New Labour spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, remembers his brief stint in rugby on the 2005 Lions Tour from hell
As a political spin doctor, Alastair Campbell was the surprise pick by Sir Clive Woodward for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
It was, says Woodward’s critics, a glaring example of his excess as England’s World Cup-winning coach put together the largest management team in Lions history and a weighty 44-player squad.
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Twenty years on, Campbell reflects on his call-up and what he learned from the experience of living with the Lions on one of the most challenging tours in modern times…
The All Blacks won the series 3-0… How did a Downing Street director of communications end up in charge of press relations on a British & Irish Lions tour?
“It was certainly an eyebrow-raising appointment. It was. Not least mine. I was out running and Clive, who I’d met before but never really talked to, rang me and asked if I fancied coming along.
“I thought it was a bit of a weird idea – it wasn’t even my favourite type of rugby – but I loved sport.
“I was working on the 2005 election campaign at the time and I didn’t particularly want to go back into government again after it, so it fell quite well.
“Clive had been told that on previous Lions tours the media operation had been a shambles and he wanted someone who knew what they were doing. He wanted to do things differently.
British and Irish Lions coach Clive Woodward (2-L) and team spin doctor Alastair Campbell (C) listen to a question at a press conference about a dangerous tackle on Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll by New Zealand All Black captain Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu – O’Driscoll dislocated his shoulder and is out of the tour due to the tackle. The All Blacks defeated the British and Irish Lions 21-3 in Christchurch 25 June to take a 1-0 lead in the three Test series. AFP PHOTO/William WEST
“We had a few follow-up meetings at service stations along the M1 at which he sold me the idea. At one of them a guy who worked there recognised us both and came over asking for a picture. Clive said: “Yes, of course.” My involvement was still under wraps at that stage. I said: “Clive, that’s not a good idea.” And he said: “That’s why I need you.”
How did the players view you? Were they starstruck or sceptical about having a high-profile political figure working with them?
“Some of them thought ‘what a waste of space’, but I got on well with a lot of the players and pretty much all of the coaches.
“I probably got on best with the Welsh and the Irish players actually. It was some of the English guys who were a bit iffy. I don’t think that was down to politics but some of them may have bought into the Daily Mail agenda about me.
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“But I think there were moments when even they saw my value. For example, after the first Test.
“Even though some people might have thought we were going over the top about the spear tackle on Brian O’Driscoll, the one thing many of them said was how little focus there had been on how s**t we had played because of it.”
Some of the players didn’t like you criticising them in a team meeting after that defeat. If you had your time again, would you have done that?
“It came from a good place. I genuinely couldn’t understand why the players, two hours after a match, were… not having a laugh, but I didn’t sense that emotional pain that I thought there would be.
“I was thinking of the first Test against the All Blacks as being like a by-election that mattered where, if you lose it, you’re going to feel really s****y and be asking what went wrong.
“That was the observation I made to Clive and he told me he wanted me to say that to the players because he thought some of them didn’t listen to him and just zoned out. It went back to Clive wanting to do things differently. I did have reservations about it and I said that to Clive.
Alistair Campbell who has been appointed as a senior media advisor for the British Lions during a British & Irish Lions Media Conference at the Portmarnock Hotel (Photo by Patrick Bolger/Getty Images)
“Bill Beaumont (the tour manager) said to Clive at the next management meeting the following morning: “There’s quite a bit of disquiet that you asked Alastair to do it. You put him in a difficult position. And it upset some of the players.” Clive defended it but I can see why some of them got pissed off.
“Martin Corry came up to me and told me he felt like knocking me out. I always appreciated complete honesty but I said: “I hope you don’t!” Some of the other players like Paul O’Connell and Ben Kay shared similar sentiments in their books.
“But then there were the others, like Martyn Williams, Stephen Jones and Gareth Jenkins the coach, who came up to me and said: “Somebody had to say that because it’s true.” Would I do it differently? No, I wouldn’t.”
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Did you find on the whole that rugby players were easier to deal with than politicians?
“They are all individuals and all different but generally rugby players are more straightforward than politicians. It’s a more straightforward way of life, though. Politics is much more complicated.”
Were any of the players interested in your world?
“At mealtimes Martin Corry, Stephen Jones, Martyn Williams, Denis Hickie and Shane Horgan would sometimes convene a cabinet meeting and hand out all the different jobs.
“They were fascinated about how politics, and how things like the Budget, worked. Just as I was fascinated in how sport worked.”
Who did you particularly enjoy spending time with on the tour?
“Jonny Wilkinson was a really interesting character. We share the same birthday – 25 May – and we flew out that day.
“Dave Reddin, the fitness coach, had given everybody advice on the best way to avoid jet-lag, which was to stay awake on the first leg of the flight and to drink lots of water, no alcohol and only certain foods.
