Left field

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.

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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Lions ready to upset Springboks, and bookies, again

The Springboks don’t exactly appear to be shaking in their boots in the wake of the announcement of the British and Irish Lions squad they will face over three tests 
in June and July — but they weren’t 12 years ago either and we all know what happened then.

Still fresh from their readmission to the international game and wallowing in their status as world champions, the 1997 Springboks were dismissive of Ian McGeechan’s Lions in the early tour games.

Local media could not quite believe that the Lions had rocked up with some props that looked like juniors alongside the giants in green, while the coach’s decision to stiffen his squad with some creaking former rugby league players cut no ice in a country where the 13-man code is virtually unknown.

A 2-1 series defeat later and the hosts were forced to reassess their idea of the Lions and their wily coach, who had also triumphed there as a player in 1974.

Twelve years on and South Africa are again world champions and again huge favourites according to the bookmakers.

But that is the whole point, and the key to why a Lions tour is so exciting — form does not mean a thing because the tourists are a new team.
 They will form, flower then die in the space of six weeks and 10 games.

McGeechan’s challenge is to ensure that process works as smoothly as possible so that the XV who take to the pitch for the first test in Durban on June 20 are a team, and not just a collection of outstanding individuals.

Political correctness gone too far in Springbok v Maori saga

South Africa has always been a country of great contrasts and irony but there is something bizarre about the current furore over a proposed visit by the New Zealand Maoris.

Reports say South Africa are considering turning down a request for the Maori to play the Springboks on the grounds that the Boks do not play teams selected on racial grounds.

Coach Peter de Villiers wants to play the game, as a warm-up match before the start of the mid-year Tri-Nations tournament, but his bosses cite “hurdles” to overcome.

One, according to the SA Rugby Union’s website, is a union resolution forbidding the appearance of SARU teams against opponents “selected along racial lines”. (more…)