British & Irish Lions Tour Manager Names Coaching Staff

British & Irish Lions Tour Manager, Andy Irvine, and Head Coach, Warren Gatland, have unveiled several team management and backroom staff appointments for the Tour to Australia next year.

Acting Head Coach of Wales, Rob Howley, will be joined by England Assistant Coaches, Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell. All three will work alongside Warren Gatland to form the core of the coaching team, with all but Farrell making their second successive Lions Tour.

Tour Manager Andy Irvine said, “The selection of the coaching staff is significant, this experienced trio have proven track records and we are delighted to have them on board. Importantly I believe we now have in the Tour management team, in the areas of coaching, logistics, media, performance analysis and medical, continuity from previous Tours especially 2009. This is important as they all understand the challenges that lie ahead and the experience gained in South Africa will be essential as we head to Australia next year.”

Warren Gatland said, “I am confident that Rob, Graham, Andy and myself can come together quickly to face one of the hardest rugby challenges. Lions Tours are unique as we have to mold together players from four different countries in an incredibly short space of time. We have no illusion as to the hard work required but we have spoken of the challenges and truly believe that as a coaching team we can provide the players with the support and environment needed for victory in Australia. We will also discuss over the coming weeks the requirement for any further technical assistance.”

Dr James Robson will once again lead the Tour medical team. Robson is the National Team Doctor for the Scottish Rugby Union, a role he has occupied since 2002. This will be his sixth successive Lions Tour following his initial appointment on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.

Management Team appointments to date:

HSBC’s association with The Lions began with the 2009 Tour of South Africa, and the bank is the first sponsor ever to renew as Principal Partner, having confirmed its commitment to support the Lions’ 2013 Tour of Australia.

The bank will use the sponsorship to engage customers, staff and fans across four of its key markets of the UK and Ireland, Hong Kong and Australia.

In Asia, the bank is the co-title sponsor of the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens as well as title sponsor of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations, HSBC Asian 7s Series and principal partner of the Hong Kong rugby teams.

As there are so many Pictures of The British and Irish Lions v The Barbarians in Hong Kong we have cut them up into different pages for your viewing pleasure. Other pages include: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7 and Page 8.

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