Inside the Lions Camp: The First Castle Lions Series Test Match
From Hermanus, Western Cape
Week 6 of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour was by far and away the most important yet. Test Week. This has been four years in the making, since our tour of New Zealand in 2017, and is 12 years since our last Test match versus South Africa.
Waking up on Monday 19th, there was a noticeable shift in the air. This was the business end of tour, and everything was about to go on the line. Content flows ramped up on our channels. Tension and nervous anticipation were high across players and staff at breakfast, and throughout the morning, as training was moved to the afternoon.
The week flew by in a blur as the workload and content outputs ramped up even further. It was exactly what we had planned for as we aimed to maximise and ride the peak waves of engagement.
We filmed two episodes of Inside the Bubble including a management special with Warren himself, Bobby Stridgeon and Patrick O’Reilly, aka ‘Rala’ the kitman. The aim of this episode was to deepen engagement with fans. While they can’t travel, the famous ‘Sea of Red’ are a core part of Lions Rugby and we want to cater for them, however and wherever we can, digitally.
With at least four Lions Tours each behind them, this was a rare chance to see the team behind the team and to showcase their characters. Such authenticity is always a hit on social media as it transcends pre-conceived notions or media headlines and shows people as people. And that is ultimately what people love – The people who make the teams and brand what they are and thus delivers high engagement.
We had a team bonding quiz on Thursday night which has since made headlines in the media with me in the spotlight somehow! Long story short, I used to work as a journalist and sent a few tweets about Warren’s statistical coaching record back in 2013. They weren’t personal or abusive but were blunt and do not reflect my opinion now, so it was excruciating when they appeared on screen in front of the whole tour group. Thankfully, Warren is a brilliant character. He saw the funny side and knew the wider context, plus had been forewarned so he was in on it all! I sat there slumped in my seat, while everyone was laughing, whooping and Warren made aeroplane gestures to send me home… He has enjoyed it even more since, with me rolling a dice at the fines committee and wearing my suit all day on Monday before hosting an Instagram Live on my own channel as a result.
To the match itself, where we secured a 22-17 win. It was a special evening and one I will remember for a long time. Being pitch side as we defeated the world champions. Magical.
Without crowds, the importance of social media and immersive digital content is greater than ever. We’ve proactively increased our content volumes and diversified the areas we can show to people in real-time – changing room set-ups, the gym, team bonding and more – to provide fans with a true insider’s perspective on the tour. This is helping plug those gaps and is breaking new ground in rugby.
As part of this, we’ve partnered with TikTok to deliver a series of Live broadcasts which bring fans directly into the inner sanctum of our COVID bubble. From the live celebrations pitch side on Saturday, to ‘explainers’ with key backroom staff, the aim is to show rugby like it’s never been shown before.
On the day of the First Test, we produced three TikTok lives with Shane Whelan Director of Digital, Marketing and Communications and I, leading a pre-match tour of the stadium and changing rooms while speaking to key backroom staff. The second live was player reaction and celebrations led by us again, before handing across to Ugo Monye for a live reaction show back in the UK.
With two Tests left and the series to play for, we will be doing more live broadcasts and sharing as much behind the scenes content as we can.
Join me next week for what will hopefully be reflecting on another successful week and another victory.
