Editorial: Bay poised for Lions fans

The British Lions tour promises to pay off for the Bay. Photo/File

The first game of the 2017 Lions Tour begins in just seven days.

As fate would have it, Hawke's Bay (like almost every other provincial centre) isn't getting any game time. Rotorua has snared the marquee Lions v Maori All Blacks fixture - while we're simply set to watch the much-vaunted matches from afar.

While a provincial stop is a rarity (and let's not forget the South Island will host no tests at all) it still feels like we've been robbed.

Thing is, there's a shining light for us here. Rugby followers here will forever dine out on the infamous 1993 afternoon where the Magpies shocked the Lions on McLean Park to win 29-17.

The day holds special memories for me. It was a moment where a small union stepped into rugby folklore by slaying the best footy players the UK could muster. Not a bad effort at all from the black and white hoops.

A varsity flatmate and I drove in my 1973 Toyota Corolla from Palmerston North for the match - expecting to see the Magpies lose.

Following 80 minutes of Norm Hewitt terrorising English wing Tony Underwood on the way to a magnificent victory, we drove back to Manawatu singing "There's something about the Magpies" until the voices went hoarse somewhere south of Norsewood.

'Twas nice to witness a piece of history in your home town.

And while we may miss out on the footy, we'll definitely see our share of Lions fans coming through. We only have to look back to the last time the team was in the country.

For the Bay, the money section of this year's series is the period where the visitors travel from Auckland on June 24 to Wellington for respective tests, then back to Auckland again for the final test on July 8. This means we'll get supporters for both teams interloping through the region twice - once in a southerly direction, then a northerly direction.

It's important to factor that this will constitute a mid-winter tourism boost in a typically quiet period in our visitor season. Well done to Hawke's Bay Tourism who purposely extended the Winter F.A.W.C! foodie event to incorporate the UK invasion.

A dividend awaits us - and then there's the rugby.