1974 british lions tour to south africa

The Legendary (and Violent) 1974 British & Irish Lions Tour of South Africa

• March 25, 2020
• Ultimate Rugby

The 70s: a decade largely remembered for questionable hairstyles, economic uncertainty, social upheaval and the Bee Gees. In rugby terms, however, it was the stage of one of the most controversial sporting series in history; the 1974 Lions tour to South Africa.

Under the apartheid regime, South Africa had gradually cultivated a reputation for itself as an international pariah.

Many of the British public and their leaders were fundamentally opposed to the tour going ahead, though it did materialise, albeit under fiery circumstances.

The Lions were captained by the legendary Willie-John McBride and boasted other revered names among their ranks such as Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, Ian McGeechan, Fergus Slattery and JJ Williams.

McBride was well aware of the daunting task ahead of the team – the Springboks had never lost a series on home soil before – and it was imperative to him that they were all on the same page when he sat his players down before they departed.

“I said, ‘I’m going to South Africa...I have one objective: to win the series...it’s nothing to do with politics, as far as I’m concerned, nothing. If anybody has any doubt about going on this tour, the door is open. Please leave now. Don’t come to me in a week, don’t come to me tomorrow, don’t come to me in three weeks, because you’re no use to this team if you have the slightest doubt and you’re certainly no use to me,’” McBride recalls, “Nobody moved. And I said, ‘Okay, we now are on the road.’”  

The first significant game of the tour was against Eastern Province- then tough customers in the South African provincial scene – who were led by the Springbok captain, Hannes Marais.

With the tensions electric off the field, it was inevitable that violence would rear its head on it, and the Lions were prepared.

At the shout of McBride’s famous “99” call, the men in red swarmed with steely aggression and clenched fists, administering brutal  beatings on any opposition player who dared antagonise one of their own. The Lions had made a statement, in no uncertain terms, that their days of being bullied by the burly Afrikaners were over and the spirit of the tour was forged.

Lions  28 – 14  Eastern Province.

McBride’s charges marched on to Newlands to take on giants Western Province one week before the first test at the same venue and emerged 17 – 8 victors, as yet unbeaten on the tour.

The Springboks took on their rivals at a wet and muddy Newlands on the 8 th of June and were defeated 12-3, the first Lions victory at that venue since 1938.

“It [the victory] gave everybody that tremendous feeling that we were dominant and we were believing in ourselves.” said McBride.

The road to the second test saw the Lions despatch the Southern Universities XV (26-4), Transvaal (23-15) and Rhodesia (42-6) before they took the field in Pretoria.

The team bus pulled up to Loftus Versveld with its occupants in full song – belting out the rousing lyrics of Flower Of Scotland and revelling in a spirit of confidence which manifested on the field of play.

“When we got off that bus and into the dressing room, we knew that something special was going to happen that day.” former Lions lock Gordon Brown recounts.

Brown was right, and the Lions were dominant, winning the second test 28-9 in front of a shocked crowd to go up 2-0 in the series.

The 13 th of July 1974 saw the sides clash in the vital third test, again, in Port Elizabeth.

The Springboks, now desperate for victory blasted out of the tunnel onto the field like green bullets from a gun, a tongue-lashing from the Minister of Sport in the dressing room still ringing in their ears. What transpired was the most brutal, violent game of the tour, “Fitting more for the boxing ring,” a commentator quipped. At the final whistle the players left the blood-stained pitch with the scoreboard reading 26-9 in the Lion’s favour and McBride’s men were forever etched in history.

The fourth and final test ended in a 13-13 draw, but the writing was already on the wall; that the Springboks had been out-played and out-fought, suffering their first ever home series defeat to a Lions team that would go down as one of the greatest in the tradition.

The Lions returned home unbeaten, having played 22 games, winning 21 and drawing 1, scarring the pride of the Springbok jersey.

As we look towards the tour of 2021, the mouth waters at the prospect of the now world champion South Africans taking on the best of Britain and Ireland in another clash of physicality and flair.

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From The Vaults

Rugby history beckoned at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on Saturday July 27 th 1974. The British Lions were playing the 22 nd and final match of their tour and they had won all their previous matches. Only the 1891 British tourists had a superior record, having won all 19 matches on their tour including the first three tests played between these great adversaries. The 1974 test series was already wrapped up 3-0 and the Lions had only to win this final test to set a record that would probably never be equalled and could never be surpassed.