“Most people were asleep within a couple of hours. The only people who followed these instructions were Jonny and I. I ended up having this fascinating conversation with Jonny about stress, managing friendships, all sorts of stuff.
Dan Carter breaks through the tackle of Jonny Wilkinson (rear), during the All Blacks V British and Irish Lions rugby test at Jade Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)
“He was a really deep thinker. While he accepted that he had this reputation as being the best player in the world, he didn’t see himself as being more special than anyone else. He never, ever wanted to project himself that way.
“He was great to deal with because there was an authenticity to him. That comes through in his punditry now.”
How did you find the rugby media in comparison to the political lobby?
“A lot of them weren’t that keen on Clive for whatever reason and they were trying to build the narrative that the whole thing was a ridiculous circus. They just didn’t want it to work and they made that pretty clear from the outset.
“If the Lions had won the series – or even just one of the Tests – I think people would have said that Clive left no stone unturned and did everything he could. But because it didn’t go so well on the pitch, lots of things he did were seen as being over the top.
“The great difference between sport and politics is that in sport you are judged absolutely on the result after every game. In politics you get judged every few years.”
And how do you feel the rugby media treated you on that tour?
“I didn’t find them tough, particularly. Some of the journalists were fine but some of them were jealous, frankly, that I was on the inside.
“While I felt privileged to be there, it was that tour which told me that I probably couldn’t do another communications job again because it became too much about me”
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It was a tough tour results-wise but there must have been some lighter moments?
“I actually really enjoyed the tour. There were a couple of highlights that stick with me. Michael Owen was captain for the warm-up game against Argentina in Cardiff. Prince William came into the dressing room and someone told Michael, who was in the showers, that he should come out to meet him.
“He came out and, stark bollock naked, walked over and shook Prince William’s hand. Then when we got to Auckland, I went outside the team hotel to take the call to avoid being overheard because I was talking to Tony Blair.
“Gareth Thomas – Alfie – came out and asked me: “Who are you talking to, butt? The missus?” “I’m talking to Tony Blair, Alfie,” I said. “You f***ing liar, you’re not talking to Tony Blair.” Alfie wouldn’t have it.
A combo shows New Zealand All Black captain Tana Umaga (L) and a protester (R) holding up a banner complaining of Umaga’s and teammate Keven Mealamu’s tackle on British and Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll, during training in Wellington 27 June 2005. The British and Irish Lions have accused Umaga and Mealamu of spear tackling Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll, dislocating his shoulder and putting him out of the tour. (AFP PHOTO/William WEST)
“So I said to Tony: “Tony, have a word with this t**t will you?” I gave Alfie the phone and they talked for a while and then, classic Alfie, he said to Tony: “Anyway butt, it’s been great talking to you. Next time you’re down in Wales, look me up and we’ll go for a pint.” He gave me the phone back and ran down the street, shouting: “I’m going for a drink with Tony Blair!”
Are you still in contact with any of the 2005 Lions?
“I’ve stayed in touch with Clive and some of the players: Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan, Will Greenwood and Stephen Jones out in New Zealand, I speak to those guys now and again.”
What about any current players? We hear that you’ve spent some time with Maro Itoje?
“Richard Hill, the England team manager who I knew from the 2005 Lions, got in contact and said he really wanted me to meet Maro. He thought Maro might benefit from my experience.
“We met and got along well. I’d say Maro and I have become quite good friends. Maro is an interesting guy. He likes his politics – you can talk to him about a lot of things. He has a bit of hinterland that needs to be brought out.”
Does rugby union project its players as well as it should with the growth of the game in mind?
“The truth is most of these guys find doing the media dull – until they become media people at the end of their playing careers!
“Part of the blame lies with the media themselves. They tend to ask really boring questions. They should try some interesting ones. The players might not answer them but there’s no harm in trying.
A dejected Lewis Moody walks from the field as the All Blacks celebrate their 4818 win over the British and Irish Lions in their second rugby test in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)
“I think the magic path for rugby is for the people who work in media departments to get over the idea that being on message means saying nothing. It doesn’t. You can still be on message and be interesting.
“In fact, you have to be because it’s just boring otherwise. Football has become dull in terms of its interactions with the media and I think it would be better for rugby if it doesn’t go that way.
“Not all players like doing interviews, though… It’s a case of finding out who wants to do it, finding out who the journalists want to talk to, finding out who’s good at it and then, somewhere within that Venn diagram, you’ve got something which works for everybody.
“What I was trying to do with the Lions was to lift the load a bit and make the players understand that there is nothing to get spooked about in talking to the media.
“Some just didn’t want to do it – John Hayes told me right at the start he didn’t like doing media and that was fine – but others benefited from doing it and actually quite enjoyed it. They found it both interesting and challenging.”
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