Lions Tour: Dawson slams Lions' preparations again

England scrum-half Matt Dawson has claimed the build-up to the Lions Test series against Australia was "crazy".

Despite a battling performance from the tourists, world champions Australia ran out 29-23 winners in Sydney on Sunday to claim the showpiece series 2-1.

But Dawson, who was reprimanded for his critical comments of the management which appeared in a national newspaper the morning before the Lions’ first Test victory, feels more could have been done to prepare the players.

In his Lions Diary for a British national newspaper, Dawson said: "I know what it’s like to have won a Lions series and I know what a monumental achievement it is. We all need to reflect on how Lions tours should work.

"Our build-up was crazy. Some boys were playing their 50th game of the season."

The Northampton star was also unrepentant for his earlier comments in which he had claimed Lions coach Graham Henry was "uninspiring", that marathon training sessions were both poorly-organised and draining players’ reserves and that tour manager Donal Lenihan treated the squad "like kids".

"I apologised (to the squad) for the timing and the breach of trust and confidence," said Dawson.

"I’m not making excuses or reneging on what I wrote, but I fully understand that it has harmed their reputations and took the gloss off the squad’s victory (in the first Test)."

Just days after playing the villain, Dawson was the hero as he completed an inspired Lions fightback against Super 12 champions ACT Brumbies with an injury-time conversion which clinched a 30-28 success at Bruce Stadium in Canberra.

And Dawson claims he was inspired by the flak he had received for his comments in the press.

"I wanted to have a big game to prove critics wrong about what they saw as the reasons for writing the diary," he said.

"It wasn’t because of sour grapes or petulance and there was only one way to show them that wasn’t so.

"The crowd and the squad have given me so much positive chat that it makes you wonder what the papers are making of it all."

Dawson also revealed that the squad enjoyed a night on the town to help build team spirit in the build-up to the second Test in Sydney.

"We’d finally arranged a team dinner at Rib and Rumps restaurant. Needless to say that’s exactly what we did - eat in huge proportions.

"I could hardly walk back to the hotel. It was a good night with good banter. We should have done this weeks before."

Meanwhile, another member of the Lions squad could find himself in hot water with his club after hitting out at the Australians in a newspaper column.

Leicester scrum-half Austin Healey targeted the country’s male population and the weather among other things as well as blasting Wallabies lock Justin Harrison as a "plod" and a "plank" in an article.

And he could now face a disciplinary hearing by his club when he returns from Down Under.

Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler said: "Dean Richards and I have spoken about it. We clearly need to have a look at exactly what has been said.

"If we believe it damages the club’s name or the game of rugby, we will take action against him.

"We are aware of the emotional difficulties these guys are under in these circumstances, but that is no excuse to make derogatory comments about individuals or countries."

He added: "There is no way the players should be writing columns in the press during Lions tours."