Gavin Howell and his dad Bob have always shared a love of rugby and they hope to make special memories together on the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia.
Gavin, 54, became the first fan to book a 2025 Tour package after loving every second of his first trip away with the Lions in 2017.
The pair were devastated to miss out on the behind-closed-doors series in South Africa, so Howell ensured they would be the first names on the team sheet for Australia.
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“I’ve always been a Lions nut and I was lucky enough to do my first Lions tour back in 2017,” he said.
“We did a two-test Tour with the Lions and I was so impressed with the organisation of the event.
“We had a fantastic time and my biggest regret was not going for the three-test Tour. It was miserable watching the decider back home in the pub.
“We then booked for South Africa but unfortunately that didn’t happen. We did manage to go to the Lions versus Japan game at Murrayfield and we definitely wanted to keep the Lions experience going.
“So we are doing the three Tests for Australia, which is going to be brilliant.”
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Howell Senior was a keen player in his formative years and introduced his son to rugby through Saracens Minis at the age of seven.
He attended every one of his son’s school matches, leaving Gavin determined to repay his love and support.
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“It’s just lovely spending real quality time together,” he added. “He always asks if I’m sure I want to go away with an old boy like him, but we have terrific fun.
“We’ve got so much in common, we love one another’s company and it’s just great to go away and share an experience like the Lions together.
“When I sent him the booking information, he said you obviously got in quite early because the booking number is 000001.
“Dad is 80 this year, he’s pretty fit, plays plenty of golf, so I’m sure he’ll be able to get around.
“He’s never been to Australia and my mum’s not a big fan of long-haul flights so he would never have been to New Zealand and he never would have been to Australia if it wasn’t for the Lions, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
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The drawn series in 2017 is arguably one of most epic in Lions history but for Howell it was made even more special by the wider tour itinerary.
“The reps looked after us from the outset,” he said.
“We toured all over New Zealand, it was great to get around, very cheap to find flights. We did Rotorua, we did a day in Auckland. There wasn’t a single day on the tour where we weren’t up to things and the pre match events were really well organised too.”
Matchdays are of course what all fans look forward to most and Howell says nothing compares to being a part of the Sea of Red and experiencing the Lions in action first-hand.
“I’ll never forget getting on this flight to Wellington because every single occupant on the plane was decked in Lions red,” he said.
“It was quite a thing walking through Wellington airport with almost everyone wearing red.
“I think that was probably the thing that struck me about the Lions games. They felt almost like a home game because there were just so many red shirts in the crowd. It was quite remarkable.”
Howell last travelled to Australia around 20 years ago when he was best man at a friend’s wedding, and he is relishing an emotional reunion when the Lions travel through Brisbane next year.
Based on his experiences in New Zealand, Howell is confident he’ll return home with several new lifelong friends.
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“Because your tour is a single group, you’re on the coach together, you travel together, you fly together and you’re often sat close together,” he said.
“So we really got to know many of the tourists we went with to the extent that we met up with a few of them at Christmas.
“We went to their rugby club and watched their team play and we keep in touch, so you really do get to know people from all over the country.
“For us it was just brilliant, we made so many good friends on the tour, so we’re looking forward to making more friends and memories in Australia.”
