A clutch of players are seen taking it easy on branded bean bags. Bundee Aki is keeping warm on the exercise bike. Tom Curry is on his phone, Finn Russell is scrolling too before giving a cheeky grin but the British & Lions’ performance manager, David Nucifora, decides enough is enough and puts a towel over the camera inside the dressing room, spoiling the fun. These Lions can be hard to love sometimes.
They may one day come to realise that giving spectators at home a glimpse of how players spend a 38-minute break in play could just encourage them to stick with this match. Given the pictures coming from the Australia dressing room portrayed a side taking things a touch more seriously, perhaps the Lions did not want the public to see what they were up to. The stoppage was perfectly in keeping with this chaotic finale to the Test series, enthralling and farcical in equal measure, but the shutters were pulled down. Another example of this sport failing to help itself.
