‘The party’s over– it’s time to call it a day’. That’s my swansong for the Lions but not to be sung until after the tour of Australia in 2013.

What a wonderful sporting concept it was over a century ago: the British Lions (we swallowed it); long voyages by ship, three months away for home with enough pocket money for sweets, lemonade and even cigarettes, ask Willie Duggan.

Those were the amateur days, now the game is totally professional with all professionalism entails; mostly good, but bad and sometimes downright ugly too.

Let me start with the good, and there were good things to be seen on this tour, in particular the handling, passing and tackling by both sides. Also, the camaraderie that eventually evolved between a bunch of guys who are essentially rivals for the top fifteen places was encouraging.

Contrary to Martyn Williams and other commentators, I firmly believe that Paul O’Connell was the right man to lead the team on and off the pitch. The touring team mixed well with locals wherever they went, unlike Sir Clive Woodward’s Lions team in New Zealand. In a nation still recovering from apartheid, this was a positive.

As for the South African players, they are not holders of the World Cup by accident and they will have wanted to show the Lions just how good they are.

The memory of Willie John’s Invincibles of 1974 still rankles in South Africa, so when the man himself said he reckoned Paul O’Connell would boss his opposite number Victor Matfield, it was like waving a red rag at a raging bull.

But then again, was it Willie John’s fault, or was it the fault of sports writers from both sides trying to spin an of-the-cuff remark into an international feud? The press on this side of the world lauded the Lions’ many stars but gave little attention to the man of the tournament, Morne Steyn, the rookie Springbok who stepped up to the 55-yard penalty kick that sealed the series for the Boks.

The Bad: like the All Blacks and the Aussies, the intense national pride of the South African players is reflected in their commitment and intensity of play. Camaraderie aside, this is not something the Lions can match.
This is why I think the Lions tours should be scrapped. Let the home nations stand alone.

Take Scotland for example, two players selected to travel in 2005 and two again in 2009, yet the Scottish Association picks up a million quid like the other three.

Granted, the tour makes money big time, but how? Tickets for the test matches were €115, way beyond the means of most locals, a sort of economic segregation.

In conclusion, the ugly: it is no coincidence that Schalk Burger’s gouge, like Tana Umaga’s spear tackle in 2005, took place in the first few seconds of the first test, with the referee funking the red card on both occasions.

If that was not bad enough, there were also De Villier’s post-match denials. This sort of stuff destroys the great game that rugby can be to watch and especially, to play.

Above: Schalk Burger.
Right: Paul O’Connell.