Lions diary, day nineteen

The tour progresses to stop number four: Cape Town. South Africa's Mother City.

The tour progresses to stop number four: Cape Town. South Africa's Mother City, the place where the first landing and colonisation of the country took place.

Colonisation has created some wonderful history in parts, some decidedly ugly history in others. Wars have been fought, brutal regimes have been set up to repel rebellions and intruders and to reap the benefits of the new territory. But some of the world's most wonderful places have been dsicovered and rendered habitable as a result…

But back to that point about brutal regimes. Ian McGeechan was quizzed over the selection process for his test team on Friday. Was it a consensus of opinion? A voting system? Names out of a hat?

“Everybody gets a say and a put-in, everybody's opinion is taken on board. But nobody votes, the final decision is mine,” said McGeechan.

“I'm a benevolent dictator!”

Graham Rowntree has finally revealed a little jealousy that his nickname is a little less glamorous that others.

When talking about Bakkies Botha during a media briefing, Rowntree expounded on the virtues of having such a player in your team.

He then added: “It's a lovely nickname too isn't it. Better than wiggy!”

Friday evening's downtime was spent at one of the Cape's local clubs taking in what turned out to be a ferocious battle between two clubs aiming to stave off the threat of relegation.

Villagers – the home team – prevailed 14-12 with a late try that their superiority deserved even if their execution didn't. But what was more striking is that the atmosphere among the 500 or so fans present was growing and growing all match, building up to a fair old crescendo at the end.

After the game, the two club committees and the players met for a brief post-match function, with each club making a speech and both speeches centering around the need for money.

But here's the rub: South Africa runs the Vodacom Cup while the Super 14 is on, a wholly meaningless and largely ingnored provincial competition, into which Vodacom – SA' biggest privatised communications company – sinks a fair old whack of cash. It is generally regarded as risible in terms of quality and is barely better-attended at times than a club game such as that described above.

Both Presidents' speeches lamented the fact that a club league should be so skewed in balance because the only funding for it is private, as opposed to a corporate league sponsorship getting the money to all the clubs. It means the league runs like a Top 14 – with four big clubs and the rest – rather than as a even vaguely even playing field. Some clubs have budgets five times as large as the rest.

Whatever, some might say. It's only a semi-pro league after all. But given that the fact that the identity of rugby has been drained by the devaluation of the Currie Cup and the soulless commercialisation of the Super 14 and its franchises, evidenced by the paltry figures in the stands for this Lions tour, wouldn't SA rugby be better off taking a long hard look at the grass-roots game which produces the passion witnessed on Friday, and putting some funding into its regulation and development? After all, a vibrant and competitive domestic league is what produces vibrant and competitive provincial teams. And crowds.

Poor old Ryan Jones. He flew half-way around the world – literally about the longest round route you could fly – only to be told that he had a concussion and needed to fly home again.

But it is interesting that there is to be no replacement for him now. It could be that the players left in the squad end up backing up more than they were planned to, but it does make you wonder if Jones would have seen any significant game-time at all over the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps leaving now, rather than enduring ongoing frustration, might have been a blessing in disguise for a player who, mentally, clearly needed some time off. He'll be back.

Journal kept by Richard Anderson