The BBC and Telegraph reported it and it snowballed from there.
All of a sudden, Donnacha Ryan had gone from Lions hopeful to being on the plane. A Lion.
It would have been next to impossible to not get carried away. Everyone was saying it. Joe Launchbury wasn’t going to make it but the Munster lock was.
And then on Wednesday, Warren Gatland announced his Lions squad. Launchbury wasn’t in it. Neither was Ryan.
Ronan O’Gara was gutted for Ryan and Keith Earls – another reported tourist – and told The Hard Yards [from 12:40 below] how they, and Munster teammate Simon Zebo, would need all their mental strength to prepare themselves for Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final with Saracens.
https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/episode-12-lions-squad-reaction-champions-cup-preview-and-andy-powell-antics
“I think it’s absolute mental torture, I really do,” said O’Gara of the Lions rumours. “It’s horrendous.”
He added, “To give them a bit of comfort, it’s the opinion of one coach and this management team. I think if anyone else was picking it, the squad would be different so you’d hope it won’t affect their confidence and they won’t get down on themselves.”
O’Gara believes Ryan, Earls and Zebo will all tear into this semi-final task:
“There are two things. The team is always bigger than the individual.
“And, I think, not alone will they be inspired to play for their local team but this gives them an opportunity to go out and show them they’ve made a mistake that they’ve left them behind.
“They’ve got to be licking their lips… they’ve the opportunity to go out there and get their team into a European Cup final.”
Former Leinster and Ireland winger Shane Horgan agrees with that point.
“Donnacha Ryan will be going up against two guys who are going on the Lions tour in his place – Maro Itoje and George Kruis – and I don’t envy them the task. He’s going to be right up for this.”
