First impressions: British & Irish Lions tour

The British & Irish Lions landed in Johannesburg a few days ago and have been the most gracious, complimentary visitors. They have visited under-privileged schools, some by helicopter, to which they will donate funds and resources, hold press conferences and laud the South African players and coaches, like they were a travelling social side.

Their media briefings have been delightful and courteous and thrilled the local media with their professionalism. On closer inspection of the Lions team working out at St David’s school in Johannesburg, the layout of the field, their carefully planned training sessions and their transportation to and from their hotel, one is able to observe the British & Irish Lions as a unit and it is startling to see the understated quiet professionalism of the entire squad of players and management.

The training field has been prepped with the sponsors’ signage, within the television arc and press shots and the luxury bus transporting the team to and fro is branded to perfection. Each of the players has more than 70 items of sponsored, branded kit for the duration of the tour and the team is rapidly coming together, ever so quietly and menacingly, as a unit. The signs are there.

The South African public have been provided images of the smiling faces of coaches and a couple of the players at media briefings, but underneath all this facade, there is an air of a silent assassin at work, watching their quarry and then launching a number of deadly strikes. It is clear that the preplanning and attention to detail by the Lions, with the focus on winning, is probably the most methodical, meticulous and professional yet seen in South Africa. It is smooth and sophisticated.

The Springboks pride themselves on their logistics and attention to detail and have similarly disseminated images of themselves in training throwing the ball around on their training ground in Pretoria, interviews with the coaches, but none of this compares with the precision of the Lions. This precision started last year when the Lions insisted on neutral referees for the Tests in South Africa and three site visits by the logistics managers and the coaching personnel, slipping quietly in and out of South Africa.

This Saturday a SA XV, comprising a few Springboks, due to injury and the Super 14 final in Pretoria, play a warm-up game against a Namibian side in Windhoek. Well not entirely a complete Namibian side, but it does include a number of elite players that will likely be seen again in the Southern Kings on June 16. The Lions on the other hand, reveal their claws for the first time against a Royal XV side comprising elite players from the Highveld at 15h00 local time and then watch the Super 14 final at 17h30 local time between the Blue Bulls and the Chiefs playing at Loftus.

It gives the Lions the opportunity to test the altitude and their team cohesion up-front in the forwards and the backs, against a loose-knit elite South African side that will demonstrate the “South African Super Rugby” style of play and an abundance of vigour. The risk here for the Lions could be injuries as they have five additional warm-up games, against various South African sides, after the Royal XV.

The question at hand for Ian McGeechan is does he brief his Lions side to pull out all stops and play to their maximum, dictating a Northern Hemisphere pattern of play or will he be adventurous and test the South African style of super rugby with high up and unders and learn to attack and counter attack by using the six warm-up games to test various offence and defence styles?

Either way, the South African teams have yet to feel the potency and precision of a McGeechan/Gatland Lions team, who look to be formidable opponents not to be underestimated.

Ten games in total. Three are Tests on June 20 (Durban), June 27 (Pretoria) and July 4 (Johannesburg). Five games at altitude and five at sea level.

Sat 30 May 15:00 Highveld XV v British & Irish Lions Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace

Wed 3 Jun 19:10 Golden Lions v British & Irish Lions Coca-Cola Park

Sat 6 Jun 15:00 Cheetahs v British & Irish Lions Vodacom Park

Wed 10 Jun 19:10 Sharks v British & Irish Lions The Absa Stadium

Sat 13 Jun 15:00 Western Province v British & Irish Lions Newlands

Tue 16 Jun 15:00 Southern Kings XV v British & Irish Lions Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Sat 20 Jun 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions The Absa Stadium

Tue 23 Jun 19:10 Emerging Springboks v British & Irish Lions Newlands

Sat 27 Jun 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions Loftus Versfeld

Sat 4 Jul 15:00 South Africa v British & Irish Lions Coca-Cola Park

British & Irish Lions Team versus Royal XV on Saturday May 30:

15. Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales)
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland)
13. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)
10. Ronan O’Gara (Munster/Ireland)
9. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland)
8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
7. Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
6. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)
5. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland) captain
4. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)
3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
2. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
1. Andrew Sheridan (Sales Sharks/England)

Replacements:
16. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
17. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England)
18. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
19. Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland)
20. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)
21. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
22. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)