{"id":189727,"date":"2025-06-16T19:18:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/189727\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T19:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:18:19","slug":"i-was-17-stone-british-and-irish-lion-known-as-fun-bus-now-i-operate-a-bus-taking-fans-and-players-on-pub-crawls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/189727\/","title":{"rendered":"I was 17-stone British and Irish Lion known as ‘Fun Bus’ – now I operate a bus taking fans and players on pub crawls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby\u2019s ‘Fun Bus’ Jason Leonard has made just as big an impact off the pitch as he did during his trophy-laden playing career.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leonard is England\u2019s third most capped player of all time with 114 appearances, a three-tour British and Irish Lion, with the first coming in 1993 followed by 1997 in South Africa<\/a> and then 2001 in Australia where the 2025 squad are heading<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Leonard<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Leonard played in three Lions tours as a player then won the World Cup with England in 2003Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

His extraordinary rugby story started at Barking RFC, taking him to Saracens, and then Harlequins where he made 290 appearances in a playing career spanning across both the amateur and professional game between 1990 and 2004.<\/p>\n

Off the pitch, Leonard has used his popularity to establish the Atlas Foundation<\/a> charity and has found a unique way of fund raising by utilising an old red London bus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is called the ‘Fun Bus’<\/a>, which is the World Cup winning prop\u2019s nickname, given to him by England team mate Martin Bayfield.<\/p>\n

Leonard, who in his prime was a 17-stone prop, told talkSPORT.com in an exclusive interview: \u201cI went on a rugby tour with England, but I most probably shouldn’t have gone.<\/p>\n

“It was the South Africa 1994 tour, I was injured at the time, Jack Rowell, the manager, wanted me to play.<\/p>\n

“I had put on a bit of weight not thinking I was going to go on this tour anyway because of an injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had training jerseys that were \u00a0bright red, and I put mine on and Martin Bayfield sarcastically said, ‘Jesus you look like a bus,\u2019 because he obviously realised I’d put on a bit of timber.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course everyone knows I like going out and having a bit of fun. So he said, \u2018You’re a fun bus\u2019, and it\u2019s stuck ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fun Bus helps raise money for charities by taking guests and England stars like Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Marler and Danny Care on trips to various London pubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leonard stated: \u201cWe thought, ‘What can we do to help charities and stuff like that, raise a bit of money?’<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

A stellar career on the pitch ended in 2004 for Leonard, but he has remained close to the sport he lovesCredit: Getty\"Leonard<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Leonard has used his nickname for good, with his Fun Bus taking fans and players on pub crawls in London and raising money in the processCredit: Instagram: @funbus114<\/p>\n

“It’s been great fun doing it, and everyone absolutely loves it and it’s just a great opportunity for charities to raise much needed funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite a lot of the England boys have been on [the Fun Bus as VIP guests] \u00a0and it gives people the opportunity to meet their heroes. So, it\u2019s a pretty cool\u00a0thing\u00a0to\u00a0do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Leonard has carved his name into Lions folklore as one of the all-time great tourists, on and off the pitch, earning selection for his first tour to New Zealand in 1993 – just a year after a career saving surgery to repair a ruptured disc in his neck which required a bone-graft from his hip.<\/p>\n

Sir Ian McGeechan, who played and coached on winning Lions tours, had no hesitation when asked to name his Ultimate Lion – picking Leonard as the player who epitomises what it means to pull on the famous red jersey.<\/p>\n

Leonard explained why the British and Irish Lions<\/a> is so special: \u201cIt\u2019s the history and the heritage.<\/p>\n

“For me, it’s living up to the legends that have worn those shirts before you. So for me, prop wise, it will be living up to Fran Cotton back in the days of England, or Graham Price from Wales.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

From former teammates like Martin Johnson and Mike Tindall, right, to more recent stars like Chris Robshaw and Danny Care have hitched a ride to the pubCredit: Instagram: @funbus114<\/p>\n

“Those two types of Lions legends and I had the opportunity of wearing their shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make sure that you live up to the legend that has worn the shirt before you, and hopefully you play well enough so that in 12,16 years someone who would be putting on that jersey would say, ‘Actually, I want to make sure that I don’t let this jersey down because of watching Jason Leonard play for the Lions.'”<\/p>\n

What is remarkable about Leonard is that he is loved by all areas of the sport – even the blazers, the people who run the sport.<\/p>\n

