Planet Online - Sport

The Lions 2009

24.07.09
The Lions rugby union tour of South Africa will be remembered by many for the eye-gouging incident which occurred in the first minute of the second test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Schalk Burger, winning his fiftieth cap for the Springboks, had led his team onto the field but received an early yellow card which many believed should have been a straight red.

Lions head coach Ian McGeechan was livid at such unsportsmanlike conduct and reacted fiercely when Springboks coach Peter de Villiers appeared to suggest that this type of foul play might be “part of the game”. To McGeechan eye gouging could never be “part of the game”. “It certainly wouldn’t be part of a game I want to be associated with.”

Robert Kitson in The Guardian reminded readers that “the most heinous crime of all is on the rise” and referred to Munster flanker Alan Quinlan’s eye gouging of Leinster’s Leo Cullen during last season's European Cup semi-final. The eight week ban led to Quinlan missing the Lions tour.

The tour itself was very much a what if’tour!
What if Ugo Monye  hadn’t dropped the ball inches from the try line during the Lions’ late surge in the first test?
What if Springboks fly-half Morne Steyn had not succesfully kicked the winning penalty in the last seconds of the second test?
What if Shane Williams had been given more opportunity to shine before he weaved his magical spell in the third test?

It was a narrow series defeat, but the Welsh players were able to return with their heads held high. The legendary All Black hooker Sean Fitzpatrick praised the contribution of the Welsh contingent in particularly the all-Welsh front row of Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones along with the half-back pairing of Mike Phillips and Stephen Jones. Twenty-two-year-old centre Jamie Roberts was named the HSBC Player of the tour even though he missed the final test through injury.

Roger Lewis, Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, reported that Warren Gatland, the Welsh national and Lions forwards coach for the tour was “in a bubbly mood”. “The tour finished on a high with a win over the Springboks and those players, coaches and back room staff who have represented Wales on the tour have done themselves and their nation proud and learned a great deal.”

The lessons learnt will be put severely to the test when Wales plays New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium on 7 November.

Dilwyn Roberts-Young