Lions v Emerging Boks

So, we had a draw, 13-all.

Actually, despite the doom and gloom that surrounds the press reactions, I'm quite positive. I expected the Lions to lose, because the gulf between the dirt trackers (in general) and the test Lions is quite large, and I thought the emerging Boks would be a bit better than they proved to be.

What did we learn? They're not going to pick Martyn Williams to start. Fools. He's not necessarily as good at some parts of being an open side as the Irish guy, but he will compete, and compete well with the fetcher for the Boks, better than his rival does. Apparently that doesn't matter, and again the Lions are going to struggle at the breakdown and could lose the match because of it. Geech - you're starting to make me wonder why you left Wasps and if you're getting a bit old and tired.

The other Williams, Shane, is still not quite at his best, but I think he had a better game under far worse conditions that Monye. His defence was good, he was fast and smart to the breakdown, chasing the ball and the like. I guess, since he played the full match he won't get a nod either. Fitzgerald is an interesting one - he's sharper in attack than Shane, but sloppier and weaker in defence. I think Fitzgerald will get the nod because whilst a winger's defence errors can cost a match, there are lots of other defenders too, but a winger's attacking frailties can cost a match as Monye showed last weekend.

Hook and O'Gara got a run out. O'Gara kicks tactically better (or at least more consistently) than Jones or Hook, although all three can and do kick well from the tee and from hand. Jones engages and uses his backs more aggressively than O'Gara though, making the attacking side work better, and tackles better. Interesting choice there. Hook, as well all know, is a much better attacking option. He is also quite inconsistent - he varies between sheer genius and really quite mediocre (for a high class international). I might pick Hook for the bench. Under a range of circumstances needing to introduce him to change the nature of the game (for example in the last 10 minutes of last Saturday's match if he'd been there) is a gamble worth taking. If the Lions are ahead of course, and Jones is injured, he might have a rush of madness and give the game away but such are the choices you have to make.

Vickery probably had his last run out in a red jersey too. He demonstrated quite nicely that he's still a quality prop. Whatever the impact of the beast was on him, it's hard to argue that it was one of those things where the techniques of the two just meshed in a way that gave a huge advantage to The Beast, and hence the scrum fell apart. It doesn't make Vickery a bad player, it just means he's got a specific weakness that the other guy (unlike a lot of other high quality props in the world) can exploit.

I'm sure they'd have liked a win. The draw doesn't rebuild momentum that much. But they didn't deserve a win the way they played. Looking ahead - it's a hard call, until you remember the venue. Anywhere else I think the come-back, the end of the last test, and that need to win to keep the series alive would mean the Lions stood a real chance. But at Loftus? Bulls' country... fat chance. I think it will stay close, but the Boks to win by 7 to 10 points.