Lions' claws are bared

I suppose that, following last Saturday's defeat, it was inevitable that paranoia would begin to set in and the first adverse reports are beginning to seep into the mainstream media. Thus The Guardian records the impending breakdown between Lions management and the fans with typewriters on the tour:

"The travelling British and Irish media, meanwhile, have also been warned that interview opportunities with players, other than brief soundbites straight after games, will be seriously restricted between now and the first Test on Saturday week. Either this is a reaction to some of the less flattering reviews of the Maori defeat or Woodward has forgotten the lessons of the 2001 Lions tour to Australia.
On that trip the media were treated with open suspicion by some members of the management and disillusionment among the players eventually spilled out via assorted diaries and columns, most notably those of Matt Dawson. Here in New Zealand there have already been depressing rumours of experienced squad members being warned against exchanging anything but clichés and pleasantries with the press corps; references to innocuous activities, such as a quick beer, have been excised from players' columns by the censors. "

It is important to note, however, that the incipient paranoia will affect both sides of the argument. When reporters write such material as "Lions supporters back home deserve to be kept better informed", one begins to suspect that there is some special pleading here.