British & Irish Lions Tour: The Hunter Becomes The Hunted.

We have witnessed five very interesting games, in which the British and Irish Lions have played and beaten:

1. The Royal XV—25-37
2. The Lions—10-74
3. The Cheetahs—24-26
4. The Sharks—3-39
5. Western Province—23-26

Next up on the Lions' menu are the Southern Kings on the 16th of June.

I have studied the form of the Lions, on and off the field, as well as their philanthropic forrays into very challenged and economically depressed communities. I have also looked at their organization, preparation, and planning, all of which have been meticulous, professional, and, above all, focused on developing a team spirit amongst each other. This team spirit works towards helping the individuals play as a unit. What we are witnessing—the Lions team and management infusing themselves into South African culture, sport, and rugby, that was scripted over 12 months ago and is being executed with aplomb now.

I am not going to single out any one player in the Lions squad, but what we have been looking at is a revered hands-on, skilled coaching unit like no other overseeing very thorough offensive and defensive plays amongst the backs and forwards, in various combinations, against four teams. They rounded off their preparation in advance of the first test on the 20th of June, with Western Province yesterday and the Southern Kings on Tuesday.

I am no rugby prophet, but I predict that the Southern Kings, on Tuesday, will be vanquished and pillaged by the Lions, by an ignominious margin of over half a century in points. This, quite simply, is the order of playing professional rugby and establishing an international rugby playing unit like the Lions have become. What is so sad is that in 1955, another half century ago, Eastern Province beat the Lions at home in Port Elizabeth; and we will witness, this week, how Lions rugby has progressed and Eastern Cape rugby has regressed. See the Lions Legends of the 1950s here.

These six games out of the way,  leaves the Lions and the Springboks clash for the 20th of June. Again, expect the Lions to have tasted first blood with their preparation with these past six games and they will be ready to deliver an incisive blow in the first quarter of the game against the Springboks. The Springboks and their media machine might well believe the press that has been written up by the South African media, but there are 70 international press following the British & Irish Lions Tour that seem to know otherwise; and it is an ominous sign when not one of them turned up today for a Western Province media function.

On Friday, the Southern Kings unveiled their jersey and sponsors and rather than a noble and bold statement of the direction and strategic positioning of a team filled with Eastern Cape players, intended to be a stimulus to rugby in the region. A bald mannequin with a rag bag, pot pourri of sponsors' names on the player's jersey, was revealed to the media.

This is like Dead Man Walking and I cannot begin to tell you how much it pains me to watch this fatal and terminal train wreck in slow motion, when it could so easily have been avoided and the dignity of South African rugby and Eastern Cape rugby preserved, with a coherent organized strategy.

It distresses me to no end to witness the reckless and negligent manner in which rugby in South Africa, and especially the Eastern Cape, is being mismanaged.

If South African Rugby were a parent and the Eastern Cape a child, Child Welfare and Social Services would have been called in a long time ago.

It seems that the Springboks and their set up could be fair game and an endangered species on this Tour if they are unable to gel as a unit. There is much parochial and partisanship sentiment that runs like deep fissures through the Springbok camp that could find them caught completely unawares on Saturday the 20th. These fissures could mean that they suffer a defeat from a potent cohesive and spirited Lions unit.

A mauling of sorts, if you will, as it will be ugly and many preconceived notions of superiority and strength will be fractured. What's this you say? Pause for a moment and think how nature is totally unforgiving of a wounded and incapacitated springbok, be it with a sore foot, sore leg, age, sickness, or any other ailment.

These injuries, invariably put the springbok at the back of the herd and the predatory Lion, invariably with a skilled eye in sussing out the weak and infirm, zeroes in on these animals for a quick kill. So too then, if we, or our opposition, are something of a strategist, we would surely consider the weak and infirm of the opposing side we are due to play in seven days.

Well if you are plotting the demise of the Springboks, how could one overlook, the torn calf muscle of Schalk Burger, or the torn groin muscles of Jean de Villiers and Ruan Pienaar. Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie also come off injuries and these all have to be aggravated in the field of play on Saturday.

But therein lies the danger, as if anything could mobilize and marshal the Springboks, is a mauling by the Lions that would see a ding dong battle on the 27th of June in which the hunter becomes the hunted.