Template talk:Infobox Lions tour
Player of the series?
[edit]Is it worth adding a parameter to this infobox so that we can note who the player of the series was? Leigh Halfpenny won it this year, and Jamie Roberts in 2009, but I'm not sure if it was awarded before that. Might be worth doing if it's going to become a permanent thing. – PeeJay 17:58, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
- I'd leave this out. In the past it seems to have been a number of different awards given out by the British/Irish media or the home media - Roberts in 2009, Chris Latham in 2001 for example. I can't find any mention of who won the award in 1993 or 2005. This source [1] explains that Roberts' award (on the losing side) was from HSBC and the British & Irish media. It also explains that voting was carried out after all 10 games in 2009, so 'player of the series' is a misnomer. Presumably Halfpenny's award is also via HSBC? I don't think it's authoritative at all and doesn't belong alongside the key details in the infobox. --hippo43 (talk) 21:46, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
- Actually, Halfpenny's award was determined by journalists from the UK, Ireland and Australia, who named their three best players from each test match (assigning points on a 3-2-1 basis), with the player with most points winning the overall award. I think the award was presented by DHL as well, which supports its neutrality, as DHL was the overall tour sponsor. – PeeJay 11:55, 7 July 2013 (UTC)
- After digging around a bit more, DHL and HSBC made awards on this tour - both to Halfpenny. HSBC seems to have awarded a 'Lions player of the series', as in 2009, chosen by some 40 of the media. See this source, for example. According to this source DHL's award was only voted for by six people in each test. Further, DHL didn't sponsor "the overall tour" in some neutral way, they paid the ARU for the naming rights in Australia, just as HSBC paid the Lions.
- I don't support including sponsors' awards in the infobox, as there doesn't seem to have been any consistency in this award over the years, and sponsors seeking publicity are not inherently neutral. This year, with two awards, what if they had gone to different players? These are definitely worth mentioning in the relevant articles, but IMO not important enough for the infobox. --hippo43 (talk) 23:09, 10 July 2013 (UTC)
- Actually, Halfpenny's award was determined by journalists from the UK, Ireland and Australia, who named their three best players from each test match (assigning points on a 3-2-1 basis), with the player with most points winning the overall award. I think the award was presented by DHL as well, which supports its neutrality, as DHL was the overall tour sponsor. – PeeJay 11:55, 7 July 2013 (UTC)