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Howley disappointed by ugly incident involving tour manager
By RugbyPass
British and Irish Lions assistant coach Rob Howley was disappointed by an incident involving tour manager John Spencer, but insisted it was an isolated event.
Spencer, 69, told British media he was confronted and pushed by a man while at a restaurant in Auckland on Thursday.
While Howley was saddened by the incident as the Lions prepare for the first Test against the All Blacks at Eden Park, the attack coach said the tourists had received a mostly warm welcome in New Zealand.
"I spoke to John. It's an isolated incident, it's a disappointing incident," Howley told a news conference on Friday.
"Since we've been here in New Zealand, we've had a fantastic welcome. The New Zealand public have been unbelievable in their hospitality, in their welcome, wherever we've been.
"Unfortunately in sport there's always a minority and it's not the majority.
"The experiences we've had have been quite unbelievable. The New Zealand public have embraced us, I think they appreciate the rugby that we play.
"It was only last night we went out to the Viaduct as a squad and management, there were a lot of Kiwis coming to us.
"There's been banter between New Zealand supporters and our supporters and us as well, and that's par for the course, but coming back to John, it's an isolated incident and it's the minority, not the majority."
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It was like watching men play schoolboys
Go to commentsI'd rate the brothers Hendricks a point or two lower. Jaden has really not delivered on his early promise and Jordan's kicking at posts was quite erratic. Amongst other things.
I was really surprised that DuhDuh was replaced and not Jordan. DuhDuh had a great game and just underlined his class in a backline that was not firing on all cylinders.
Damian Willemse was missed. Hopefully he'll be back to full fitness and have an injury free 2025 (and '26 and '27 and so on until he decides to retire to spend time with his grandchildren).
RG was great. What an athlete.
Very happy that Hanekom made his debut at last. He gave a good account of himself and will hopefully grow into his role on the international stage.
All things considered, this was another frustrating Bok performance. Even though it was a comfortable win, it wasn't a commanding win. This Welsh team should've been put away by a far larger margin.
But I have faith in Dr Rassie. He knows more than I do. Bring on 2027 😁
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