These Tests are huge – even for referees
Officiating in the biggest tour in world rugby is a memory I will hold dear for the rest of my life
ALions Test is more of an event than a match. It would not have been possible for me to have known this had I not had the privilege of being the man in the middle on two occasions – the British and Irish Lions against Australia in Melbourne, the second Test of the 2001 series, and against New Zealand in the third Test in Auckland in 2005.
They were both memorable, and, for me, career-defining.
As Jaco Peyper is about to find out, the support is immense, and the prestige involved for all concerned is something they hold very dear for the rest of their lives.
As a referee, I would rate it as one of the most notable appointments I received in a career spanning almost 18 years, 70 Tests and four Rugby World Cups. Most referees on the circuit are excluded from these matches and many of the best will never referee these amazing fixtures.
I had refereed the Lions against Free State in 1997, a match Fran Cotton described as one of the best he had seen on a tour. I was a greenhorn then but what impressed me most about the Lions was how much that game meant to not just the team, but all the players and management on the tour.
That game in Melbourne in 2001 was played under a roof and was preceded by a rock concert. It was almost surreal. The atmosphere was incredible and did not let up until the final whistle.
The game actually did turn out to be the pivotal one of the series, with the Lions wasting many great opportunities to put the game out of reach by half-time.
The Wallabies won quite comfortably on the scoreboard but that could not have been further from the truth as they could easily have been down by 20 at half-time.
Perhaps because of the intensity of the fixture, or perhaps because I was in the zone, the game flashed by and felt like it was over before it began.
One memorable event was a particularly brutal hit from Nathan Grey on Brian O’driscoll, after which he just got to his feet and said “good hit, mate”; a throwback to the good old days .
The third Test at Eden Park four years later did not have nearly the same significance attached to it as the series was over.
Having said that, the Lions gave it their all and went down with all guns blazing. It was still a fabulous occasion and the intensity and tempo was still right up there.
The pace of the game was excellent, but the five tries to one more or less told the story of what happened on match day.