Looking back forty five years later, it can be seen that the 1974 Lions contained some of the greatest players in rugby history. Led by the inspirational Irish second row forward, Willie John McBride, other luminaries of this remarkable side were full back JPR Williams, the sprint champion JJ Williams on the wing, the half-back pair Phil Bennett and Gareth Edwards and the No 8 Mervyn Davies from Wales; the centre Ian McGeechan, the prop Ian McLauchlan ('Mighty Mouse') and the converted full back Andy Irvine on the wing from Scotland; the marauding Irish flanker Fergus Slattery and the formidable English forwards Fran Cotton and Roger Uttley. So strong was the touring party that players of the calibre of the Irishmen Mike Gibson and Tom Grace and the rangy English No 8 Andy Ripley were unable to gain selection for any of the tests.

Andy Irvine (Photo by Allsport UK /Allsport)

The Lions were firm favourites to win. They used only 17 players in the four tests and had made just one enforced change from their victorious 3 rd test side. The charismatic Scottish second row forward Gordon Brown, source of much of the Lions' line-out ball and a try scorer in both the 2 nd and 3 rd tests, had broken his hand in an altercation during the 3 rd test and was replaced by the Englishman Chris Ralston. The lack of international competition since 1972 had hit South Africa hard and the Springboks had already used 31 players over the three tests. Their selectors made only three changes including one new cap in the starting line-up for this final test. Although not a vintage era for South African rugby adversely affected by the sporting isolation caused by their government's apartheid policies, there were nevertheless some fine players in a side captained by their long-serving prop Hannes Marais who had won his 1 st cap back against the Wallabies in August 1963. 75,000 spectators packed the rafters at Ellis Park and witnessed one of the most compelling and contentious test matches of the 1970s. After Jackie Snyman, Springbok fly half, had opened the scoring with a penalty goal, Roger Uttley was awarded a controversial try by the referee Max Baise when he dived on a ball that had gone loose at the back of the Springbok scrum. Television replays were to show that Chris Pope, the Springbok right wing, had touched down first. Phil Bennett converted that try for a 6-3 lead which was cancelled out by Jackie Snyman's second penalty goal shortly afterwards. The Lions scored next after a blind side break by Gareth Edwards led to a try by Andy Irvine on the right wing. Phil Bennett missed the conversion but the Lions went into half-time leading by 10 points to 6.

Gareth Edwards (left) and Phil Bennett (Photo by Allsport UK /Allsport)

The second half was nearly twenty minutes old when the Springboks finally broke the defence of the Lions. After a long line-out throw, the wing forwards Chris Grobler and the veteran Jan Ellis secured the ball which went down the three-quarter line to Chris Pope on the right wing. One of the few Springbok players to play in all four tests, Pope was a powerful runner and this was his first real opportunity of the series. He powered past the Lions defence and, on reaching JPR Williams just short of the tryline, threw the ball infield. The Lions defence failed to clear and the centre Peter Cronje picked the ball up and threw himself over the tryline for the Springboks' first and only try of the series. The Lions had already scored ten tries in the series so, not surprisingly, the crowd went wild. Jackie Snyman missed the conversion but he soon kicked a third penalty goal to give South Africa a 13-10 lead with ten minutes to go. The final minutes of this test were dramatic in the extreme. Andy Irvine kicked a crucial penalty to make the score 13-13 and then a superb break by Jackie Snyman failed to provide the Springboks with the winning try when their experienced left winger Gert Muller overran the ball with the try line at his mercy. Shortly afterwards JPR Williams made a powerful run into the Springboks 25 and was stopped just short of the try line. He managed to release the ball which was picked up by the supporting Fergus Slattery who drove for the Springbok line. He crossed it to the left of the posts but was tackled head on by Cronje who managed to prevent Slattery touching the ball down immediately. It has never been disputed that Slattery did get the ball down, but the referee who had positioned himself in goal behind the players was unsighted at the crucial moment and he disallowed the try and awarded a five-yard scrum instead. The Lions protested furiously but to no avail and subsequent analysis of the television footage suggested that the referee had been correct. The Lions failed to profit from the ensuing five-yard scrum after which Max Baise blew his whistle and signalled the end of a test and a test series packed with controversy. The legend of Springbok invincibility at home had been punctured and never again would visiting sides feel that they had little or no chance to win a series in South Africa.

