IT MAY not seem the smartest way to prepare for a career- defining Test but Lions Jack Nowell and Toby Faletau traded star jumps for bungy jumps.
And they were joined by George Kruis, Leigh Halfpenny and Justin Tipuric in hurling themselves off New Zealand’s highest drop.
Coach Warren Gatland gave five thrill-seekers the go-ahead to take the 134 metre bungy leap of faith here in Queenstown, giving downtime a whole new meaning.
But two unnamed members of the squad were told by medics they would not be trying the infamous £150 Nevis Bungy jump — as the Lions chase a second-ever series win in New Zealand.
That the huge and final Test against the All Blacks is just three days away as this generation seek to emulate the legendary 1971 touring side.
On the company’s official website, it says: “The Nevis Bungy is not for the faint of heart but if you conquer it — and you know you can — you’ll have earned the right to really tell people what to do in Queenstown, New Zealand.”
England’s Nick Easter famously needed an epidural in his back after doing the same jump at the 2011 World Cup.
At the time, the Harlequins No 8 claimed he hurt his back after changing beds during England’s campaign.
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The most common injuries suffered from bungy jumping are back problems, dislocations and rope burn.
Halfpenny, Nowell, and Faletau have all suffered knee injuries throughout their careers, so taking part in the 8.5-second freefall at such a vital stage of the tour does appear strange.
After dangling over the Nevis river Nowell, who has missed matches on artificial pitches to protect his dodgy knees in the past, wrote on his Instagram: “The worst but probably the best experience I have ever had!”
Other players opted for jet boat rides down the Shotover River ahead of the first training session of the week today.
As well as daredevil dangling, the players were also given the green light to hit the bars and encouraged to relax since Saturday’s epic Wellington win.
Gatland and his staff wanted the players to enjoy this last week before trying to become the first tourists to beat the All Blacks at their Auckland fortress since the French in 1994.
And strength and conditioning coach Paul Stridgeon also feels there is no need to slap the players with a booze ban.
He said: “We’ve not needed to put anything like that on the players.
“There’s a lot of committees, the players made their own rules at the start in conjunction with the coaches.
“The players have been very professional, all very switched on. We’ve not had to put a policy on the boys. We had a social night early on in the tour, but that was very helpful for bonding.”
Four years ago in Australia the Lions went to the beach resort of Noosa in Queensland after the Second Test.
They then flew into Sydney and clinched the series and a 2-1 win against the Wallabies.
And Stridgeon added: “We’ve run this blueprint with Warren a couple of times.
“We’ve done this in Wales a couple of times too and we did it in a big World Cup week with Wales and it paid off.
“Whenever we’ve done it we’ve performed well. And with this group of players, we even revisited it last Saturday and then all agreed it was still best for the team.”
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