British and Irish lions roam South Africa

With less than a year to go to the World Cup kick off, South Africa is testing its systems and stadiums with the Confederations Cup, which began on Sunday. But it's a different kind of football that most South Africans will be watching next Saturday when the Lions meet the Springboks. These animals play rugby.

There are fewer things in rugby bigger than a British and Irish Lions tour of the Southern Hemisphere. The trips only take place once every four years and what makes a Lions team unique is that the squad is chosen from the best of English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish talent. These men, who spend most of their time trying to knock each other's heads off, are then expected to play together heroically when they pull on the famous red Lions shirt.


Despite the help of up to 50,000 travelling supporters, the Lions only managed to beat the South Africans twice at home in the 20th century and no one really expects the results to be different in 2009. "I think we have the players who can go out and do the job," Springboks coach Peter de Villiers told the BBC. South Africa will play the Lions in the first Test in Durban on Saturday, followed by Tests in Pretoria  (27 June) and Johannesburg ( 4 July).