The key questions to emerge from British and Irish Lions' tour to South Africa
The British and Irish Lions ended their tour of South Africa with a 2-1 series loss sealed by Saturday’s 19-16 defeat at Cape Town Stadium.
Here the PA news agency looks at some questions emerging from the aftermath of the event.
Are South Africa worthy winners?
Over the course of the three Tests, South Africa edged it and produced the only truly dominant period of rugby when they took ownership of the second half of the second Test, scoring 21 unanswered points. Given the major outbreak of Covid that severely disrupted their build-up and the injuries sustained to key players such as Duane Vermeulen and Pieter-Steph du Toit, they had to overcome adversity to deservedly clinch the series, although the Lions will always be haunted by the opportunities to claim the series for themselves.
What happens now?
The Irish Lions are able to quarantine at home, but as they are returning from a red list destination the English, Welsh and Scottish players will spend 10 days in Jersey where they will be joined by their families before reaching their final destinations. Warren Gatland heads to his native New Zealand on Sunday where he will quarantine in a hotel for 14 nights and then resume as Waikato Chiefs coach. England players begin a mandatory 10-week stand down period consisting five weeks rest away from their club and five weeks of being unavailable for selection. South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus, meanwhile, faces a misconduct charge from World Rugby for his unprecedented attack on the officials from the first Test as his Springboks immediately embark on their Rugby Championship campaign.
What has the tour done for the Lions?
Thanks to a superhuman effort from organisers, coaches, players and staff, the Lions defied the coronavirus pandemic to complete a tour that at times faced an uncertain future. Only those involved will understand the hardship of being in a bubble environment for eight weeks and to emerge with a unified squad that almost snatched the series is a fine achievement in itself. The absence of fans left a chasm at the heart of the enterprise, however, to underline the crucial role the 25,000 travelling supporters play in bringing Lions tours to life. Without them, even interest back home dwindled.
What has it done for rugby?
Possibly the most toxic Lions tour of them all grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons. Erasmus has emerged as rugby’s pantomime villain after he tore up the etiquette of using the traditional media to send messages to referees by instead releasing online a staggering hour-long critique of the officials’ performance from the second Test. It worked too as a week later they spent an inordinate amount of time consulting the TMO to make sure they got calls right. And if Erasmus’ scheming felt like it trampled over an unwritten code, then the tactics used by both teams had even purists reaching for the off switch on their remotes. Some rugby finally broke out in the final Test when Finn Russell stepped on to the pitch, but the series was hardly a showcase for the sport. Even former South Africa boss Peter de Villiers described the side he once coach as “very, very boring”.
Will Gatland lead the next tour?
He has not ruled it out. When asked after the game, he gave an answer that left his options open. In losing to South Africa, his unbeaten record as head coach went up in flames but there is no shame in losing to the world champions while dealing with the limitations necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. As the greatest Lions coach of the professional era, Gatland has emerged as a worthy heir to Sir Ian McGeechan, but at 57-years-old does he have the appetite to be at the helm in Australia in four years’ time? That will become clearer over the coming months, but if his association with the tourists is over then Gregor Townsend and Andy Farrell will come into contention.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments