LIONS-28 Springboks-9

PRIDE OVER JUSTICE

You know, it’s really hard to play rugby when you have a bee in your scrum cap.

Justice my arse!!! How could they even consider going on their little crusade when the IRB virtually legitimized their eye-gouging???

I mean, I was more than happy to put all that behind me until I saw their pathetic little armband protest, and while before the game I would have had at least a measure of respect for the home side had they completed the whitewash, by kickoff I was praying the tourists could come out on top.

And weren’t they just three of the best tries you’ll ever see in a Test match?

One player I was looking for from a performance standpoint on the day was Jamie Heaslip, since he had been relatively quiet in the first two games, possibly overshadowed by his gargantuan opposite number Pierre Spies (who, by the way, also had a hand in Burger’s misdemeanour, check out the evidence…).

The Leinster Number 8 certainly didn’t let me down, and while predictably the Sky Sports commentators were wetting themselves over the fact that Shane Williams scored the first try, they conveniently ignored the fact that it was Heaslip who made the break and slipped an unbelievable offload into the Welshman’s arms.

And apart from conceding the odd unnecessary penalty, the Newbridge lad was impressive all over the park, no more so than when he went down in a tackle in the second half then got into what can only be described as a “crab position” and scooted along for another ten meters!!!

But if his offload for the first try was “unbelievable”, then the English language doesn’t have a word for Riki Flutey’s shortly afterwards. He was always something of a misfit on this tour, wasn’t he? Everyone’s favourite for the 12 jumper before the squad headed south, a combination of injury and Roberts’ sparkling form sent him tumbling down the pecking order.

Though I was annoyed D’Arcy didn’t make the 22, in some ways it was fitting for Flutey to at least have some part in the series’ highlight reel and his lightning quick hands certainly earned him that. Again S Williams got the touchdown, but again it was a gift.

And last, but certainly not least, we have the “Monye-mental” third try which sealed the deal. Messrs Harrison & Barnes called it “vindication”. I call it opportunism. If this guy is going to score a memorable try for you, this is about the only way he’ll do it. Snag an interception and fire up the rockets. “There’ll be no catching him”, I said as soon I realised there was no infringement. I’m sorry, but I still don’t rate the guy any higher than Premiership standard.

Which leads me to the burning question – who was my player of the series? Well, my heart of course has to go with Rob Kearney, who at least emulated if not surpassed his achievements from Pretoria yesterday. But since he wasn’t picked to start in the first Test, if I was forced to go with someone who began all three, I would have to go with Mike Phillips.

He’s not the world’s most technically gifted scrum-half by any means, but in a Test series like this one where the opponents were going to be physical, he was certainly the right man for the job, as you can see from the above pic. I know I’ll be accused of donning my Leinster cap when I say this, but I honestly don’t think an O’Leary/O’Gara half-back line would have done any better than the two Welshmen did over the three matches.

Plus the Ospreys No 9 was able to spurn the amorous advances of Bakkies Botha who seemingly was hypnotized by his “sexy blue eyes”. That surely must have been tough for him to ignore, so I’ll give him the nod, if for no other reason than to avoid being considered a “one-eyed Irishman”!!!

So that’s it, the series and the tour is over for another four years. FINALLY we can bring the curtain down on the Northern Hemisphere’s season, and thank God it ended on a high note so we won’t be subjected to Sky’s doom and gloom which was trying to make us over on this side of the Irish Sea forget all the amazing things that happened this year.

We also mustn't forget that although South Africa won the series when it came to actual match victories, we can at least claim SOME bragging rights in that we scored more points, more tries, AND had fewer players banned, so THERE!!!

And with the Geech announcing this tour as his swansong, I'd say few could argue if I put the name Declan Kidney forward as presumptive coach of the 2013 tour Down Under...

Though as we all know, from a world standpoint, the rugby season NEVER actually ends, and in just two weeks the Tri-Nations kicks off in Auckland with the first Bledisloe Cup encounter. In previous years I have cheered for the Saffers in this tournament…I think it’s high time I switched allegiance to the Wallabies. That’s what I call justice ;-)

Springboks-28 LIONS-25

DEAR OH DEAR OH DEAR

It would be very easy for a Leinster blogger to blame Ronan O’Gara for this loss, wouldn’t it?

Well, the facts are there…the score was tied 25-25, and if he had only allowed du Preez to try and catch the ball unimpeded, the chances are the Springboks wouldn’t have been able to get close enough for an easy drop goal in the remaining 90 seconds. But he didn’t.

So we’ve established that ultimately his boo-boo caused the defeat, and as you can see by the pic above, he knows all about it himself.

But let’s look at what else went against us on the day, for we surely can’t point the finger at ROG for the fact that we let a 19-8 advantage slip in the last 20 minutes.

For the entire week between the First and Second Tests, debate was raging about what went wrong and how we should fix it, and the general consensus was simple – fix the front row, and with a tighter more disciplined scrum, we could surely count on our backs to score some points, particularly our powerful centre duo of BOD and Roberts.

