Extra-time needed to avoid Lions anti-climax – Brooke

THE Lions and Springboks should get the chance to fight it out until there is an outright winner next summer to avoid another ‘deflating’ dead lock. Zinzan Brooke believes Warren Gatland should arrange with his South African counterparts to ensure there is no repeat of the series draw against New Zealand.

The All Black legend feels it would be wrong to allow a similar awkward finale to the one which saw the tourists grab a dramatic draw in at Eden Park three years ago but stroll off wondering whether to celebrate or not.

It was only the second tied series in Lions’ history and the first since they shared the spoils with the Springboks in 1955.

Gatland will lead the tourists for a third time for what is already a relatively truncated assignment of five warm-up games and three Tests but no traditional midweek dirt-tracker clashes to really test their mettle and resolve.

Brooke insists it would be a huge shame if neither team could celebrate a series victory.

“Why not have extra time?” Brooke said. “It makes sense and it would be even better TV! You want to see a team enjoying the victory not wondering what to do with themselves! That was the deflating thing for me.

“It’s important for these huge tours to be decided in a better manner than the one in 2017. They are massive events and you should never see another threegame series finish in a draw. There has to be a more definitive outcome; the players and fans want to see a clear winner and I think the sport needs it too.

“We had three magnificent Tests in New Zealand in 2017 but also an anticlimax for both teams in terms of the result. A drawn series is never a good thing for anyone.

“I know the Lions were delighted to avoid defeat in that last game, and flew home without losing the series, but they would have been half empty inside.

“There should have be an extra 30 minutes played to find a winner. It made sense to keep going and I sensed the Lions would have been up for it.”