(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Of all the tests the first is probably the one South African players will be showing to their grandchildren in years to come. For the first 60 minutes, the Boks were dominant in every nearly every facet of the game: maul, lineout, territory and most infamously, scrum.
They were the World Champions we'd come to know in their element, turning Lions into cubs in their wake.
The Beast had a standout performance come scrum-time. His direct opponent Phil Vickery could not cope and with Botha behind him and Aluyn Wyn Jones behind Vickery it was simply no contest in that area. It was the needless penalties conceded in this area that was to eventual be the difference between the two sides at the end of the game.
Overall, first impressions were clear for me. South Africa were more than willing to stick to a two dimensional set-piece orientated 10-man game and the Lions would have no other option but to use their superior backline and creativity seeing as kicking for touch and contesting the lineouts with Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha around was a no-no.
Not just that but the sheer physicality and conditioning of the Boks was worrying to me as a Lions supporter.
These guys clearly weren't going to be pushed around. They may not be great passers and they may struggle against quick ball and good movement coming off the ruck but it brought home the point more than ever that if you want to succeed in a contact sport -you had better get good at contact!
This point was brought home, painfully in the second test as many walked off injured. As The Lions tour doctor, Dr. James Robson, a veteran of 5 tours put it quite plainly:
"I can only measure it anecdotally and subjectively from my view but I would have to say this has been the most physical tour, the most physical Test matches I have been involved in.”
But the second test was role reversal. Adam Jones drove the Beast upward at the scrum, turnovers were found aplenty for the Lions and Rob Kearney's catching and counter-attacking negated Steyn, Du Preez and Pienaars kicking. As a result the dominant pack was unable to exert dominance in the areas that it mattered. Shaw seen to the mauls.
With the Lions roaring two things happened that changed the face of the game and the series: Numerous injuries to key personnel like Jones and Jenkins (leading to uncontested scrums) and the likes of Bowe, O'Driscoll, Roberts.
And Ronan bleeding O'Gara who was culpably responsible for a 10-point swing and with that, the end of the series.
I'm not going to bleat on about O'Gara here but him at centre was just never going to work in a million years.
Full credit most go to Steyn, Pienaar himself had a bit of a shocker and Steyn's all round game and kicking was imperious coming off the bench and with his 45m penalty, the Lions lost in the end by three points; A tale of so close and yet so far away.
The third test was in a word: redemption. O'Gara was exiled totally from the 22 and the Lions gave a performance that fully merited a win. Shane Williams, Ugo Monye, Riki Flutey and Jamie Heaslip threw aside the various cobwebs of criticisms that had been made against them over the tour and put in world-class performances to the man.
Final thoughts
Ultimately my interest in rugby has peaked with the series. All the games were crackers. The second test is probably the best game I have ever seen and I really feel a lot more affinity with the Lions now, despite the series loss.
They've proven to be a wonderful tradition over their 100-year history and they still are in my opinion. They're unique to rugby as a sport and thus, for me make it special.
People that say the Lions belong to a bygone amateur era have been made to eat their words in my opinion. Both teams took the games seriously, coverage and general interest was strong and most importantly the Lions we're competitive; not the ragtag scrabbled together team some would have you believe.
Overall I'm proud of the Lions.
[Please read on for my Lions player ratings.]
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