AFTER an absence of 17 years the first professional British and Irish Lions travelled to South Africa as underdogs with leading bookmakers in the UK offering odds of 5-1 against them winning the Test series.
Some even predicted it would be the last tour, the Lions being an out-of-date anachronism of amateur rugby.
Ian McGeechan had been invited to continue as head coach for a third successive tour, having claimed a series victory in Australia in 1989
and just missed out on success in New Zealand four years later.
He raised eyebrows by calling on Jim Telfer, his former Scotland sidekick, to assist despite the Lions coach of 1983 having been retired from coaching for a few years.
Southern hemisphere rugby was striding ahead of the north, the Super 12 and Tri-Nations tournaments lifting levels of intensity and skill to new heights and South Africa had famously been crowned world champions in their own 'Rainbow Nation' only two years earlier. But McGeechan, Telfer and manager Fran Cotton pulled together a Lions squad of 35 players, which grew to 40, and made South Africa sit up and take notice with an opening run of four consecutive victories, three very convincing, over top-quality provinces.
The squad had an intriguing mix of veterans and untried youngsters, such as Ieuan Evans and Scotland prop Tom Smith, and rugby league stars such as Alan Tait and John Bentley; some selections surprised many – from the skipper Martin Johnson, who had not led England before touring, to a youthful front row – as the Test team was moulded on tour.
The Lions lost their fifth game to Northern Transvaal and defied rising South African hostility to win the next seven on the trot, including the first two Test matches in Cape Town and Durban, and wrap up the series. The first Test was won 25-16, with tries from Matt Dawson and Tait and five penalties from the reliable boot of Neil Jenkins.
A week later it was closer as the Springboks won the try count 3-0. However, they crucially failed to land any kicks and another five from Jenkins ensured it was 15-15 going into the closing stages. Jeremy Guscott coolly slotted the famous drop goal which gave the Lions an unassailable 2-0 lead. With a clutch of players out injured, they lost the final Test match 35-16 in Johannesburg, but that failed to dampen spirits and the feeling that McGeechan and Telfer had outsmarted and out-drilled the Springboks in their own back-yard.
Contrary to pre-tour forecasts, support for the Lions also grew significantly from this tour. Next year, more than 50,000 supporters are expected to follow the tour, which again ends in Johannesburg.
The full article contains 470 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