So what happens? First, just 5 mins into the second period, we lose BOTH props to injury. And then the killer blow – BOD and Roberts BOTH succumb to injury within a matter of minutes.

And the Lions are left with a completely patchwork formation to try and hold the lead going into the last quarter, as if dealing with the altitude wasn’t going to be enough for them anyway.

O’Gara was actually playing centre. Ronan O’Gara. Centre. Not his fault he was there, but he was there. And what’s more, he had been flat on his back moments Fourie scored his try towards the end so was hardly in a position to make a tackle. So even with a makeshift defence virtually minus a centre, it took an incredible outstretched touchdown right in the corner coupled with an out-of-this world place kick to drag the home side back into this match.

My point is, there’s plenty of reasons for the Lions to feel proud about their display on the day, and I’d better not hear anyone trying to dampen the Irish contribution because despite the slip at the end there was plenty for us to shout about.

Most of all, what about Rob Kearney? Bloody hell, he’d have caught the damn ball if it was on fire and STILL ran for ten/twenty metres afterwards! Not to mention the strength he showed in crossing for our only try! It was a full-back’s performance that had us going “Who was wearing number 15 last week again?” The only reason we didn’t hear so much from him in the second half was that the Boks finally worked out that kicking to him wasn’t such a good idea.

And spare a thought as well for Paul O’Connell. “Was he playing?” you may ask. Well he most certainly was, and Sky’s commentators didn’t give him a single iota of credit for the hard work he was doing. He had clearly made up his mind to forget the ball and police the breakdown himself, making sure South African hands weren’t doing anything they shouldn’t.

Not that he could have stopped Burger’s “cite for sore eyes” on Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute. Should it have been a sending-off? If the ref had the benefit of a replay, absolutely.  I’d even consider throwing the book at Pierre Spies because it looks like he’s holding Luke’s hand down while it’s happening.  Just what is it about these tours and incidents like this from the home side?

So that’s it, folks. Another defeat for this composite touring side, and I wonder what that means for the future of these occasions.

Just one thing I ask of the press coverage of the Lions between now and next week … PLEASE don’t give in to the temptation to use the worn-out pun “Playing For Pride” (I used it way back before the tour even started!)……

LIONS-37 Royal XV-25

Also this weekend…

(Super 14 final) BULLS-61 CHIEFS-17

(Int friendly) USA-10 IRELAND-27

Well you would’ve thought the Heineken Cup Final would have meant the END of the rugby season, wouldn’t you?

Not at all. Truth be told, the rugby season NEVER ENDS.

Take this weekend just gone, for example. With the sun splitting the skies here in the aul’ sod, my DVR was on overdrive so I could be sure and catch all the big rugger action. And there were indeed some interesting encounters to behold.

For me, the most significant result for the touring Lions squad didn’t come from Rustenberg where Paul O’Connell’s men laboured to victory with a few late scores. It was instead over at Loftus Verstveld Stadium in Pretoria.

It would seem the Bulls are to South African rugby what the Ospreys are to the Welsh, in that they comprise the bulk of the national team. And my word, did they put the Chiefs to the sword on Saturday, killing the showpiece Super14 final before even the halftime hooter sounded.

Matfield, Botha, Steyn, Habana and particularly scrum half du Preez are just some of the names we’ll be getting more used to when the tests come round at the end of June, and if the Lions are going to find it hard to beat a group of players from the 3rd tear of the Springbok system, things could indeed get ugly for the tourists.

As for the performance itself by the Lions, only Lee Byrne stood out and he surely must have nailed down the Test No15 shirt for himself with that display alone. The rest of the display was a litany of mistakes which the Geech will want eradicated immediately.

But not to worry, you Lions fans. Don’t forget, the bulk of the Leinster contingent was not involved, and once Jamie Heaslip took the field, things began to turn for the boys in red.

Meanwhile, over in the US of A, there was a match for the ludicrously-named “Setanta Sports Challenge Cup”. I mean, come on…are you for real??? You think anyone who knows anything about rugby really gives a toss about a trophy for a game like this? Well, I guess it was a way to get yankee bums on seats, and it seems to have worked, albeit in a tiny college football stadium.

Kidney’s team of nearly men didn’t fare much better than the Lions did, either. In fact, you wonder what how much closer the scoreline would be had the Americans been allowed to collapse the maul as they would have one week earlier.

And as for Keatley’s place kicking, if that’s what you call it – TAKE QUICKER KICKS SON!!!! For me, the longer you take to prepare your kick the more you’d damn well better make it! And he didn’t make many on the day. I very much doubt Messrs Sexton and O’Gara will be losing any sleep.

Here’s hoping the second batch of Lions captained by Drico on Wednesday can show they mean business – otherwise we’re going to see three very long, boring tests in a few week’s time.