The Lions 2009: Living With The Pride DVD Review

Article Published: Thursday 15 October 2009

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So, its finally here! The long awaited behind the scenes documentary of the Lions tour to South Africa in 2009 is here and it contains all the drama, humour and raw emotion that you would expect from another one of the sports dvd's most watched series.

Well we all know the story, at least we all know the public side of the story. This DVD gives us the opportunity to have a good look behind the scenes and see what really went on when the team were on tour.

Starting out at Pennyhill Park the week before the tour and finishing in Johannesburg in that dramatic record test victory against the hosts, the DVD captures the full story of the 2009 Lions tour from start to finish.

The premise is always exciting and this is surely one of the most eagerly anticipated DVD's so it is really important that the directors can live up to the standards set by the previous films for the 1997 tour 'Living With Lions', 2001 tour 'Up Close and Personal' and 2005 tour 'Inside The Lions Den'.

Fortunately I'm please to say that it does live up to the huge expectation and delivers a snappy and well thought out film dedicated to showing how the Lions pulled together in adversity to recover from the devastating disappointment of that last minute second test loss and come back to leave the Lions a legacy from which to carry for the next four years until Australia 2013.

I read a journalists review in one of the sunday papers a week or two ago that bemoaned the fact that the DVD was littered with swear words. In fact the journalist in question actually bothered counting the number of times the team swore which seemed to be a rather pointless waste of time given that this is a DVD about rugby players on tour?

When I actually watched the DVD myself I could hear that colourful language was liberally used in lots of situations, but it was not out of context or anything I wouldn't have heard myself in dressing rooms up and down the country. One wonders in what sort of cuckoo-land this particular journalist played his rugby?

Anyway, the biggest downside of the DVD for me was the incessant need to over dramatise the situation being portraid. The action was dramatic enough and you felt the emotions that the players were going through enough without having some annoying music overplaying the situation. When you actually start to notice the dramatic music being cranked up time and time again you kind think that they really are overdoing it a little.

Still, that doesn't detract from the raw emotion of scenes like head coach Ian McGeechan breaking down in tears having addresed the team before leaving the hotel ahead of the final test. That really sent shivers down my spine and is almost painful to watch, but frankly it is worth the DVD price alone.

The DVD also comes with a whole stack of extras including loads of the stuff that you haven't seen before but are really interested in watching like the question and answer session at the final pre-departure dinner, all the player cam's, Geech and Gerald Davis' numerous speeches and much, much more.

All in all, aside from one or two minor irritables, the DVD is excellent value and does not disappoint in almost all respects. A worthwhile addition to a fantastic series of Lions films.

Living With The Pride Trailer

For a glimpse of the action, check out the trailer here to whet your appetite:

Win one of Five copies of The Lions 2009: Living With The Pride

Lace have very kindly given us five copies of the DVD to give away to you so to win your copy of the DVD, then please answer the following very simple question:

Who scored the final try in the 28-9 final test victory over South Africa in Johannesburg this summer?

To enter, please send us an email with your name, address and question answer to the above question to info@lions-tour.com to enter. The competition is open until 31st October 2009. Winners will be picked at random from the correct answer after the closing date.