This was clearly evident by the fact that once he stopped playing, Leonard joined the RFU rising to become President in 2015 when England hosted the World Cup.<\/p>\n

He did such a good job wearing a blazer, the Lions made him chairman from 2018-22, which meant he was in charge of the most famous touring team in the world when they visited South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.<\/p>\n

With no crowds allowed to watch, it was a very different tour, as he recalled: “The Lions tour is such a special gathering, a special tour for the players and for the fans.<\/p>\n

The Lions on talkSPORT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

talkSPORT has all of the British and Irish Lions matches live across the network. Eddie Jones is among the star-studded line-up leading the coverage Down Under.<\/p>\n

June 20, Dublin:<\/strong> Lions vs Argentina<\/p>\n

June 28, Perth:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions vs Western Force<\/p>\n

July 2, Brisbane:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions vs Queensland Reds<\/p>\n

July 5, Sydney:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions vs New South Wales Waratahs<\/p>\n

July 9, Canberra:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions vs ACT Brumbies<\/p>\n

July 12, Adelaide:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions v ANZAC XV<\/p>\n

July 12, Brisbane:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions v Wallabies<\/p>\n

July 22, Melbourne:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions v First Nations and Pasifika XV<\/p>\n

July 26, Melbourne:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions v Wallabies<\/p>\n

August 2, Sydney:<\/strong>\u00a0Lions v Wallabies<\/p>\n

“Four years ago, we delivered a tour in the middle of COVID, which obviously everyone is very proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom memory, it was the only tour that went ahead – a lot of cricket tours started and then got cancelled.<\/p>\n

“But the only problem was delivering a tour in South Africa in the midst of the pandemic meant no fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our fans are amazing, they travel halfway around the world to see us. You feel an obligation that you want to do well in that regard. And it is a sea of red everywhere on the streets.<\/p>\n

“For this year\u2019s tour of Australia it will be in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – people will be walking down the street, in the stadiums, at the matches in their Lions jerseys. It’s just going to be fantastic.”<\/p>\n

Away from rugby, Leonard has carved out a successful business career, but his greatest achievement was launching the Atlas Foundation charity in 2014 and last year Prince William joined one of the foundation\u2019s projects in one of Cape Town\u2019s\u00a0townships.<\/p>\n

\"Only<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Only Ben Youngs and Dan Cole have played more times for England than LeonardCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

Leonard remarked: \u201cAs a charity, we work in 19 countries around the world, and we help children through education and sport to improve their quality of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t realise Prince William was there, and he wanted to go to a local project in Cape Town. We run a project in Ocean View with a school and Prince William wanted to come along.<\/p>\n

“The kids had a great time with him and he was brilliant, giving them so much time and went around speaking to all the kids asking them about their favourite things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were out playing a bit of rugby and the Prince joined in – the kids got very excited about that.<\/p>\n

“I had to remind a couple of the kids that it was non-contact, even though I think they all wanted to tackle him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard earned an MBE for services to sport in 2002, which became an OBE after England\u2019s Rugby World Cup success, before being inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014 confirming this rugby legend as one of the most popular former players in the sport.<\/p>\n

Eddie Jones previews British and Irish Lions Tour as he joins the talkSPORT pundit lineup <\/p>\n

And he’ll no doubt be Down Under when coach Andy Farrell takes a Maro Itjoe-led squad<\/a> in an attempt to win a series for the first time since 2013 when they beat Australia.<\/p>\n

Eddie Jones leads talkSPORT’s coverage<\/a>, with all the games being broadcast across the network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rugby\u2019s ‘Fun Bus’ Jason Leonard has made just as big an impact off the pitch as he did…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[77762,77766,5313,77761,7555,393,4211,28232,77765,77764,77760,19910,5772,4151,5342,79,24414,3114,77763,16,15,19458,36292],"class_list":{"0":"post-189727","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-2025-british-and-irish-lions","9":"tag-atlas-foundation","10":"tag-british-and-irish-lions","11":"tag-caps","12":"tag-date","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-england-rugby","15":"tag-fixtures","16":"tag-fun-bus","17":"tag-how-to-watch","18":"tag-jason-leonard","19":"tag-lions","20":"tag-now","21":"tag-rugby","22":"tag-rugby-union","23":"tag-sports","24":"tag-tickets","25":"tag-time","26":"tag-tv-channel","27":"tag-uk","28":"tag-united-kingdom","29":"tag-weight","30":"tag-when"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114694658894103789","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}