Inside the Lions Camp: Jersey and the 1888 Cup

Week 2 of the 2021 Lions Tour started in Jersey, followed by a few days in Edinburgh and ended 38,000 feet over the Mediterranean as we flew towards Johannesburg.

The week was focused on the Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup in Edinburgh. While the Tour will ultimately be assessed on the outcome of the Castle Lions Series, success is merely repeated and sustained excellence, so the hard work cannot stop. No corners are being cut. Well, that’s what I tell myself as I wake up at 5am to squeeze in a gym session before diving back into the day job!

Our mission at Fifty Digital is to create the most followed and engaging Lions Tour of all-time and in the process, introduce new audiences to the sport. From candid behind the scenes video content to community engagement across every social channel, we are working side-by-side with the Lions team to bring this Tour to life through a unique approach to storytelling.

One key focus of our content plan is the new Inside the Bubble vodcast which aired this week for the first time. Starring Courtney Lawes, Liam Williams and Conor Murray, we covered an array of topics such as best banter and most appropriate son-in-law material (unanimously Robbie Henshaw apparently!) and why someone not saying thank you when you hold a door is a heinous offence.  Our aim for the Inside the Bubble vodcast is to create a new and more accessible outlet that showcases the human side of the players in a more accessible way week-on-week.

We left Jersey after an open training session on Thursday and headed to Edinburgh. 

Saturday was game day and a chance to test our content capture strategies  under real-time conditions. It’s something we’ve done a lot at Fifty Digital  before, but the buzz and anticipation of live sport always adds a layer of pressure. The usual systems were in operation from WhatsApp groups to Slack, as well as physically communicating at pitch side.

The match itself was a success both on and off-the-field, with strong engagement and Lions fans forming their usual magnificent Sea of Red of support both online and in the stands.

However, the day was tainted for everyone in camp by the gutting loss of Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric. Both are rugby superstars but also two of the most hard working, humble and decent guys you could ever meet. Our Tour Chairman, Jason Leonard, gave Alun Wyn the honour of presenting the new Lions with their caps. It was an emotive moment for the whole party.

The week ended with us boarding another British Airways flight, bound for Johannesburg this time and their Level 4 lockdown. We have detailed Covid briefings most days, so we had a full briefing on the situation and what we are flying into, so we all feel comfortable, safe and excited to get stuck into the Series.

I was again mistaken for a player as I walked through the airport with a couple of the squad, to the cheers of fans. Either that or they really love our Instagram captions…

Check back here next week for my next update from Gauteng!