Let’s draw a line under this extra time debate

WHAT’S wrong with a draw? Especially one that is as honourable as that played out between the Lions and New Zealand in the third Test at Eden Park last Saturday, which tied up the series after it finished 15-15 on the scoreboard.

The hype-mongers may not like draws, because all they want is a black and white outcome, a heroes and villains pantomime. The idea that a draw is somehow weird is also mirrored by one of the biggest cliches in sport, and the one most frequently trotted out by coaches who are paid on results. Namely, that a draw is “like kissing your sister”.

Thankfully, great sport is not always about getting the outcome you want. It is about the drama of evenly matched combatants moving might and main to win – and sometimes in the maelstrom of the contest the compelling action we witness is laced with half-truths and even downright contradictions.

On some occasions, when everything has been left out there by the combatants, the honours are even – and rightly so – because neither can overthrow the other in the mighty battle of wills.

That was the case in Auckland last weekend when the Lions refused to leave New Zealand as losers, and the All Blacks could not find a way to win.

In the aftermath it emerged that the idea of having a tiebreaker in the event of a draw was dismissed during the tour negotiations.

The NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said they had considered a number of options. These included points for and against, the team with the most tries, ten minutes extra time, extra time with sudden death, and penalty shoot-outs.

It raises important differences between a tour and tournaments like the World Cup. Tour games played by the Lions against provincial opposition have never been played under tournament rules demanding a conclusive win-lose result.

Most people who left the Cake Tin in Wellington after the 31-31 draw between the Lions and the Hurricanes earlier in the tour were talking about the scintillating game they had seen rather than clamouring for a winner. That is the touring tradition, and it follows that you would not change it for the Test series unless there was a compelling reason to do so.

Tew also had an interesting slant on the potential injustices it could promote in the event that a player was sent off in the deciding Test, instead of the second Test, like All Black centre Sonny Bill Williams.

“Imagine if it was last week’s situation, where one team was down to 14 guys for 55 minutes and then had to play another 10 minutes of extra time – would that have been a fair outcome, given that they battled through the whole game with fewer players?”

My response is that it would be as fair an outcome as you get with any red or yellow card offence when a player’s transgression costs his team – and that if they have to play with 14 men in extra time that is a self-inflicted wound.

Tew’s next observation made better sense: “What we, in the end, determined was that if you played 240-odd minutes against each other and you are still locked up, then surely that’s a reflection the two sides are pretty equal.”

As for penalty shoot-outs the most infamous to date was the one that settled the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final between Cardiff Blues and Leicester when the teams were still tied at 26-26 after extra time.

With the kicks being taken in front of the posts on the 22, by the time the first five nominated kickers on each side had stepped up it was 5-5.

The ruling was that the remaining ten players in the starting line-up would exchange kicks until there was a result. At 6-6 it was the turn of Martyn Williams, one of the finest openside flankers Wales has produced, and as the nerves got to him he kicked wide – and when Leicester No.8 Jordan Crane – who was a handy teenage footballer – hit the target, Cardiff were out.

It was dramatic, but also farcical because goal-kicking is a skill which is limited to fewer than a handful of players in most Rugby Union teams, unlike football penalty shoot-outs where every player earns his corn from kicking accurately.

Had the final Test between the Lions and All Blacks gone to a penalty shootout, with three nominated kickers from, say, 22m, 40m and 50m the smart money would have been on Jonny Sexton, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly ahead of Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Israel Dagg.

However, the 15-15 draw had a much clearer natural justice to it.

“Sometimes the honours are even and rightly so because neither side can overthrow the other in the mighty battle of wills”