Willie John McBride is the first off the plane at Heathrow Airport, at the end of a successful tour of South Africa, 30th July 1974. (Photo by Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• The British & Irish Lions - Clem Thomas and Greg Thomas (Vision Sports Publishing 2016)
• Statistical History of Springbok Rugby - Teddy Shnaps (Don Nelson Publishers 1989)
• The Unbeaten Lions - John Reason (Rugby Books, London 1974)
• Undefeated -Rhodri Davies (Y Lolfa 2014)
• When the Lions came to town - Luke Alfred (Zebra Press 2014)

About the Author - A professional musician and arts administrator, Richard Steele has had a life-long love of sport. He has been on the committee of the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham since 2005.

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Classic Match: The 1974 Lions complete an unbeaten Tour

Winning a Test series in South Africa is exceptional but going unbeaten for an entire Tour like The 1974 British & Irish Lions – that is something else.

From mid-May to late July the Invincibles won 21 matches out of 21, including the first three Tests to secure the series victory over the Springboks – a first in the 20th century.

All that remained was for the Lions to get up for one final game, the fourth Test in Johannesburg on July 27th.

Lions Legend: Mervyn Davies

Of course against a team as proud as South Africa, winning a fourth Test to complete a whitewash was always going to be a massive ask.

And while the Lions couldn’t quite manage that, their 13-13 draw at Ellis Park ensured they left South Africa unbeaten.

The Invincibles

The game itself was very tight, with Jackie Snyman giving the Springboks the lead after just five minutes, only for Roger Uttley to hit back with a try, converted by Phil Bennett.

Snyman levelled the scores with a second penalty but Andy Irvine’s score just before half-time gave the Lions the lead at the break, 10-6.

On the hour Peter Cronje went over for South Africa’s only try to make it 10-10, and it looked like the Lions might finally lose a game when Snyman slotted a third penalty with ten minutes to go to put South Africa in front.

However Irvine knocked over a penalty with four minutes to go to draw the Lions level and clinch the only unbeaten tour in the post-war era.

A final record of 21 wins and a draw from 22 matches. It will take some going to ever match that record, let alone beat it.

Although as Irvine put it in Behind the Lions: “What we have done is left a wee scope there for another team to go one better than us. The challenge is still there!”

27 JULY 1974

SOUTH AFRICA (6) 13, BRITISH & IRISH LIONS (10) 13 (Ellis Park)

South Africa: Tonie Roux; Chris Pope, Peter Cronje(T), Jan Schlebusch, Gert Muller; Jackie Snyman(3P), Paul Bayvel; Niek Bezuidenhout, Piston van Wyk, Hannes Marais (capt); Moaner van Heerden, John Williams; Klippies Kritzinger, Jan Ellis, Kleintjie Grobler. Bench: Rampie Stander, Malcolm Swanby, Gavin Cowley, Gert Schutte, Andre Bestbier, Kevin de Klerk Replacements used: Stander for Bezuidenhout 57.

British & Irish Lions: JPR Williams; Andy Irvine(T/P), Ian McGeechan, Dick Milliken, John Williams; Phil Bennett(C), Gareth Edwards; Ian McLauchlan, Bobby Windsor, Fran Cotton; Willie-John McBride (capt), Christopher Ralston; Roger Uttley(T), Fergus Slattery, Mervyn Davies. Bench: Mike Gibson, Tom Grace, John Moloney, Ken Kennedy, Sandy Carmichael, Tony Neary.

Scoring sequence: 5′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 3-0, 10′ Uttley R.M. (T) 3-4, Bennett P. (C) 3-6, 25′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 6-6, 35′ Irvine A.R. (T) 6-10, 60′ Cronje P.A. (T) 10-10, 70′ Snyman J.C.P. (P) 13-10, 76′ Irvine A.R. (P) 13-13.

Referee: Max Baise (South Africa). Attendance: 75000.

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1974 South Africa

• Updated: 6th June 2012

Three years after triumphing in New Zealand the Lions faced a much stiffer test in facing a South African side who had not lost a test series that century.

The tour was a magnificent success with the tourists setting achievement after achievement by winning the series 3-0 and not losing a single game on tour.

