British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa: The Art of Winning a Series
The British & Irish Lions landed in Johannesburg two weeks ago and have been the most gracious, complimentary visitors. They have visited under-privileged schools, some by helicopter, to which they will donate funds and resources, hold press conferences and laud the South African players and coaches, like they were a travelling social side.
Their media briefings have been delightful and courteous and thrilled the local media with their professionalism.
On closer inspection of the Lions team working out at St David’s school in Johannesburg, the layout of the field, their carefully planned training sessions and their transportation to and from their hotel, one is able to observe the British & Irish Lions as a unit and it is startling to see the understated quiet professionalism of the entire squad of players and management.
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The training field has been prepped with the sponsors’ signage, within the television arc and press shots and the luxury bus transporting the team to and fro is branded to perfection.
Each of the players has more than 70 items of sponsored, branded kit for the duration of the tour and the team is rapidly coming together, ever so quietly and menacingly, as a unit. The signs are there.
The South African public have been provided images of the smiling faces of coaches and a couple of the players at media briefings, but underneath all this facade, there is an air of a silent assassin at work, watching their quarry and then launching a number of deadly strikes.
It is clear that the pre-planning and attention to detail by the Lions, with the focus on winning, is probably the most methodical, meticulous and professional yet seen in South Africa. It is smooth and sophisticated.
The Springboks pride themselves on their logistics and attention to detail and have similarly disseminated images of themselves in training throwing the ball around on their training ground in Pretoria, interviews with the coaches, but none of this compares with the precision of the Lions.
This precision started last year when the Lions insisted on neutral referees for the Tests in South Africa and three site visits by the logistics managers and the coaching personnel, slipping quietly in and out of South Africa.
The question at hand for Ian McGeechan is does he brief his Lions side to pull out all stops and play to their maximum, dictating a Northern Hemisphere pattern of play or will he be adventurous and test the South African style of super rugby with high up and unders and learn to attack and counter attack by using the six warm-up games to test various offence and defence styles?
Either way, the South African teams have yet to feel the potency and precision of a McGeechan/Gatland Lions team, who look to be formidable opponents not to be underestimated.
Ten games in total. Three are Tests on June 20 (Durban), June 27 (Pretoria) and July 4 (Johannesburg). Five games at altitude and five at sea level.
Wed 10 Jun 19:10 Sharks v British & Irish Lions The Absa Stadium
Sat 13 Jun 15:00 Western Province v British & Irish Lions Newlands
Tue 16 Jun 15:00 Southern Kings XV v British & Irish Lions Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Sat 20 Jun 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions The Absa Stadium
Tue 23 Jun 19:10 Emerging Springboks v British & Irish Lions Newlands
Sat 27 Jun 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions Loftus Versfeld
Sat 4 Jul 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions Coca-Cola Park
Paul O'Connell will lead the British & Irish Lions once again when they play their fourth fixture against the Sharks at the ABSA Stadium in Durban on Wednesday night.
London Wasps and England centre Riki Flutey is included among the replacements after recovering from the knee strain he picked up in his 13-minute appearance as a replacement in the opening game against the Royal XV. He is now the only member of the 38-strong squad to yet make a start on tour.
“I’m delighted that, as we head into the fourth match, we only have one player (Martyn Williams - left shoulder) who is unavailable for selection. The players and the medical staff have managed the injuries that have been sustained in a very professional manner,” said head coach Ian McGeechan.
“This is crucial as we enter matches against two of South Africa’s strongest provinces in the Sharks and Western Province in the space of four days.
This is reflected by the fact that four starting players from the Cheetahs match will back up against the Sharks, while five players are starting their third match of the tour—Paul O’Connell, Lee Byrne, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts and David Wallace.
“Paul will start with his third different second row partner, Alun-Wyn Jones, while we also have new starting partnerships in the back three, the half-backs and in the front row.
“The next two matches are obviously critical in the development of the Test side. While we have these new starting partnerships for the Sharks match we also have a centre pairing in Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll, and a back row of Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace and Tom Croft that have played together on tour in the Golden Lions match.”
The ABSA Stadium is the venue for the first Test and so it will be a useful experience for the Lions to get used to the venue ahead of that crucial fixture.
“We are now halfway through the provincial matches prior to the first Test and the important factor is that the Lions are unbeaten. The next challenge is the Sharks in Durban,” said tour manager Gerald Davies.
“The selected team will want to ensure that the 100-per-cent playing record is maintained with a victory at ABSA Stadium.”
Lions:
15-Lee Byrne, 14-Shane Williams, 13-Brian O'Driscoll, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-Luke Fitzgerald, 10-Ronan O'Gara, 9-Mike Phillips, 8-Jamie Heaslip, 7-David Wallace, 6-Tom Croft, 5-Paul O'Connell (captain), 4-Alun-Wyn Jones, 3-Adam Jones, 2-Lee Mears, 1-Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16-Matthew Rees, 17-Phil Vickery, 18-Simon Shaw, 19-Joe Worsley, 20-Mike Blair, 21-Riki Flutey, 22- Leigh Halfpenny.
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