Rugby legends make feelings clear on who should be Lions first pick and Ugo Monye is angling for a spot

November 27, 2024

Former England centre Ugo Monye has put his hand up for a bizarre role with the Lions ahead of their 2025 tour to Australia.

It marks Ireland coach Andy Farrell’s first tour in charge of the Lions after he was appointed to the role in January.

Farrell (left) will lead the Lions for the 2025 tour to Australia

He replaced Wales coach Warren Gatland, who had overseen the last three Lions tours.

There will be plenty of intrigue as to who Farrell selects in his first-ever Lions squad ahead of their first warm-up fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.

Luckily for Farrell, a few ex-Lions have weighed in with who they believe should be the first names picked in the squad on Instagram.

Former Ireland back Simon Zebo tipped Scotland’s Finn Russell as his choice while ex-Wales winger Shane Williams named Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.

Retired English second-rower Ben Kay would select Irish prop Tadhg Furlong with his first pick for the Lions and ex-England forward Alex Corbisiero backed Chandler Cunningham-South for a spot on the plane.

As for Monye, he would have Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu as his top choice.

But Monye made sure he found a role for himself when sending his tip to the Lions’ Instagram account: the team’s social secretary.

The exact job specifications remain a mystery, but Monye, who was a part of the Lions’ 2009 tour to South Africa, would no doubt have plenty of fun planned for the squad in Australia.

One controversial figure the Lions won’t encounter is former England coach Eddie Jones, who had a dreadful second stint in charge of the Wallabies and has since been replaced by Joe Schmidt.

Under Jones, who was re-appointed Wallabies coach in January 2023 after being sacked by England a month earlier, Australia beat only Georgia and Portugal as they crashed out of the Rugby World Cup in the pool stage for the first time.

Jones’ second stint in charge of the Wallabies lasted just nine TestsCredit: AFP

Jones subsequently resigned in October last year before taking over Japan nearly two months later.

The 64-year-old’s return to Japan was not without controversy as Jones consistently denied reports he had interviewed for the role while in charge of the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup.

Jones remains an immensely polarising figure in rugby and former England international Danny Care only added fuel to the fire in his autobiography, ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’.

In the book, Care accused Jones of ruling with fear and would often berate the players and even some of his coaching staff.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Monye was asked if he believed Jones crossed over the line with his behaviour during his time as England coach.

“I think it was overstepped,” Monye told talkSPORT.

Former Lions centre Ugo Monye believed Eddie Jones went overboard with some of his antics as England coachCredit: talkSPORT

“When people say they were revelations, I’m not so sure they are. I think lots of people were aware of it, just when it was ever brought up publicly, they were refuted.”

Monye also opened up on how his relationship with Jones would lurch from good to bad in the matter of days.

“As a bloke, I got on really well with Eddie,” Monye said.

“Went to football with Eddie, went to dinner with Eddie and hung out.

“But also fell out with the bloke, like massively. But then I’d see him the next day and shake hands and we don’t talk about it. We just move on because he’s an adult.”

Although Jones’ actions towards his players and coaches during his England time has been deemed problematic by many, one thing that can’t be argued was his record.

Damning accusations have been levelled at Jones regarding his behaviour towards players and staffCredit: Getty

As England coach, Jones won the Six Nations three times, completed the Grand Slam in 2016 and guided the nation to the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.

By the time of Jones’ axing, he had a 72.84 win percentage, the highest of any England coach.

Yet Munyo believed there’s only so long a coach with Jones’ intense approach can last.

“He’s clearly a person who can get the very, very best out of players,” Munyo said.

“And he can, but unfortunately there is a backlog and history of that only working for a short period of time.

“I think when you have a certain methodology as a coach, or any leader in any organisation, and the way in which you try and engineer and manage your players or staff, I think there is a shelf life to it.”