The tour captained by legends Syd Millar and Willie John McBride, saw the Lions defeat the Boks by taking them on where their main strength lay in the forwards. By setting a platform for the backs to operate, the Lions runners attacked at will and with great success.

Despite the Lions attacking prowess the first test was won in desperate conditions with the Lions edging it 12-3. The Lions did regain their superiority in the second though, running in five tries with two from JJ Williams.

The third test however is now legendary for what was to happen on the pitch. The Lions knew what was coming with the selection of a bruising Number 8 at Scrum Half and it was there that the legendary Lions call of “99” was born where each Lion would immediately punch the nearest member of the opposition they could! The Lions emerged unbothered though and clinched the match and series by 26-9.

The final match ended in a 13-13 draw and therefore ended the first tour to South Africa in the 20th century that the Lions remained unbeaten in possibly the greatest Lions tour ever.

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When not writing articles about the latest issues surrounding the game, Ben spends his time worrying about the fortunes of his beloved Saracens. Ben is responsible for overseeing all output from the L-T.com team and often can't help himself from adding his own take on the issues of the day and has to pen his own article to stick his two-penneth in. Ben also runs our travel section and is a font of all knowledge about the tours having travelled as a tourist on all three tours. He can tell you everything you need to know about touring with the British & Irish Lions from how to get there and where to stay, to where you can hang around to spot the players and where you can get the best steaks in town...! Email Ben - [email protected]

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Lions tour 1974

The Lions enjoyed their best-ever tour as they returned from South Africa unbeaten.

Sunday 21 April 2013 13:18, UK

The most successful Lions team in history travelled to South Africa for a bruising series but ran out victors.

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Lions and the fight against apartheid

Forty years ago I was one of the few British and Irish rugby fans not gearing up to watch history being made so I feel a bit of a party pooper writing this piece. I very much wanted the Lions to beat the Springboks in the third Test to wrap up a series victory for the first time in the modern era but, having declared myself unavailable, I felt it would be inconsistent, hypocritical even, to follow it on radio or television so I just switched off from the whole tour.

It was a very weird feeling. A number of my Lions team-mates from 1971 including a couple of my very closest friends - Mervyn Davies and JPR Williams - were at the heart of the action but how could I watch when I supported a sporting boycott of South Africa as a weapon in the fight against apartheid?

It would be true to say there was not much support for my stance in the rugby community in those days and people still come up to me and say, 'You're the guy who turned down a Lions' Tour - how could you do that?'

First, let's get the facts straight. I do not believe I would have made the touring party in any case but at the start of the season a letter was circulated to all those in contention asking if they were available to tour the following summer. I ruled myself out at that stage - they knew I would because I had refused to play against South Africa for Wales in 1970. By 1974 I was a committed member of the anti-apartheid movement and quite vociferous in my opposition to sporting links with South Africa but, for reasons I have never understood, the refusal to make myself available for the Lions tour has stuck in people's memories more than the refusal to play in 1970.

1970 was the difficult decision because I was aware I was very definitely putting my whole international career in jeopardy. The WRU accepted my withdrawal as a 'matter of conscience' but then left me out of the squad for the Five Nations Championship. Fortunately, Wales had a bad season and (with the National Union of Miners lobbying for me) I was recalled for the final game against France. However, several senior RFU officials went out of their way to let me know I would never have played international rugby again had I been English. My only regret is that it did cost me a place in the great Barbarians game in 1973 but that is another story!

Did I try to get other players to boycott the tour? No - I had been on the 1968 Lions Tour to South Africa and that is what had persuaded me so I did not feel I had the right to proselytise. I talked it through with friends such as JPR and Merve but they took the view they were just playing rugby for their country and that was fine with me.

The rugby mantra trotted out in 1968 - and right up until it finally became accepted that it was impossible to tour in the 80s - was that we were not supporting apartheid, we were building bridges and contact was the best way to win friends and influence people. I was 22 years old and desperately wanted to play for the Lions so although (as a schoolteacher in a big multi-racial school in London) I had misgivings I was happy to toe the party line.

"Rugby people basically believed the brotherhood within the game was greater than the brotherhood of man - if a chap played rugby he had a be a good egg"

Seeing apartheid in action when I got there changed everything - I realised the rugby establishment did not give a damn - and returned believing that nothing would change as long as the sport-mad white South Africans could get their fix of cricket and rugby and was soon persuaded that denying them that was a legitimate and possibly very effective tool. Rugby people basically believed the brotherhood within the game was greater than the brotherhood of man - if a chap played rugby he had a be a good egg.

