Blood & Mud

Lions lose 26 - 21 to South Africa, and it's all Phil Vickery's fault (and possibly Ugo Monye's)

After 30 minutes it felt like 2005 all over again didn't it?.  However, like having Elle McPherson in stilettos standing on your clackers, four years ago New Zealand dismantled dignity in a way you could only appreciate; South Africa, on the other hand were more like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas beating your undercarriage with a steak tenderiser.  In fact, it must have been a little confusing for the England players, as it was very much like they were playing against themselves.

You may think I am being harsh in the title of this post, but let's look at the facts.  The scrum - solid and reliable all tour - was a nightmare until Phil went off.  27% of the Lions scrum were lost, pretty much all of which were when the Englishman was on the field, and most of those lost scrums were penalties due Vickery being completely incapable of scrummaging against "The Beast" Mtawarira; he couldn't bind, he couldn't push, nothing.  On top of this he gave away a penalty in the loose as well.  This is elite sport not banking, so the cornishman will be dropped, possibly from the whole 22 for the next Test without so much as a 750k pension to cushion his arse as the door slaps into it on the way out.

Of course it was not all his fault. Lee Mears transformed back into the mediocre performer I always thought he was, and David Wallace did not offer much at seven.  The game that the Lions need to play to win, i.e. what they played second half, is far more suited to Martyn Williams and there is no way the Welshman would have allowed Brussow to get his hands on as much ball as he did today.

On the plus side, the backs were great when they got some ball, and the Lions midfield has the beating of their opposites by a mile.  Yet for all the negativity I'm spouting here, the fact is that we could have won if Ugo Monye carried the ball in either the right hand or two hands as he went for the line before having it punched out. 

History tells us that the team losing the First Test of a Lions tours has little chance of turning it around, but there were enough signs here that the class of 2009 could buck the trend, but the Boks will not make the same mistake mentally next week as they did in the second half this time.

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Lions lose 26 - 21 to South Africa, and it's all Phil Vickery's fault (and possibly Ugo Monye's)

After 30 minutes it felt like 2005 all over again didn't it?.  However, like having Elle McPherson in stilettos standing on your clackers, four years ago New Zealand dismantled dignity in a way you could only appreciate; South Africa, on the other hand were more like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas beating your undercarriage with a steak tenderiser.  In fact, it must have been a little confusing for the England players, as it was very much like they were playing against themselves.

You may think I am being harsh in the title of this post, but let's look at the facts.  The scrum - solid and reliable all tour - was a nightmare until Phil went off.  27% of the Lions scrum were lost, pretty much all of which were when the Englishman was on the field, and most of those lost scrums were penalties due Vickery being completely incapable of scrummaging against "The Beast" Mtawarira; he couldn't bind, he couldn't push, nothing.  On top of this he gave away a penalty in the loose as well.  This is elite sport not banking, so the cornishman will be dropped, possibly from the whole 22 for the next Test without so much as a 750k pension to cushion his arse as the door slaps into it on the way out.