It has begun.
The British & Irish Lions are in New Zealand and in heaps of time for the first game of their 10-match tour…. on Saturday.
The upcoming Test Series against the All Blacks will be tough but not quite as tough as it was for Rhys Webb to find his luggage:
The Lions touched down just before midday [local time] and they got quite the welcome.
There were choirs, ceremonial welcomes and ‘Haere Mai’ from Maori warriors and the Lions even gathered together for a song themselves.
Brian O’Driscoll was the Lions captain last time out, in 2005, and current captain Sam Warburton followed the Irishman’s lead in graciously accepting the fern laid in his path – challenge accepted; battles to come.
What a fabulous welcome as we set foot on New Zealand soil for the first time ahead of #LionsNZ2017 #AllForOne pic.twitter.com/JNpLBLk0g4
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) May 31, 2017
As a thank you for the warm welcome, several of the Lions squad, with Sean O’Brien and Jonathan Joseph front and centre, sang Welsh hymn Calon Lan in return.
In appreciation for the amazing welcome, our choir sang Calon Lan on our arrival to New Zealand #LionsNZ2017 #AllForOne pic.twitter.com/JYXZ763O6Q
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) May 31, 2017
And then it was on to central Auckland and to the Lions team hotel.
Warburton has already faced the local press and has proclaimed he’d be more than happy to win each game 3-0. We bet he would.
You can check out the full Kiwi welcome for the Lions here:
That’s some pōwhiri!
