Well, that’s it, folks. It’s all over.
If you’re like me and as soon as the Six Nations ended the countdown to the Lions began. Off came your national rugby shirt and on came the Lions one. Now its over you might be feeling a bit flat, if you had been in the market for thrills and spills, you couldn’t have reached any dizzier heights than the Lions Tour of 2013. Prior to the squad announcement back in April, the speculation surrounding Gatland’s 35 man squad ranged from the heroic to vitriolic, reaching a crescendo with the omission of Brian O’Driscoll from the final test. Yet, here we are at the end of the Series with a record-breaking win under our belts. So if you’re a bit exhausted and still having a fit of the vapours over the whole thing, here’s a breakdown of the best and worst moments of the Tour.
Warren Gatland had been criticised for taking a wealth of Welsh shirts ahead of balancing the squad from the four nations, but really it would’ve been irresponsible to compromise on talent for the sake of geographical uniformity. Having come out of a season that had been a let-down in terms of standout performances due to a massive injury list of international players, Gatland could only have picked the men who’ve been demonstrably performing this season, by heavily populating the side with men from the side who’ve won two successive Six Nations titles. One criticism of this choice was that Wales have lost their last eight games against the Wallabies, however these fears were overblown. The Lions tour was always going to come down to dominating the scrum, something the Wallabies are traditionally poor at (ironic given their powerful physicality), whereas Wales have traditionally excelled at it, thanks to the likes of the stalwart Adam Jones and human wrecking ball Richard Hibbard. The final test confirmed a belief i’ve held all Tour, that Hibbard should have started from the get-go. His epic tackle on Smith saw him removed from the field in the first few minutes whilst Hibbard and his golden locks waddled away unperturbed. Moreover he put so much effort in the scrum in the first ten minutes, he passed out on the pitch! Now there’s an example to follow.
The Tour continued, dogged by controversy surrounding multiple injuries sustained by key players, including captain Sam Warburton and Paul O’Connnell who also captained. This Lions Tour saw each Test captained by a different man yet not once did the team suffer for it. Alun Wyn Jones was an exceptional choice to lead the men for the last game. His physicality was felt everywhere as he led from the front and he was regularly the last man scraped off the floor in the scrum. Gatland had seemingly made the ultimate slight in not including rugby great Brian O’Driscoll for the final Test much to the outrage of the press and social media. The world and his wife, including many All Blacks players, came out in defence of BOD and #InBODWe Trust and #JusticeForBOD trended on Twitter. Yet Gatland stuck to his guns and faced down the rampaging hoards and was ultimately completely vindicated, proving that there is no room for sentiment in sport. O’Driscoll is one of the greatest rugby players ever and despite the omission, this can mark the end of his international career on a high, whereas it was feared a few months back that his sin-binning in the last Six Nations match for Ireland for an uncharacteristic stamping offence would be his swansong.
Whilst Jonathan Davies could be considered hit and miss, his partnership with powerhouse Jamie Roberts was key to Wales’ success. That partnership was what Gatland put his money on and once again he firmly had the last laugh as Roberts and Davies powered through time after time. Roberts scored the fourth try just moments after the third, setting the crowd on fire with delight, and surprising even Gatland, whose face closely resembled Surprised Cat as his fellow coaches celebrated around him.
The Tour also marked out Leigh Halfpenny as a world class kicker even more than the Six Nations had, finishing on over 76% accuracy of over 30 kicks making him the highest points scorer of the tournament by far. Faith in Halfpenny knows no bounds and it was a crushing blow to the No. 15 to cruelly miss the potential series winning kick in the second test cruelly echoing the Australians missed kick of the First Test that had gifted the game to the Lions. 70% of the Wales international squad come out of their club rugby contracts at the end of next season and it would be safe to say the world’s eyes are going to be fixed on whether Halfpenny leaves his homeland in search of the paycheques that have lured George North, Mike Phillips and Jamie Roberts, out of the green green grass of home.
That is not to say Halfpenny was the only shining star of the Tournament. Jonny Sexton of Ireland, for me, gave Halfpenny a run for Player of the Series. Whilst he did miss the tackle that allowed the Wallabies to creep back into the final Test, his own Try was great to watch and he has been a standout player for the entire Test series, scoring as well as being instrumental in more than five other tries. George North’s fantastic dump tackle on Israel Folau in the second Test will be probably remembered as the moment of the Tournament. It was the face that launched a thousand memes as North’s freight train runs for glory scored multiple tries for the Lions and set him up as one of the best wingers in the world today. Only just into his twenties, North has years left of quality rugby to play and hopefully a few more moments like these will make their way in the Lions tour of 2017 where the team will tour New Zealand.
Whilst the Tour began with some bluff and hubris, such as the almost arrogant bluster surrounding the easy wins of the opening games, the Test series really ratcheted to finish on a high. I don’t think for a second I was alone in feeling a very real chill down my spine when the Queensland Reds, just another Australian club rugby side, really troubled the Lions in their first game in the run-up to the first Test. However, the Lions regrouped and rallied as a team, and it’s that unity and team spirit giving way to humility and sportsmanship that echoed through all the statements and game plans. The team played, worked and celebrated as a team as opposed to sticking within their national divisions as they came together as players who had previously viewed each other as rivals and opponents, even those who played out of position to accommodate others, as Davies has been for O’Driscoll and for those who were not part of the core squad. That will be the legacy of the Lions and a great example to set to those who will be sent to New Zealand in 2017, for which, of course, i’ve already started the countdown. I already can’t haka the suspense.