WITH ALL THE subtlety of Alf Stewart guarding a tidbit of juicy gossip, an Australian company has produced a range of t-shirts and hoodies to welcome the British & Irish Lions next month.

Red Bubble, based in Melbourne, are gearing up for the Lions v Wallabies Test Series by selling two rugby-related t-shirts that boast of Aussie superiority and the timidness of the soon-to-be tourists:

(Credit: redbubble.com)

The same company produced the top-selling ‘I’m not an alcoholic – I only drink when McCaw’s offside’ t-shirt and a range of other pop-culture related paraphernalia.

This is not the first time the Lions have been referred to as ‘big pussies’. Former England and Lions centre Jeremy Guscott told TheScore.ie that similar insults were thrown at the squad that played against the world-champion South Africans in 1997. He said:

I was pissed off that no-one gave us a chance. I don’t know why. The attitude purveyed to us by the South African media and players, and several from back home, was to be prepared for a thrashing. We were called pussycats and big pussies the whole tour. The public were very hospitable but they took it for granted that the Springboks would win.”

For the record, the Lions won that Test Series 2-1.

Look how much fun Paul O’Connell had at Lions training today

‘I’m rooming with Conor this week so he might have a broken leg’ – Mike Philips