Lions tour of NZ so thrilling, but will the next one be as good?

THE British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand has been truly wonderful. The, seemingly crazy, decision to play the Super teams and the Maoris in a short space of time has lifted the whole endeavour to a level that is unmatched in rugby history.

In effect we have had a Test match twice a week, building up to a series of three games that are of a status above normal Test rugby.

The first half last week was one of the most gripping 40 minutes imaginable. The Lions tore into the hosts but failed to finish. The All Blacks then surprised by focusing on the Lions pack and its surrounds and, in doing so, took a leaf straight out the Danie Craven playbook. The Doc always advised taking on opponents’ strengths rather than weaknesses.

Remember when he spoke about the South American side that had been hammered by the Boks in a first Test in Pretoria all those years ago? He suggested the Jaguars to take on the mighty Bok pack. The second Test, a week later in Bloem, saw it happen and Hugo Porta, at 10, give a master class that resulted in a massive upset.

Instead of running the Lions wide last week, the New Zealanders first took them on up front, stifled their backs and, in the middle part of the game, expanded play and looked like the complete rugby side. The Lions scored one of the all-time great tries, up there with Gareth Edwards against the Barbarians, and never gave up. In the end it was 30-15 which was a fair reflection of play. What a game!

What has amazed me about the tour is the reaction of rugby legends as they are watching it. Working with the likes of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Breyton Paulse and Butch James, it’s clear that they are as enchanted as the rest of us. Nothing is predictable. The results are hard to call. The defensive play is frightening in its intensity and the collisions have us all wincing in the studio.

By modern standards, tries are a relative rarity. As such, the currency of each has risen. This is, surely, the way rugby should be played. A hard, unrelenting game with rare moments of creative and spectacular beauty that are talked about forever. We all bask in pleasure at it all.

Last week, watching in studio, I had a moment of revelation. It was bizarre and, totally unexpected.

Yes, rugby people are enthralled, but what about the rest? What about the millions around the world for whom rugby is not a passion? They could, just as easily, watch wrestling, Come Dine with

Me, Kardashian soaps or play on the play station. How would they see the historic tour unfold? Rather than a titanic battle between two belief systems and styles, rugby philosophies, even, they would just see a seemingly endless, procession of giant men crashing into each other in front of a Colosseum-like crowd. Every so often, they would see a small guy kicking the ball as high as he can up into the air. Over and over this is repeated and, occasionally, another little guy kicks the ball between sticks that resemble capital letters. Pretty soon the kids are screaming for the remote and so are the adults.

It is the same as in a cricket Test where one side is hammered and spends the last day playing for a draw. Over after over of desperate defence against hostile pace and wily spin has cricket lovers glued to their sets in raptures. It has others thinking they are watching glue dry.

US gridiron football is spectacular when teams throw and receivers run but, when they play it tight, to the uninitiated, it is turgid beyond belief. To the aficionado this is the game at its most crucial time as energy is used up and the vital battle for ascendancy is waged. To the rest it seems as pointless as it is boring. The excitement of the analysts on TV during the interminable stoppages adds insult to injury. Or so it seems.

Here is the question. In an age where television revenue, that depends on viewership numbers for advertising, fuels a sport, can it survive by satisfying the connoisseur first and foremost? Sadly, the answer is no. So expect rugby law changes and interpretations in the near future that outlaw blanket defence, curb line speed and restrict driving forward play.

Enjoy this amazing series because the next one will resemble basketball. Purity in rugby will give way to expediency. Mark my words.

“And all men kill the thing they love, By all let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word.”