Lions diary: day twenty-nine
A return to the Western Cape this week, the Western Cape which left me with little other than a filthy dose of 'flu the last time I was here.
A return to the Western Cape this week, the Western Cape which left me with little other than a filthy dose of 'flu the last time I was here.
Well, the health has improved. The weather has not. It has rained hard enough to knock out the satellite TV at times, meaning even staying in to relax has its appeal washed out.
Not that the fans have been staying in. It would have been easy enough to hang around in Durban for a week to enjoy the beaches, but Cape Town's hotel bars and restaurants were overflowing on Monday with those still trying to get shot of the weekend's hangover.
A curious fashion phenomenon has become evident too, in the form of the shirts worn while the reds of the weekend, presumably, get washed.
In the effort to keep the theme rugby, most resort to wearing other items of kit, with Guinness Premiership attire dominating. Aside from Munster, there was no other top class replica on show outside the GP.
Harlequins, Worcester, Sale, Leicester, London Irish, Northampton, Bath and Saracens were all on show from the English though, which begs the question: do the GP replica designs have the upper hand?
Not entirely. The non-English brigade displays a more local loyalty. Aberystwyth University's openside flanker was replete in white and green playing shirt. Several other Welsh clubs were apparent, although I hang my head a bit, unable to discern the mass of consonants from afar on a regular basis.
From England's west country, Cirencester and Ding's Crusaders tops were both worn proud, while several Dublin clubs – Blackrock and UCD were particularly prominent – have trumped Leinster.
This is just an observation. But taken in the context of the journalists from the Celtic nations so often lamenting the demise of the club game, it is a touch warming to see that while they turn up en masse to support Munster, Cardiff Blues, the Ospreys, Leinster et al during the season, the cream of the Celtic rugby fans still stay true to club roots.
Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, Peter de Villiers was on sparkling soundbite form again, but there is a disturbing element of the race card creeping into so many of his statements these days.
We'll leave it to you to decide whether these are appropriate things to say or not, and only report them as they happened.
(On Friday in Durban) Interviewer: How do you think rugby has moved on since the amateur days?
PDV: IN 1974 when the Lions were here, we had black and white televisions. Now we have black and white coaches.
(On Monday in Johannesburg) Interviewer: Do you think Enrico Januarie deserves his place on current form?
PDV: What I have learnt in South Africa is the following; if you take your car to a garage to be repaired and the owner is black and he doesn't do a good job, you will never take it back there again. But if the owner is white and the garage makes a mistake, people say, never mind, he made a mistake and will take it back again.
Interesting…
Journal kept by Richard Anderson