Roy Slaven and HG Nelson to call British and Irish Lions tour Tests

DIG out the card table, dust off Fatso and wake up King Wally Otto in the sound-proof booth -  Roy and HG, are back.

DIG out the card table, dust off Fatso and wake up King Wally Otto in the sound-proof booth.

The kings of Aussie sporting radio, Roy and HG, are back.

In a major coup, the legendary commentary pair are set to come out of semi-retirement to call the Wallabies v British and Irish Lions Test series, which begins next week in Brisbane.

Roy Slaven and HG Nelson, who became cult figures with their calls of the State of Origin, the Festival of the Boot (NRL and AFL Grand Finals) and the Olympics – to name but a few , have been signed up by Samsung to call the Lions series on their new “Samsung Stadium” app.

The men who gave us the Brick with Eyes, Hello Boys and Backdoor Benny will be behind the card table on the sidelines of Suncorp, Etihad and ANZ Stadiums for the three massive games.

There should be no shortage of material for Slaven and Nelson for nicknames on the Lions, with the blond Fabio locks of Richard Hibbard sure to come in for attention.

Fans can download the free Samsung App when it goes live today.

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UNSURPRISINGLY, the ratings for the Western Force v Lions last week were very ordinary. Our snouts tell us just over 60,000 people tuned in – Toyota Cup-level figures – and its little wonder. The game clashed squarely with the first State of Origin. How did on earth did that happen, you ask?

John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver

We are told when the Lions schedule was being put together in 2011, the ARU were led to believe the first State of Origin was pencilled in for Wednesday, June 12, i.e this week. They went a week earlier for the Force game, and put the Country game on Tuesday June 11, to avoid a clash.

When the NRL schedule came out, whammo – same night. Some contend, however this may be ARU spin at work, with the first Origin usually in late May. Whatever the case, ratings tanked, and it wasn’t helped by Michael Foley’s senseless selections. The Reds game rated strongly, with 220,000 tuning in, but two clashes with Socceroos World Cup qualifiers (this week and next) haven’t done the Lions ratings any favours.

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HERE'S one you probably haven’t heard: Mark Ella is the hooker rugby league get away. After being named one of four Wallabies Invincibles this week, Ella revealed he’d made his move into rugby – and the backs – because he’d had enough of wearing the league no.9.

“I played hooker for 11 years with the LaPerouse Panthers before I went to Matraville High (and rugby): straight into five-eighth, thankyou very much,” Ella joked. Ella – who once secretly trained with the Roosters  later in life – was described by a teammate in the 1978 Australian Schoolboys rugby side as: “The best player I played with or against in league and union.” The teammate? Wally Lewis.

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KURTLEY Beale’s first press conference this week was as good a smother as you’re likely to see in any footy code. After many months of requests from every media outlet in town, Beale was brought down to all-in press conference at the Wallabies training camp in Caloundra, which also contained Robbie Deans, Hugh McMeniman and Luke Morahan. No warning or advance notice press release kept the numbers very low, and Deans even intercepted questions on Beale’s behalf after a handful, telling reporters to focus “on the footy.” Beale opened up to former teammate Nathan Sharpe in an interview on Rugby HQ last night, saying he felt he “had to draw a line in the sand” with his alcohol issues and was confident he’d come through his tough times.

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SEVERAL British journos almost strained their neck muscles at the start of the Lions tour in Hong Kong when they thought they saw Waratahs villain Duncan McRae sitting in the hotel foyer of the Barbarians team. “Yeah, I was there on business, I forgot the rugby was even on,” McRae told us this week. “I was staying at the BaaBaas hotel; caught up with a few guys I used to play with.” McRae will be at the Waratahs-Lions game tomorrow night, safely tucked away in a corporate box.

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JAMES Horwill’s belated appointment as captain was no surprise to anyone in Wallaby land, given he’d been making speeches in the role since the first logistics camps earlier in the year. Why the delay? We hear it was Horwill’s request. Given the bad luck that’s been attached to the job since last year, he didn’t want an early re-appointment to be followed by an injury in Super Rugby.

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BERNARD Foley’s backflip from his Melbourne Rebels contract had tongues wagging in Australian rugby, and most of the talk contained another name: James O’Connor. One whisper floating around is the ARU were desperate to keep O’Connor in Melbourne and increased his top-up as an incentive, which in turn put the already cold feet of Foley in a bucket of ice. It is suggested the ARU don’t want O’Connor to leave the Rebels without a major star, and they were keen to keep all the amigos in separate cities as well, with Kurtley Beale set to move back to NSW next season.