Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from the Lions’ tour
There was much to enjoy on the British and Irish Lions’ latest adventure, not least one of the all-time great test matches in Pretoria last week, but there were down sides too that need to be addressed for the next trip, to Australia in four years.
The Good
The Pretoria test. It was an absolute classic. It was played at a almost frightening physical intensity and had enough talking points to last four years, not least Morne Steyn’s nerveless last minute penalty to win it, and the series, for South Africa.
The fans. Lions tests are so special because no other rugby international is played in front of such a split audience. Home and away fans deserve credit for playing their part in creating a wonderful atmosphere at all three venues.
The locals. With the Confederations Cup also in town over the last month or so South Africans have shown that they are the friendliest of host nations. (Almost) everyone has a ready smile and couldn’t do enough to help.
The TV official. It might sometimes take a long time but surely well worth it as a qualified international referee takes advantage of every available TV angle to decide on dubious tries. Painful though it is to be on the receiving end, in the cool light of day it is by far the best system and makes soccer look laughable with its refusal to embrace the same technology.
John Smit. The Springbok captain was already a hugely popular and impressive figure but somehow furthered that reputation with another commanding performance in terms of leadership and dignity.
Rugby is tough enough without eye-gouging
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has a hard enough time as it is trying to convince the South African media that he knows what he is talking about but his utterances on Schalk Burger have undermined any credibility he has earned from overseeing a series win over the British and Irish Lions.
Saturday’s decisive second test, won 28-25 by the Boks, was one of the most brutal seen for many years, both in terms of legal and illegal contact from both sides.
Five Lions players ended up in hospital while half a dozen Springboks were nursing injuries in the wake of the Loftus Versfeld battle.
Some of them came from legitimate hits or accidental collisions but several did not. Springboks Bakkies Botha and Burger were handed bans of two and eight weeks respectively late on Sunday, with Burger’s punishment for gouging the eyes of winger Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute the main talking point in the build-up to Saturday’s final test.
The flanker was winning his 50th cap having missed the first test through injury, and though he was yellow carded for the offence, many observers, including Lions coach Ian McGeechan, thought he should have seen red.
French referee Christophe Berdos did not see the incident but was alerted to it by one of his touch judges, who obviously did. The touch judge advised Berdos that the offence warranted a “minimum of a yellow card”.
For a referee who had not seen the offence, in the first minute of a massive test match, sending off a key player would have been a huge call and he was given an easy get-out clause by his assistant’s advice.
I have played rugby to a good standard (county) and have been an avid supporter of the game for over forty years. I was disgusted with SA a number of years ago when they became the thugs of rugby union but they then cleaned up their act and eventually NZ took over that mantle but maybe not quite to the same degree! But not far off. After the second lions test we have SA doing it again…and to add insult to injury, literally, they then have 15 players on the pitch trying to defend it with armbands!!! Methinks what they may be saying is its a hell of a tough game and next time you’ll see us brandishing knives and knuckle dusters!! Personally I’m disgusted and whilst I love the game in its honest and very tough form I’m getting close to leaving it forever!!!!!!!!!!
Last-gasp Springboks tame Lions again to take series
It was a close one but South Africa have won the series after replacement flyhalf Morne Steyne landed a 55-metre penalty in the last minute to give them a 28-25 victory over the British and Irish Lions in the second test.
The Springboks took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Home flanker Schalk Burger was sin-binned in the first minute for gouging Luke Fitzgerald and the Lions, with a try by Mike Phillips, scored 10 points in his absence and deservedly led 16-8 at the break in contrast to the first test.
The boot of Stephen Jones stretched the lead to 19-8 as the hosts missed four kicks at goal but tries by Bryan Habana and Fourie du Preez brought them back and the scores were level going into the final moments. Steyn held his nerve with the decisive kick from inside his own half to give the world champions revenge for their 2-1 series defeat 12 years ago.
So what went wrong for the Lions? It’s tough to say they were poorly prepared or the team selection was flawed. Perhaps the Springboks are just too good.
