British and Irish Lions: How the walking wounded become prey

We have witnessed five very interesting games, in which the British & Irish Lions have played and beaten:

1. The Royal XV — 25-37
2. The Lions — 10-74
3. The Cheetahs — 24-26
4. The Sharks — 3-39
5. Western Province — 23-26

Next up on the Lions menu are the Southern Kings on June 16. I have studied the form of the Lions, on and off the field, as well as their philanthropic forays into very challenged and economically depressed communities. Their organisation, preparation and planning has been meticulous, professional and above all focussed on developing a team spirit amongst each other, they work towards playing as a unit.

What we are witnessing — the Lions team and management infusing themselves into South African culture, sport and rugby was scripted over 12 months ago and is being executed with aplomb now.

I am not going to single out any one player in the Lions squad but what we have been looking at is a revered hands-on skilled coaching unit, like no other, overseeing very thorough offensive and defensive plays amongst the backs and forwards in various combinations against 4 teams and then will round off their preparation in advance of the first test on June 20, with WP yesterday and the Southern Kings on Tuesday.

I am no rugby prophet, but predict that the Southern Kings on Tuesday will be vanquished and pillaged by an ignominious Lions’ margin of more than half a century in points. This quite simply is the order of playing professional rugby and establishing an international rugby playing unit like the Lions have become.

What is so sad is that in 1955, another half century ago, Eastern Province beat the Lions at home in Port Elizabeth and we will witness this week how Lions rugby has progressed and Eastern Cape rugby has regressed.

See the Lions Legends of the 1950s at this link.

These six games out of the way then leaves the Lions and Springboks clash for June 20. Again, expect the Lions to have tasted first blood with their preparation with these past six games and they will be ready to deliver an incisive blow in the first quarter of the game against the Springboks.

The Springboks and their media machine might well believe what has been written up by the South African media but there are 70 international journalists following the British & Irish Lions Tour that seem to know otherwise and it is an ominous sign when not one of them turned up today for a Western Province media function.

On Friday, the Southern Kings unveiled their jersey and sponsors. I was expecting a noble and bold statement of the direction and strategic positioning of a team filled with Eastern Cape players. Instead the media was presented with a bald mannequin and rag bag, potpourri of sponsors names on the players’ jersey. I cannot begin to tell you how much it pains me to watch this fatal and terminal train wreck in slow motion when it could so easily have been avoided and the dignity of South African rugby and Eastern Cape rugby preserved with a coherent organised strategy.

It distresses me to witness the reckless and negligent manner in which rugby in South Africa and especially the Eastern Cape is being mismanaged.

If SA Rugby were a parent and the Eastern Cape a child, child welfare and social services would have been called in a long time ago.

It seems the Springboks and their set-up could be fair game and an endangered species on this Tour if they are unable to gel as a unit. There is much parochial and partisanship sentiment that runs like deep fissures through the Springbok camp that could find them caught completely unawares on Saturday, June 20. They could suffer a defeat from a potent, cohesive and spirited Lions unit. A mauling of sorts if you will, as it will be ugly and many preconceived notions of superiority and strength will be fractured.

What’s this you say? Pause for a moment and think how nature is totally unforgiving of a wounded and incapacitated springbok be it with a sore foot, sore leg, age, sickness or any other ailment.

These injuries put the springbok at the back of the herd and the predatory Lion, with a skilled eye in sussing out the weak and infirm, zeroing in on these animals for a quick kill.

So too then, if we, or our opposition, are strategists, we would surely consider the weak and infirm of the opposing side we are due to play in 7 days.

Well if you are plotting the demise of the Springboks, how could one overlook, the torn calf muscle of Schalk Burger, or the torn groin muscle of Jean de Villiers and Ruan Pienaar. Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie also come off injuries and these all have to be aggravated in the field of play on Saturday.

But therein lies the danger and if anything can mobilise and marshal the Springboks it is a mauling by the Lions that could result in a ding-dong battle on June 27 in which the hunter becomes the hunted.