Lions tour is one that stirs the fans’ blood

There is just something about a British and Irish Lions tour that gets the rugby blood flowing. While most South Africans will be focused on the Springboks’ opening Test against France at Loftus Versfeld next week, there is also huge interest in the Lions’ opening game in New Zealand tomorrow against a Provincial Unions outfit.

Their upcoming series brings back memories of the last time the Lions visited SA eight years ago, when the Boks won 2-1 and took revenge for a series defeat by the same margin back in 1997.

I was lucky enough to attend those three Tests in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as midweek matches against the Royal Bafokeng XV in Rustenburg and a disjointed Lions team at Ellis Park, after the Johannesburg side had sacked popular coach Loffie Eloff merely days earlier with a player strike looming.

The Boks won a hard-fought first Test in Durban 26-21 and the attention shifted to Loftus for the second Test which was marred by controversy at crucial moments.

Bok flank Schalk Burger was yellow-carded for alleged eye-gouging towards Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute of the game, and the Lions took full advantage to lead 16-5 late in the first half.

The Boks fought back bravely, however, to level the scores at 2525 with seconds left on the clock, before replacement flyhalf Morne Steyn became an instant hero with a 53-metre penalty to give the Boks a 28-25 win and an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

The British media had a real go at Bok coach Peter de Villiers for defending Burger’s act as “part of the game”, with De Villiers stating: “rugby is a contact sport, and so is dancing”.

The former Bok mentor went on to ask: “should we go to the ballet shop for some nice tutus and get a great dancing show going?”

De Villiers made an even more controversial and laughable response to the overseas media’s suggestion that the Boks’ series victory was a fluke.

“Luck is when someone swings a punch in the bar and misses. We showed character and not luck,” he said.

The Lions took revenge by winning the final Test 28-9 at Ellis Park, with the Boks depleted by the bans on Burger and Bakkies Botha, for a shoulder charge on Lions prop Adam Jones.

The tour of the 2017 Lions on Kiwi soil is bound to be an equally action-filled campaign.