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This whole series — both on and off the field — has been a poor advertisement for the game of rugby. Something that promised so much, delivered so little. Across the three games, it was hard to watch at times.
A lot of the stuff that happened off the field, the controversy of Rassie Erasmus as the water boy, the questioning of the officials, was just a sideshow. The hour-long video criticising decisions was something I had never seen before.
Why did it happen? Because his team lost. It’s done to deflect attention and to take pressure off your own players and put that pressure elsewhere.
The Lions Tour ended in disappointment for the visitors as South Africa won the final test
The South Africans ran-out the winners but it was a poor example of the action of the sport
But a lot of what wasn’t a great advertisement happened on the field. It was not enjoyable to watch. If you were put on this planet having never seen rugby before and watched this series, you would not be rushing out to play the game.
Our game deserves more.
It doesn’t mean you want to see 50 tries over the series but we should at least hope for seeing the ball in play, players breaking the lines, putting good defences under pressure.
Cheslin Kolbe hardly saw the ball. When he did, he scored. You have to ask: what is the point of having world-class players and not trying to use them.
When there is so much at stake, as there always is during a Lions series, you rarely see free-flowing rugby. Teams are more afraid of making mistakes than wanting to go out
