Happy squad key to Lions success, says Woodward

LONDON - Clive Woodward left London for New Zealand with his British and Irish Lions today vowing that the next two months will be an experience to savour for every member of his mammoth 45-man squad.

Woodward has promised not to repeat the mistakes of 2001 and says fun and a chance to see parts of New Zealand beyond the training pitch are essential ingredients of a successful tour. The squad arrives in Auckland at lunchtime on Friday.

While in charge of England Woodward eschewed any rules on socialising, even at the 2003 World Cup, saying he trusted the players not to let themselves and their team mates down.

He also insisted that wives and partners to be allowed to fly out during the final week in Australia, a policy he felt was all part of making the players feel comfortable and relaxed.

Woodward was a bitter man in 2001 when Graham Henry was chosen ahead of him to lead the Lions to Australia but his criticisms of the running of that campaign are based on much more than his personal frustrations.

"Senior internationals came back saying they would never go on another Lions trip and that is something I never thought I'd hear," Woodward said.

"We are not going just to play rugby, we want to get the most out of the New Zealand. I thought we went backwards in 2001."

Henry's Lions were certainly a very different group to those who were successful in South Africa under Ian McGeechan four years earlier.

The experienced Scot, who will be in charge of the midweek matches in New Zealand, ensured that there was a "one group" mentality with no clear divisions between midweek and Saturday teams.

The players also got out into the community, visiting Soweto and other under-privileged areas as well as the delights of Cape Town and the wine region.

Henry allegedly did the opposite, operating a siege mentality, and once it became clear that many of the players would never have a shot at the test team, disgruntlement set in.

The New Zealander's dictatorial regime and a relentless training programme that, despite player protests, left the squad drained, all combined to create an unhappy atmosphere and undoubtedly contributed to the 2-1 series defeat.

"I felt like a zombie most of the time. I was not alone," England winger Jason Robinson wrote of the tour in his autobiography. "Had we been fresh we could have won all three tests."

England scrumhalf Matt Dawson attracted the wrath of Henry by complaining via his British newspaper column. "Every day consists of mindless training - the boys are not enjoying themselves," said a player who loved every minute of the 1997 tour.

England back Austin Healey described the tour as "not a bundle of laughs" while Welsh flanker Colin Charvis complained that Henry's approach to training threatened the very existence of the Lions because it took too much out of the players.

Irish centre Rob Henderson echoed Woodward's view when he said recently: "You need to be fully focused when you're training, but you need down-time to relax and take it all in.

"If it passes by in a blur and all you can remember is training, I don't think that is the ethos of the whole thing."

Woodward has listened to just that sort of criticism from people whose opinion he respects - even 2001 Lions captain Martin Johnson felt moved to condemn the management - and planned accordingly.

"When this group has come back, I want them to have had a fantastic trip," he said. "The experience of a lifetime."

- REUTERS