PHOTO: South Africa’s Morne Steyn (L) is congratulated by team mates after scoring the winning penalty kick against British and Irish Lions during their international rugby test match at the Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria June 27, 2009. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
Rugby-mad South Africa not so mad about the Lions
Tough economic times and possibly just too much rugby have combined to produce the unthinkable in South Africa — empty seats for test matches against the British and Irish Lions.
After the early provincial games were played in half-full stadiums, local officials were forced to give away tickets in a bid to bump up the numbers and build a bit of atmosphere.
Nobody thought for a moment that the three tests against the world champions would suffer similar problems but they were forced to face reality when the first of them, the Lions’ first test here for 12 years and supposedly one of the true highlights of rugby, was played in a less-than-full Kings Park in Durban.
The rugby hotbed of Pretoria sold out for Saturday’s second test only this week while tickets are still available for next week’s third and final test at Ellis Park.
South African rugby officials have defended their pricing policy, saying that tickets were available for the provincial games from as little as 170 Rand, around 13 pounds, and that they were somewhat mystified by the poor attendances.
Fans it seems were reluctant to shell out to watch the cream of the northern hemisphere take on local sides forced to play without their best players, who were not released from the Springbok squad.
I dont think rugby is in a great state at the moment. No real stars. South Africans may have been distracted by soccer’s Confederations Cup too
How did the Beast destroy the Raging Bull?
The “dark arts’ of rugby’s front row have long-suppposed to be a mystery for all bar the hulking props and hookers who face off in the “trenches” but it didn’t take an expert to figure out something significant was happening in the first half of South Africa’s defeat of the British and Irish Lions last weekend.
England World Cup winner and former captain Phil “Raging Bull” Vickery was taken apart by Springbok prop Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira, a novice 10 years his junior and not previously noted for his scrummaging prowess.
This is just not supposed to happen. Who or what was to blame? Vickery? Skulduggery? New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence? The rest of the Lions pack?
Below are a few explanations, and comments, from the British media:
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South Africa survive stirring Lions fightback — your views
A mighty fightbcak from the Lions fell just short on Saturday as South Africa held on for a 26-21 vicotry in the first test in Durban.
The Lions were outplayed comprehensively in the first half but they dominated the last half hour or so, with a second try from Tom Croft and one from Mike Phillips, and gave South Africa a real fright.
So will such a positive second-half performance be enough to inspire a Lions comeback in this series?
As noted by Mitch Phillips, who was at the match for Reuters, only once before, against Australia in 1989, have the Lions lost the first test and come back to win the series.
More from Mitch later, but for now, let us know what you think of the Lions comeback chances in the comments.
PHOTO: South Africa’s Bakkies Botha (top) and British and Irish Lions Brian O’Driscoll scuffle during the first test match in Durban, June 20, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
I think the fact that SA made so many substitutions in the second half helped the Lions get back in the match. At least it will have left their morale in tact though for the next two.
Vickery will be seen as the big loser but I thought he was unluckly to concede so many penalties that could easily have gone the other way.
Players, fans unite behind the Lions
All professional sportsmen talk about how important their supporters are but when it comes to the British and Irish Lions there really is a special bond.
Defying the credit crunch, up to 30,000 fans are expected to travel to South Africa to follow the Lions in their three-test series against the world champions.
Those fans, who spend most of their time in opposition as they follow England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland, are, like the players, united in one cause for a few weeks every four years.
They are united in colours too, as the red shirt of the Lions — which adidas say will be by far their biggest seller of the year — is everywhere.
The players appreciate the efforts made by the supporters and, unlike in most other modern professional sports, are not afraid to mingle with them.
Most of the Lions were out and about on Thursday and Friday, signing autographs, posing for photographs and, get this footballers, actually chatting about the sport they share a passion for.
When a police car slowed down as it approached a knot of fans surrounding Wales centre Jamie Roberts on Thursday it was merely to shout “what will the score be?” followed by a dismissive laugh when the fans suggested a 3-0 sweep for the tourists.
McGeechan as good as his word as he picks Test team on form
Ian McGeechan has been as good as his word by selecting his British and Irish Lions team for the first test against South Africa on form rather than reputation.
