lions as ‘fun’ rather than ‘the best thing in rugby’ suggesting there is a mismatch between media portrayal and fan experience.
Of the 26% of fans who said they had a neutral to negative view of the Lions, their reasons for their response mostly fell within 4 categories:
Lack of emotional connection with the team
Thinking the Lions are a relic of the past
The media build-up is fatiguing
Rejection of Britishness
Each of these reasons are fundamental in nature, they cannot easily be addressed by the Lions organisers. One possible solution would be to stage Lions tours more frequently; building the emotional connection and reducing the media hype for each event. However, this would likely be unpopular as the scarcity of Lions tours is fundamental to their marketing.
The Lions as a concept will be seen through a new lens in 2027 when the first ever women’s Lions tour heads to New Zealand. Already, many women’s rugby fans are pushing back on the idea. Find out the reasons why in the video below:
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to check out my rugby news podcast every single week, this week focusing on transfers and how Harlequins women are building a galactico side…