LIONS tours guarantee several things. Lots of column inches, lots of jersey sales and lots and lots of talking points.
This 2009 tour to South Africa has had all of the above. Prior to the tour the column inches were dominated by selection decisions and tactics. Jersey sales were constant and the sponsors got their exposure for their buck. However, the talking points on this tour may just yet burst the bubble of the Lions and world rugby in general.
First off the Lions tour was too short. The warm up games served very little in the grand scheme of things. Players were subjected to games well below the levels required for test rugby. The home nations fans bemoaned the tickets prices and low attendances as well as the lack of Springboks in the warm up games. If you ask me, it was a stroke of genius on the side of the South Africa RFU. The withdrawal of the main players left the stadiums with an empty atmosphere-less feeling and the gap between warm up game and first test was there for all to see. The 2-0 series loss came at a price of five hospitalised players for the Lions. Many more had fallen by the wayside before the Tests even arrived.
When the immovable object meets the unstoppable force, not happens. When the immovable objects of the Springboks play with unstoppable force however, people get hurt. This is where the bubble burst for me anyway. Rugby is a unique sport where the IRB, governing body, have two sets of rules for two hemisphers. It would be akin to Munster and Leinster hurling having different laws. The Lions series was played using, new ELV’s and the South Africans were allowed to play using the old ELV’s. The case in point was highlighted in the injury to Adam Jones. In the northern hemisphere, you cannot leave your feet in a ruck situation, nor can you enter a ruck like a spear with no arms. Bakkies Botha dislocated the Welsh props arm with such a reckless act. The Welsh player would never have been put in that position up here, yet when down south, it appears that the harder the man the better the player. Take the eye gouging of Luke Fitzgerald. It happened after 30 seconds and the referee’s assistant called for “at least a yellow card” The more you look at the incident, the more clear it becomes that Schalk Burger should never set foot on a rugby field again. Cowardly isn’t the word, yet his manager and his union have backed him. The fact that referee Berdos did not have the courage to show the red card might have something to do with the reputation that South African fans have for assaulting referee’s. Ever since David McHugh was attacked on the field, all travelling referees from the IRB “have personal bodyguards”, a quote from Alain Roland.
Now, this is where things get really frustrating for us northern hemisphere boys. Munster’s own Alan Quinlan was given the “minimum ban of 12 weeks for contact with the eye area”, when he was found guilty after the semi final of the Heineken Cup. Burger? Only eight weeks. Again, different rules for different spheres.
With the news this week that Brian O’Driscoll and Adam Jones are to return home due to injury, the only thing left for the Lions in the third test is pride. The first two tests may have been close, but the Lions have lost and have now not won a test game since 2001. That is seven losses in a row. There have been calls for the Lions to be disbanded, there are merits to the call as the more and more professional teams become the less they will want their players to be a part of what is becoming an injury minefield.
With the series now over, thoughts turn to what next for the Lions. Simon Shaw’s post match interview shows what it means to the players to be Lions. The immense pride that this city and province has for this team is something that should not be forgotten. With O’Driscoll now at home, Keith Earls might even feature in the third test. With captain O’Connell and young cub Earls, even a final “meaningless” test holds something for us to look for.
The dynamic of the tour and it’s ever growing corporate edge is something that needs to be addressed. Instead of playing against some Royal Kings XV, why not play a Guinness Premiership XV, followed by a Magners League XV and then even a game against Munster and or Ireland. The players would benefit from the competitive action, the stadiums would be full and the management would be able to look at even more players that way. Then head away on your tour. The fans, who buy the jerseys and other gear, would be able to get closer to their heroes before the team become some enigma on Sky Sports.
I know I am not in a position to change the Lions ways, but if another tour goes down the road of this one then there may not be many more to come.
The IRB have a lot to answer for. The Tri Nations will be a World apart from the Six Nations, as the Currie Cup will be to the Magners League. Players are expected to compete on unlevel playing fields and I am not talking about bumpy ground.
The third test may offer a chance for redemption for some, but win or lose the people of Limerick are proud of their Lions and don’t think for a minute that you have left us down.