The Scot was so keen to give every member of his squad a chance to prove themselves that, with only six provincial games to work with, he has not yet fielded the test team together.
“We have picked the team on the form players have shown on this tour,” McGeechan said when announcing his match 22 for Saturday’s King’s Park clash.
Never too proud to admit a mistake, McGeechan had no hesitation in naming Tom Croft at blindside flanker despite leaving one of England’s most impressive Six Nations performers out of his original squad.
Several other starters would have attracted long odds not too long ago.
Tommy Bowe was no considered good enough to make Ireland’s squad for the 2007 World Cup but he has looked a world-beater on tour, scoring four tries and setting up half a dozen more. Fellow wing Ugo Monye began the season hoping to shake off a back injury that had limited his appearances for Harlequins.
However, after making his surprise England debut in November he has grown in stature with every game and looks thoroughly at home as a Lion.
Things warming up nicely on the South African sporting front
The South African sporting public were a little underwhelmed by the early stages of the Confederations Cup and the British and Irish Lions tour but the last few days has seen a major turnaround and there is now something in the air.
Relatively high ticket prices combined with the Sprinboks’ decision to keep their players out of their Super 14 teams combined to ensure the early provincial games were played against a backdrop of empty seats.
Now, however, with the first test looming on Saturday, a ticket for King’s Park is like gold dust. The few thousand Lions fans who followed the team round the country over the first three weeks have been joined by a massive influx for the tests.
Estimates are that more than 30,000 will arrive for some part of the tour and they were out in force in Durban this week. Balmy seaside temperatures, good cheap food and, vitally, even cheaper beer, makes the coastal resort a dream destination for rugby tourists.
Organised groups, more often than not bedecked in matching tour shirts, are fillling the oceanside bars by night, while taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities South Africa has to offer by day.
While everyone has an opinion on whether the Boks should or should not have played a warm-up match and on the Proteas’ prospects in cricket’s World Twenty20, the efficiency of Iraq’s back four in the Confederations Cup has not been at the conversational fore.
However, South Africa’s victory over New Zealand on Wednesday has stirred things up and, with the World Cup less than a year away, previously pessimistic fans are warming again to their side, who are well-placed to reach the semi-finals of this dry-run tournament on home soil.
I dont think its a matter of playiny a lousy team etc ,it was ecstaticaly good to see bafana playing like that after what seemed liek ages-The organising was good and we actually strung together high quality passes & made it into the opponents box.This alone is a HUGE step for bafana…The team confidence is clearly growing and showing in the play on the field.We soccer lovers have been waiting 10 years to see something close to that ,so even if we loose ,we know our boys played ”football” worth wathcing at the end of the day….and THAT’s important to us…Go BAFANA bafana…GO!!!
When you don’t want to see your name on the teamsheet
One of the most painful memories from my schooldays was the prolonged torture of being left in the playground on my lunch break, looking on as the cool kids picked all my friends ahead of me for the lunch break football match desperately wishing I could be selected.
A similar scenario, albeit with reversed emotions, would have occurred on Monday morning in a South African hotel as British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan named his team to play against the Southern Kings just four days before the first test.
The whole squad knew that selection in the starting line-up would leave little hope of making the test XV. A place on the bench meant you’re likely to be involved in the test 22 and being left out for Tuesday meant you’re a test certainty.
Armed with that rule of thumb, we can now expect the Lions team to face South Africa in Durban to be the following:
15-Lee Byrne, 14-Tommy Bowe, 13-Brian O’Driscoll, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-Ugo Monye, 10-Stephen Jones, 9-Mike Phillips; 8-Jamie Heaslip, 7-Martyn Williams, 6-Tom Croft, 5-Paul O’Connell, 4-Alun Wyn Jones, 3-Phil Vickery, 2-Lee Mears, 1-Gethin Jenkins.
Locks Simon Shaw and Nathan Hines and Irish winger Luke Fitzgerald are the only players who have any realistic hope of changing McGeechan’s mind but it will take a very memorable performance against the Kings, unless there is an injury.
PHOTO: A rugby fan with the colours of the South African flag painted on his face looks on before the start of the opening match of the Lions tour, May 30, 2009. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
