Lions tour a success - shame about the result

Paul Wallace says that the 2009 British & Irish Lions will be remembered as the ‘unlucky Lions’ - but should they? Let's take a steer from Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and look at some facts:-

1^st Test
South Africa's forwards dominate for an hour building up a 19-point lead - Lions fight back with two quick tries as the springboks replace their dominant pack. Jones misses two penalties, Monye twice misses good chances, Phillips knocks on over the tryline. South Africa's scrum dominant in the first half - blame attributed to Vickery but the selection of Shaw for the second test suggests that Alun Wyn Jones takes some of the blame.

2^nd Test
Burger, playing in his 50th test, gifts Lions a 10-point start by getting yellow-carded inside the first minute. Jones kicks well but Lions only 8 points ahead at the break despite looking dominant. Springboks dominate second half and deservedly pull to within 4 points with 10 minutes left on the clock. In the valley of the blind the one-eyed man is king, but in Loftus Versfeld, O’Gara, with one eyed closed by a missed tackle that results in a try, concedes a mindless penalty. Steyn converts from inside his own half with the last kick of the game and the series is lost.

3^rdTest
A modicum of pride restored in a match between two weakened sides. Lions missing O’Driscoll, Roberts, Adam Jones and Jenkins through injury. South Africa make ten changes, two enforced through the suspensions of Botha (unfortunate) and Burger. Springboks wear white armbands to protest about the suspension of Botha though the self-imposed absence of the two wings and full back are much more noticeable as both Lions wings cross in a dominant display.

Overall 2-1 was a fair result. A whitewash would have been harsh but the better side won in each of the first two tests and had Burger had some discipline the margin might well have been greater in the second. And now for some 'awards'...

Good series for:-
John Smit – Captain Marvel, added victory over Lions to World Cup-winning CV and completed the transformation from hooker to prop seamlessly.
Jamie Roberts – Terrorised the springboks' defence every time he had ball in hand.
Bismarck Du Plessis – Brilliant in the loose, solid lineout throwing and along with ‘the beast’ saw off Mears and Vickery inside 50 minutes in the crucial first test.
Rob Kearney – Barely put a foot wrong since coming on early in the first test. Won everything in the air, took his try well.
The Lions – Badly beaten by New Zealand in the last tour but very close to winning each of the first two tests and broke the run of 7 straight defeats in the third test. Roll on the 2013 tour.

Honourable mention:- O’Driscoll, Matfield, Habana, Pietersen, Bowe, Adam Jones, Shaw, M Steyn, De Preez.

Bad series for:-
Schalk Burger – Eye-gouging aside, gave away crucial penalty late in second test with blatant offside and did little to make up for giving his side a 10-point deficit to recover.
Ronan O’Gara – Given only 10 minutes of test rugby but managed to do enough to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Phil Vickery – Despite his partial redemption in the third test he will still be seeing the face of Tendai Mtawarira in his nightmares.
Bryce Lawrence – Bryce is OK with asking the TMO's opinion but doesn’t trust anybody not called Bryce Lawrence to do the job. As referee he overruled the TMO in the first test - giving a 22 drop out instead of an attacking scrum 5. In the third test as the touch judge he tried to convince referee to overrule again. Saw Burger gouging but recommended ‘at least a yellow’ rather than the red that the rules require.

THUMBNAIL: The springbok tour bus – well if you will park opposite a bar full of Lions fans in Durban......