It’s make or bake for Tadhg Beirne and the Lions in South Africa bio-bubble

Stuart Hogg, left, and Tadhg Beirne of The British & Irish Lions. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile

Move over Donal’s Donuts, the 2021 Lions have Beirne’s Biscuits.

Rather than the famous 1989 midweek Lions side named in honour of its captain Donal Lenihan, current head coach Warren Gatland revealed yesterday Tadhg Beirne had actually been baking this week as the tourists tried to make the most of life in an extended biosecure bubble at their hotel a 90-minute drive down the Indian Ocean coast from Cape Town.

Gatland was asked to reflect on the circumstances of the tour in the week of the opening Test against South Africa this Saturday given the Lions had been through a turbulent three-week spell in Johannesburg in the midst of a Covid-19 outbreak in the local population, the Springbok camp and one positive case in the touring party.

“We’re in a great position. We’ve got better as the tour has gone on and we’ve had everyone available for selection other than Finn Russell with that Achilles. Where we are staying is a great location in terms of the hotel and the boys have been absolutely fantastic.

“A couple of the matches have been on a knife-edge because of the Covid stuff and we didn’t know if they would go ahead, but we had those two games against the Sharks and missed out on the Bulls game, which would have been good for us. But we feel like we’re in a really good place.

“This group knows the challenges. A lot of them have been through a couple of campaigns being in isolation and are kind of used to it. We are doing different things. We had a coffee day today. Tadhg Beirne made some chocolate cookies in the kitchen, and Jamie George and Elliot Daly ran their coffee shop. Those are the sorts of things that bring the squad together.

“You can tell I’ve had a haircut. Prav Mathema (the Lions’ head of medical) was cutting the boys’ hair today. He was doing his medical stuff in the morning then doing 14 hair cuts which will take him all day. So we are trying to keep ourselves busy and entertained.

“Every day on the bus, the boys will have a joke of the day and a quote of the day. Tour guides will come up and keep the boys entertained on the way back from training. There are lots of things we can do to make sure there’s no cabin fever. We are very lucky with the location. The boys can play a little bit of golf, there’s a swimming pool for recovery, a spa area where they can have some steam room or sauna treatments or a hot pool. There’s plenty of massage stuff and plenty of room to spread out as well. It has made those things easier and I just know from a rugby perspective that these guys are desperate to win a Test series.”