The Lions of 2009 - Integrity, hard work rewarded

THE 14 Irish players selected for the British and Irish Lions to face world champions South Africa on their home patch are the epitome of the few positive legacies of the Celtic tiger years. Confidence built on talent, brought to its highest pitch by the hardest of hard work.

The Lions of 2009 - Integrity, hard work rewarded

Of course all of this would have come to nothing if it was not matched by the most involved and professional planning and, probably most of all, an unshakeable determination to prevail. A determination to learn from every defeat — “there’s no such thing as losing, there’s only learning,” is how second-time Lion Donnacha O’Callaghan, put it recently.

This determination extended to overcoming every obstacle even if that limitation was personal. Some of those selected yesterday have reformed their character so they could expect success at this level.

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