Donal Lenihan: Lions sprinting into a one-nil lead is no guarantee of series success
Chris Harris and Conor Murray have been drafted into Warren Gatland's starting team. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
When it comes to predicting the future, it is advisable to study the lessons of the past. Prior to the staging of the first World Cup, in New Zealand and Australia in 1987, nothing stirred the sporting passions of the rugby-mad Afrikaans community in South Africa more than a test series against New Zealand or the Lions.
While the Lions had only a drawn series in 1955 to show for their efforts since a winning series in 1896, until Willie John McBride’s invincibles powered their way to an epic victory in 1974, the All Blacks never managed a series win in South Africa until Sean Fitzpatrick’s men finally delivered in 1996 after decades of failure.
