Spoilt for choice in the Lions' den
In the front row alone, you had your pick of Ginger McLoughlin, John Hayes or Paul Wallace; behind them Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Moss Keane and Donal Lenihan were options. In the back row, Noel Murphy or Jim McCarthy? In the centre, Rob Henderson or Michael Kiernan? Headaches aplenty.
The 22 surviving Munster Lions were in Cork for a special lunch benefiting the Lions Trust. Michael O'Brien of the organising committee gave the background to the event, which took a full three months to organise: "The Lions Trust looks after former players who have fallen on hard times for either health or financial reasons.
"We had no problems getting anyone - we got great support from the IRFU, the Munster Branch and Munster Rugby. There was no problem once people knew what it was for."
Little wonder, given the appeal of what Keith Wood calls "the other red jersey." The Lions is a unique concept and Wood, himself a star with the 1997 and 2001 versions, outlined the appeal.
"In 1997 Peter Clohessy had to withdraw from the Lions through injury and Paul Wallace took over. Paul got a hand from another player on the tour, who helped him with technique and so on, to the extent that Paul won a place on the Test side. He replaced the player helping him, Jason Leonard. That typifies the Lions for me."
Wallace himself was on hand to confirm the story.
"Woody's completely right. Jason and I were competitors, but when I got in the Test team, Jason supported me completely even though he was probably favoured to start because he'd played in the previous Tour. That encapsulated the Lions approach, but it was the same with Dai Young, he was also very supportive.
"That wasn't just the case for props - Barry Davies and Mark Regan would have been supporting Woody, and it was the same for every other position. One or two might have been peeved off, but they wouldn't let it show."
Paul Wallace was accompanied by his two brothers, Richie - a Lion in 1993 - and David, who featured on the 2001 tour. In a touching ceremony, Mick Lane and Jim McCarthy of the 1950 Lions and 1959 tourist Mick English made a special presentation to the three Wallaces as the only three brothers to tour with the Lions.
Richard Wallace was shaking his head after the presentation. As a child, the Lions concept had been both distant and immediate for him.
"It probably wasn't even a dream for me, I didn't even think I'd play for Ireland! Once things started going well for me I thought I might have a future in the game, but I never really thought I'd get as far as the Lions.
"Mind you, Mick Kiernan (of the 1983 Lions) worked with my Dad here in Cork so I used to meet him the odd time with my Dad; he was one of those larger-than-life figures, though I had the dubious honour of getting his racer bike as a Christmas present one year."
Wood dealt with some of the more tangible rewards of the Lions, pointing out the 1997 tour had benefited Irish rugby enormously.
"That tour was a startling opportunity for the Irish players who went.
"IT WAS the first professional tour and it was a time when Ireland weren't doing well, but we learned a lot. In particular we learned about trusting each other. In the first test I tore ankle ligaments in a ruck, and I gave up for about ten seconds before I heard Scott Gibbs screaming at me. He was telling me to get up and get in line to defend, because he had a lot of trust in me. When we came back to the Irish set-up after the tour we brought that mindset back with us. Warren Gatland came in as coach and then we became a difficult team to beat."
It's not all one-way traffic, of course. Willie John McBride, who toured five times with the Lions, pointed out that Ireland had helped change the mindset of the men in red.
"When I went on my first tour in 1962 it was still governed by a very British outlook - 'it's not the winning, it's the taking part'. Well, getting kicked around a field twice a week, there's not much fun in that. We changed that in 1966."
Reminiscing about his former teammates, McBride was conscious of his audience.
"Mighty Mouse McLauchlan, he'd have made a good Munsterman. He'd kick his own granny. Of course, if you gave him a shilling, he'd kick her again."
As for the future of the Lions, Keith Wood was optimistic.
"People were probably disappointed with last year's tour," said Wood. "But you still had 25,000 people following the team. The Lions shouldn't have to be 'fitted into' the rugby calendar. You're playing with guys you don't like - you don't want to like where they're from, never mind the players themselves - but that's all put to one side to try to win a Test series. It's a unique, fantastic concept."
The event ended on a high, with a charity auction, driven sublimely by Fergus Slattery - himself a Lion in 1971 and 1974 - raising €17,000 for the Lions Trust, with a local businessman snapping up the unique jersey autographed by the 22 Munster Lions for €8,000.
The twist in proceedings came during the raffle, however. Third prize, a rugby ball signed by the 2005 Lions, went to Christy Cantillon, the man whose try helped Munster over New Zealand in 1978.
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