Lions tour review

Editor

The 2009 B&I Lions head for home on Monday, after seven weeks of training and rugby and two heady days of letting their hair down.

The 2009 British and Irish Lions head for home on Monday, after seven weeks of training and rugby and two heady days of letting their hair down.

The stats will tell their own tale. The Lions lost the series 2-1 and many observers harbour a sneaky suspicion that had the Boks been at full-strength for the third Test, it might have been a whitewash. South Africa were good value for the win. But in the final reckoning, the tourists outscored their hosts in both tries and points over the three Tests and came away with dignity and pride very much intact – despite their victory, the critical spotlight will remain firmly on the Boks and their maverick coach over the next couple of years.

Once the results are forgotten, the bitter pill of defeat swallowed and digested, that aspect of pride and dignity may end up being the most important of all. Even just the general feelgood factor of the entire show and the balance between the friendly and the professional struck by the management – not least Tour Manager Gerald Davies – re-ignited the passion for the tour that had been so doused by the disaster of 2005. Players left with smiles on their faces and treasured memories at their experience of their career pinnacle. Fans found a team to follow through thick and thin. The media found a team they wanted to promote, not deride. The hosts found happy, smiling guests who thoroughly enjoyed their time in the Rainbow Nation.

Those guests included several curtain calls in a red shirt as well as the possible start of several dynasties. Brian O'Driscoll's exit, to injury after another crunching tackle and following 65 minutes in which he had ignored medical advice to leave the field twice and been instrumental in his side's competitiveness, epitomised the player. Shane Williams marked his final Lions appearance by finally bringing his finishing skill to the red jersey at Test level. Simon Shaw, after 17 appearances in midweek matches, poured all those years of frustration into his Man of the Match display in Pretoria. Captain Paul O'Connell, in the words of his coach, “epitomised everything that a Lions captain should be.”

At the other end of the scale, there was Jamie Roberts bursting onto the scene as effectively as he burst through half-gaps in the Bok midfield. Keith Earls started with a shocker, but the two tries he scored in later matches showed the talent he may bring in the future. Stephen Ferris and Tom Croft will surely be scrapping for the number six jersey in years to come.

The guests also included a travelling party of between 25-30,000 fans, who came to the party magnificently. They clad themselves, to a man, in red despite the abhorrent prices being charged for replica kit, brought the old school songs and games and generally whipped up such a stirring support of their team that the South African fans had no choice but to respond. As a result we had Test match atmospheres that stirred and squeezed the adrenaline glands, bringing the best out of the players who provided us with an enthralling Test series.

As always, improvements can be made for the future. Ian McGeechan was candid in his assertion that the governing bodies of the game should somehow get together and organise a better preparation time for the squad (not to mention a longer tour), throwing further scrutiny on the length of the domestic season back in Britain and Ireland.

Better preparation also requires a pledge from the host nation to let all their international players take part in the tour matches, which were devalued both in terms of spectacle and Test-level practice for the touring party. Phil Vickery acknowledged the Lions may have deluded themselves about the strength of their scrum as a result of the low-level warm-ups, while the home fans voted with their feet for matches where so few of their heroes were on show.

Then there was the farcical situation with the ticket prices, in which the over-valuation of the price of watching a game devalued the tour as a whole. It is a unique match to see, but setting a Test match price higher than it would have been in Britain and Ireland, in a country where poverty stalks every single street corner, was a ludicrous decision from the off, as was the refusal even to acknowledge the recession that kicked in after the ticket price had been set and at least try to adjust accordingly.

It was real head-in-the-sand stuff, as were the categorical lies handed out to the media about attendance figures to try and save face and the justification of the prices on business grounds. Australia should have a good look at that little lot and learn.

The scheduling needs a little examination as well. Tests are Tests, but the logistics in getting the Lions from Durban to Cape Town and then back up to Pretoria within six days were avoidable and utterly failed to take into account the fans' limitations.

Back to the Lions, who now face a near-impossible task: slowly selecting a coach to take the reins from Mr. Lions himself. Dean Richards and Martin Johnson were touted as candidates on Saturday but whoever does fill the void will have a huge struggle.

“You do things as a Lion that you would never do in any other team,” he said at the start of the tour. He has followed that to the letter, bringing both the best and the most determined out of his players and giving everybody an understanding of what the Lions is all about once more.

Ian McGeechan's legacy to the Lions is not only the victories he has coached, but also the retention of the values and facets of a classic internal tour that have helped to make this one such a success.

By Danny Stephens