Campbell describes a nation obsessed with rugby

Alastair Campbell writes a column for the Times in london. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

New Zealand is a nation obsessed by rugby while journalists here are "the sixteenth man" for the All Blacks, Lions media advisor Alastair Campbell has told the British public.

Writing a column in The Times newspaper, Campbell summarised his experiences through the first 10 days of the tour here, describing the ubiquitous advertising and media coverage devoted to the sport.

"This is a nation obsessed -- there is no other word for it -- with rugby," Campbell said. "For someone who has never been on a tour such as this, it is hard to imagine how the intensity will grow. But once the internationals begin, it will."

The former chief media advisor to British Prime Minister Tony Blair had found players were easier to deal with than politicians because they didn't care as much what was written or said about them.

The "best and worst" newspaper cuttings were placed on a board which "about half" the players chose to look at. The worst stories were there to act as motivation, Campbell wrote.

He believed the New Zealand media placed too much pressure on their national team and didn't rate the Lions' prospects of success.

"Just as I always felt the Westminster press were often out of kilter with the public, so I feel the New Zealand public have far higher regard for the Lions than their media, which fancies itself as something of a sixteenth man, would like," he wrote.

"Lions players may be able to keep the media pressures at a distance. For the New Zealanders, I would say that is not possible.

"Their attacks on us become pressure on them. At least that is the spin, and provided that Clive and the players agree, that means it is spin with substance, which is the only spin that works."

However, Campbell's methods haven't impressed some in the British touring press group.

Returning home

Leading writer for The Telegraph Mick Cleary noted that in coming days injured No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio would leave for home, as would Campbell for a brief spell before returning for the first test.

"It is fair to say -- and even Campbell would not attempt to finesse this one -- that one of them will be missed more than the other," wrote Cleary, who feels the Lions have tried too hard to paint themselves in a positive light.

"The Lions have been welcome guests in New Zealand, indeed cherished. They do not need to do much to be loved. They have forced the issue, been too overt at pushing their message.

"What might work in the smoke and mirrors world of Westminster is not necessarily appropriate in the land of the blunt-talking. They want straight deliveries not spin."

Cleary said an obvious example was at the Lions' public training session last week.

"...there was an air of contrivance about proceedings that bordered on the patronising. It was a training session, the sort the All Blacks have been holding for years.

"It was as if the Lions were reinventing the wheel when it came to showing the locals how to run a session."

Meanwhile, Campbell admitted to surprise at the degree of preparation from Lions management for this tour.

Some of the technical discussions at Lions' planning meetings recalled talks Campbell had attended with military leaders while the sophisticated approach to diet, fitness and recover was an eye-opener.

"It was when we were given our three-page guide on how to deal with jet lag as we left Heathrow that I realised no detail had been left unattended. I never got advice on jet lag travelling with Tony Blair."

- NZPA