Irish stars pride of the Lions

THE dust has hardly settled on the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, but already plans are being drawn up for Australia 2013.

Following Clive Woodward’s embarrassing 2005 show, there were real fears for the future of the Lions brand. Ian McGeechan and Gerald Davies deserve huge credit for getting this concept back on track.

In front of 40,000 British and Irish supporters through a 10-match campaign, the Lions emerged with seven wins, a draw and two defeats. Even though they lost the Test series, they lost with dignity and could quire easily have reversed the 2-1 loss.

They produced a good quality of rugby, particularly in the Tests when they played the better rugby over 240 minutes. That was reflected in the fact they scored seven tries to five and outscored the Springboks 74 points to 63.

From an Irish perspective, it will be deemed a success with Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll, captain Paul O’Connell, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace and eventually John Hayes all producing starring roles in the Test series, while Luke Fitzgerald played in the second and both Donncha O’Callaghan and Ronan O’Gara got cameo roles in the first and second Tests.

The Lions will be remembered fondly in South Africa despite whipping up the occasional storm. Their third Test display will leave the Springboks with plenty food for thought.

Writing in the Sunday Tribune, Mike Greenway noted: “They (Lions) were passionate, they were brilliant and the magnitude of their dominance of the game gave credence to the contention that they did not deserve to lose the series.

“The Springboks weren’t just beaten; they were smashed by a focused team that played brilliant rugby from start to finish. They (Lions) were playing for more than just pride, they were clearly playing to prove that they could play good rugby and still win. They have played pretty good rugby right through, with the odd hiccup, but against top class opposition this was the best display of the tour.”

Reflecting on the financial implications, both the rugby authorities and government were pleased. Although the SARFU came in for strong criticism because of ticket pricing policy – and only the second Test in Pretoria attracted a full house – the government can reflect on a huge financial windfall.

The 40,000 overseas supporters spent in excess of €100m over the seven weeks of the tour; indeed despite the ticket price controversy, SARFU also coined it through sponsorship and merchandising, exceeding targets by 25%.

A SARU spokesperson also hit out: “Perhaps we could have adjusted our ticket prices, but we’re happy with the average return of 35,214 per game and a Test match average of 52,850.

“In terms of hospitality we averaged around 12,000 spectators per Test match; that’s almost double the number we cater for in a Tri-Nations game. We are very pleased with the way the tour went, particularly because the concurrent hosting of the Confederations Cup complicated matters.

“The small attendances at the early games was worrying but it picked up quickly and we made a significant profit on the venture overall. That profit will be distributed between the 14 rugby provinces.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Ian McGeechan will be busily preparing an end-of-tour report with strong recommendations as to future requirements. Both he and Lions manager Gerald Davies are singing from the same hymn sheet in relation to what is needed to help the Lions through Australia in 2013.

While McGeechan might like an extra game or two, his most pressing demand will be for the touring party to be given more time to work together and that will mean a more compacted season.

The British and Irish Lions concept is as big as a World Cup in the eyes of the players, reasoned McGeechan; therefore the people who run the game and particularly the unions involved must take that into account.

“Just because the Lions have been around a long time doesn’t mean that it is old fashioned and out of tune. If you speak to any of the players you will know there is nothing bigger than this and it includes World Cups,” he said.

McGeechan won’t be around to lead the 2013 tour, not as head coach anyway, he insisted. In the meantime, he is prepared to put his reputation on the line to ensure that his successor gets more air time with his players.

Although he didn’t succeed in leading the class of 2009 to victory, you get the feeling he will win that argument.