The British and Irish Lions: An example of unity

As the British and Irish Lions continue their Australia tour, Major Andrew Vertigan celebrates their example of unity.

Lions are not known for being cuddly! I was on safari as part of a rugby tour in South Africa some years ago and the tour guide was clear: if you see a lion come your way, don’t move, keep your arms in the jeep and let them deal with him! When we did stumble on a magnificent lion coming towards us, I didn’t move: I froze! He was massive. Beautiful, but massive.

As I write this, the British and Irish Lions rugby union team are on tour preparing for their next test match against Australia – the Lions alternate their tours between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa every four years. In 1950, the tradition of BIL the lion was started. BIL is the mascot of the British and Irish Lions – he is the biggest ever cuddly toy lion you can imagine.

BIL is present everywhere the Lions go on their tour. In some ways, BIL is getting more coverage than the players. Why? Because it’s the role of the youngest tourist to guard him with his life and this task has fallen to England’s breakthrough player of the year, Henry Pollock. Pollock is not allowed to let BIL out of his sight.

Pollock is the embodiment of every rugby supporter’s thoughts, whether positive or negative. The media love his attitude, his seeming arrogance yet potential brilliance. For one so young, he has taken rugby by storm this year. Rightly, in my opinion, he has been selected on form, but here lies one of the biggest challenges facing the selection team: supporters in the other three home nations may well think they have players who are better!

The challenge facing team coach Andy Farrell is to select approximately 38 players for the tour from the four home nations. Every rugby supporter seems to have an opinion, not only of those who are selected but also of those who are not. If you’re Welsh, this tour has gone down in history because only two Welsh players were selected, whereas Scotland – who often have had very few tourists – have eight players this time.

The challenge is to build harmony and camaraderie. It is said that individualists don’t really fit into the team culture of the Lions. The coach needs and wants team players who can build ‘togetherness’ and a sense of unity in a limited window of time. The best tourists are not necessarily the most gifted players but the ones who understand that team unity off the field will translate into a win on the field.

There are lots of parallels here to church. The four home nations becoming one is a great experience that all players involved in talk about for years to come. I can’t help but reflect on Psalm 133:1: ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!’ Unity in diversity brings about beautiful results. In Ephesians 4, the writer suggests that unity and diversity in the body of Christ bring about fullness in Jesus – the church realising its full potential!

So, while I’m hoping that the Lions achieve their goal of unity in diversity and win the test series, I wonder how you, your church and community are demonstrating unity. There’s a beautiful, but massive prayer challenge for us each.

Reflect and respond

• Read Psalm 133:1. What do you understand by ‘good’, ‘pleasant’ and ‘unity’?
• Reflect on Ephesians 4:2 and 3. Are you making every effort to keep the unity of Spirit? Are you disrupting the bond of peace? How can you be humble, gentle and patient in your relationships with others this week?