THEY are here in their tens of thousands to witness the chasing of the egg at the bottom of the world.
They have left behind one of the most glorious heatwaves Britain has known to holiday here in a place where it is deep mid-winter but never Christmas.
There’s a storm coming to Auckland, say the weathermen. The travelling army in support of the British and Irish Lions already believed it.
They reckon there will be a storm when their rag, tag and bobtail boys take on the slickest machine in rugby, the back-to-back champions of the world, and beat them in their own backyard.
It was the shortest day of the year in Auckland yesterday — but it wasn’t as short as the odds on the All Blacks whitewashing the tourists over these next three Saturdays.
The Lions are always the unlikely lads, always hurriedly thrown together. It goes with the territory.
This time, though, it feels as if they are unlikelier than ever before.
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It’s not just the awesome nature of the opposition, nor the unforgiving itinerary that has done it.
The starting XV Warren Gatland named last night for Saturday’s First Test at Eden Park could never have been predicted, even when the Lions arrived here three weeks ago.
Hooker Jamie George has never started an international for England, while Worcester centre Ben Te’o — a New Zealander by birth — has done so only once.
Yet they will both go toe-to-toe with the All Blacks at Eden Park, where the hosts are unbeaten in 23 years . . . since before the youngest Lion Maro Itoje, 22, was even born.
Then there is Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony captaining the tourists, with Sam Warburton failing to make the cut.
While the All Blacks dominate Auckland’s billboards, many Lions fans from the British mainland would not have recognised O’Mahony if he walked down their local High Street.
O’Mahony, 27, is the Munster mongrel who could end up as a scrumdog millionaire if the Lions triumph on Saturday.
The flanker had been out of the Ireland side for a year because of a knee injury when he received a late call-up to face England in Dublin in March — after Jamie Heaslip was injured in the warm-up.
England were denied consecutive Grand Slams and back-row O’Mahony was man of the match.
“Perhaps Heaslip was tackled by a leprechaun,” said England coach Eddie Jones, suggesting foul play. But now O’Mahony’s ascent to the Lions captaincy truly is one-up for the little people, for rugby’s unsung foot soldiers.
Scrum coach Graham Rowntree, the cauliflower-eared yeoman from Leicester who played when the last Lions tour of New Zealand sunk without trace in 2005, is convinced O’Mahony is the right man for the job.
Rowntree said: “He’s got that Munster kind of aggression around everything we do in training.
“It’s the determination, it’s ‘Follow me, lads’. He has that Paul O’Connell DNA in him, being a Munster man. He’s a good guy — not afraid in training of saying, ‘Lads, this isn’t good enough’. He’s pulling along the standards.
“I’ve coached against him for a long time and he’s always a bloody handful when you’re playing against Ireland. But I’m delighted he’s on the tour.
“He was one player who would have been earmarked from an early stage for a Lions tour.
“He’s exactly the character you need — a guy who would get on with things if he wasn’t involved in the Test squad.”
From a ‘good tourist’ and midweek back-up to the captain of the side to face the All Blacks.
It’s been quite some journey for O’Mahony.
Rowntree added: “He’s a different person off the pitch.
“He doesn’t growl at people over breakfast. At least, not that I’ve seen.”
Even after the Lions beat the crack Super Rugby side Crusaders and the Maori All Blacks on successive Saturdays and then the midweek side demolished the Chiefs in free-flowing style on Tuesday, local pundits are greeting the tourists’ achievements with shoulder shrugs and sneers.
They have been spoilt by watching a side that has dominated the world game for a decade and plays eye-candy rugby rather than Gatland’s ‘Warrenball’.
And they believe the Lions are out of their depth.
Rugby league convert Te’o is there to implement the head coach’s bruising gameplan.
George, 26, had been favoured in Gatland’s squad over Dylan Hartley, captain of the England side that have dominated Northern Hemisphere rugby over the past two years.
It is as if Gatland thinks he can do Jones’ job better than Jones.
Rowntree said: “Jamie and Ben have not started many Tests but they can step up. Ben has played some pretty big matches in both codes.
“Jamie is a European champion with Saracens.
“I have no qualms about either of those starting a Test.
“We’ve picked on form, you can’t argue with form. Lack of experience won’t hold anyone back.
“If they’re good enough to beat the All Blacks, they’ll be starting.”
Rowntree knows the Lions must win Saturday’s opener if they are to clinch the series.
He added: “It’s massive. You have got to win this First Test. We have to get it right from the get-go.”
You could almost hear the Kiwis giggling as he said it.
The All Blacks lose to the Fall-Backs?
It sounds like a wild dream — but then there are thousands of scarlet-shirted dreamers in this town.
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