TAKE IT AS RED... THIS TOUR WAS A LIONS TRIUMPH

IT WAS no spur- of-the-moment stunt when Warren Gatland walked into the media conference on Saturday wearing a clown’s nose (below). He had been carrying it for a while and had planned to wear it in the event of a Lions victory. The fact that he did it for a drawn series shows what he really thought of the result. For all the supposed disappointment, the outcome felt like victory. Lots has been made of Gatland’s treatment at the hands of the New Zealand press, but it was pretty mild really. Even the clown caricature wasn’t the worst — not least because the All Blacks hierarchy quickly disowned it as an embarrassment. It was only the fact the Lions wouldn’t let it drop that kept it in the news. Rob Howley was overwrought on the day before the third Test, first saying he never reads the papers, then denouncing the coverage in the papers he doesn’t read as disgraceful.

Look, it’s New Zealand. Their rugby obsession borders on sickness, they think the All Blacks are the only team in the world worth watching, and they expect to win every game by 30 points. They are completely boss-eyed over rugby. What did Gatland and his lieutenants expect from the coverage, in the circumstances? Balance? Respect?

The best headline of the tour actually appeared in a newspaper back home. Writing in The Guardian, Nick Evans, a former All Black now coaching at Harlequins, encapsulated the mood of the hosts pre-tour. ‘It’s not arrogance, but New Zealand expects a 10-0 tour whitewash,’ he wrote.

Yes, it is arrogance, Nick. That’s exactly what it is. And stupidity, because if New Zealanders thought the Lions would not win a game, even against the scratch Maori All Blacks or some mid-table Super Rugby teams, they don’t know as much about the sport as they think.

The Lions were always going to be better than that. Red noses, and red faces, for all.