Highlights of 2009: South Africa vs the Lions

2009 was a strange year in rugby union. There was near-hysterical criticism of the way the game was played, the ELVs were abolished, there was more criticism of the way the game was played, the people who had criticised the IRB for changing the laws and introducing the ELVs criticised them for not changing the laws, there were drugs scandals and eye gouging and fake blood, and in the middle of it all, one of the most compelling test series of all time.

The 2009 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa will live long in the memory. Ian McGeechan, a man forever associated with the Lions, restored the soul of the side after Clive Woodward’s ill-fated venture in 2005. He also showed that it was possible to pick and coach a side that was willing and able to play good rugby against the reigning world champions in their own back yard, a point that many coaches and critics would do well to take heed of in 2010.

McGeechan reinvigorated the Lions in 2009

The midweek and non-international games were played with real intensity, as unheralded players from South Africa saw their chance to shine on the world stage, and Heinrich Brussow showed that a big performance against the Lions could catapult a young player to great things. With the Southern Hemisphere sides all playing midweek games on their tours in the autumn, with exciting results, perhaps 2009 was the year that the tour match, a relic which appeared to have been lost with the arrival of the professional game, made a surprising return.

The test series itself had everything: inventive play, strong defence, tragic mistakes, moments of brilliance, passion and stories of failure and redemption. The first two tests were unmissable sporting drama; to take one’s eyes off them for a moment was to risk missing a colossal tackle or moment of high skill. Stars were born, particularly Jamie Roberts for the Lions, and Brussow and Tendai Mtawarira on the home side. South Africa roared out of the blocks in the first test, led by the unflinching John Smit, but the Lions stormed back, before missed opportunities and stout defence left them narrowly defeated. The second test saw the Lions establish a lead, but the world champions showed their mettle, and with seconds remaining, a moment of madness from a battered and dazed Ronan O’Gara, who tackled Fourie du Preez in the air, gave Morne Steyn a chance to win the match and the series with a penalty, the final kick of the game, which he took with aplomb.

O'Gara's intervention decided the series, but not in the way in which he would have hoped

What this meant was that the only thing the series was missing was a third test decider, but that match was still eventful, the Lions winning an open and exciting encounter, restoring some pride, and ending what was remarkably, given that series wins have been few and far between over the years, their longest losing streak.

It was not all heart-warming fare, Schalk Burger’s callous gouging of Luke Fitzgerald’s eyes took a little of the sheen off the South Africans’ aura, as did the nonsensical defence raised by his coach, Pieter de Villiers. There was a bitter taste in the mouth too for Lions fans, who had seen their side come so close to a memorable victory, but the rugby world was a better place for a truly classic series, and the South Africans could rightly be proud of the way that they had built on their World Cup success, and established themselves as one of the best sides of all time. All that was left was for fans to start counting the days until Australia 2013.