It is still hard to believe that the New Zealand selectors just left out their Maoris for tours to South Africa until the 70s. There were very few black players in Britain and Ireland in that era but, judging by the way cricket handled the D'Oliveira debacle, our rugby establishment would have done the same.

Did the sporting boycott have any effect? I would like to believe it played a huge part in helping to break down apartheid. Economic factors were massively important, of course, but in the 60s and 70s the laws relating to separation were becoming even more draconian with new measures such as the Group Areas Act coming on to the statute book. Things only started to change when they were isolated by the rest of the sporting world.

Now I am proselytising - apologies. I first watched the tapes of the 1974 series in the early 90s when I went back to South Africa and there is no question, the Lions were a phenomenal team. Enjoy your 40th anniversary celebrations guys - beating the Boks was a real shock for white South Africa and might even have helped in the end!

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The 1974 British Lions Tour of South Africa

The British Lions have only toured South Africa six times since 1960 so not many players get the opportunity to represent the Springboks against the tourists. In the 1974 tour, which was probably the most controversial and talked about Lions tour to this country,  there were no less than five Ikey players who represented the Springboks against the tourists. 

Back Row: 2 nd from left, Roy McCallum; 3 rd from left Dugald MacDonald; 2 nd from right Peter Whipp.

Middle Row: 2 nd from right Chris Pope

Front Row: 3 rd from left Ian McCallum

The ’74 Lions side had no weaknesses and they came to South Africa with a thorough understanding of the Springboks mind-set. It was Captain McBride’s 5th tour as a British and Irish Lions; his first Lions tour to South Africa was in 1962. They knew that if you can beat the Springboks in the scrums they can be beaten so they targeted the scrum and practiced this area in particular many months before the tour. 

South Africa didn’t have television in the early 70’s so South Africans didn’t see that coaching and training methods had taken a more professional turn in the UK. The printed press was the only information that was readily available and were very superficial with what it actually revealed about the players.

The games against Western Province, Transvaal and Free State had significant impact on the selectors and the series. Western Province ran the ball at the Lions and scored two good tries on a dry field. This was incidentally the last time a try was registered on a Saturday match against the Lions up to the fourth test. The success of the WP backline and the ability of their pack to manage upfront resulted in eight Province players being selected for the first test.

Ironically, Newlands was heavy with rain on test day and the Lions controlled the match with forwards and scrumhalf while the Springboks never tried to run the ball. SA lost that first test 12-3 and the Springbok selectors panicked and started what is now known as “the farce of ‘74” selection process. That test was the first of Chris Pope’s 9 tests. Sadly that was Roy McCallum first and only test. He deserved a second chance as much as anyone as he was a brilliant scrumhalf, but suffered behind a springbok pack dominated by the British Lions. He paid the ultimate price for his forwards lack of dominance.

For the 2 nd Test, Morné du Plessis was moved from No8 to 6 and Dugald McDonald was brought in as No8. In total there where 6 changes and one positional shift to the team. The Lions won 28 – 9. The selection panic continued and a total of 9 changes and one positional switch was made for the third test, which South Africa Lost 9 – 26. The fourth and final test was drawn 13 – 13 and will be remembered for all the controversy around some of the refereeing decisions.

The tour will be remembered as well for the violence and the ' 99 call ' (originally the '999 call' but it was too slow to shout out) which was meant to show that the Lions were a team and would not take any more of the violence being meted out to them. It was a harsh response to what the team were facing, but intended to show that the Lions would act as one and fight unsporting behavior with more of the same. The idea was that the referee would be unlikely to send off all of the Lions if they all attacked. At the 'Battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium ', in Port Elizabeth , one of the most violent matches in rugby history, there is famous video footage of JPR Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at Moaner van Heerden after such a call. 

The 1974 Tour of the Lions to South Africa was undoubtedly the most unsettling tour ever for Springbok rugby. Touring unbeaten through South Africa superior in every aspect in virtually every single match including the test matches it was a massive wake-up call for South African rugby.

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Memories of 1974 will make the Lions tour to South Africa one to remember

Already struggling to banish the doubt that this may not be the luckiest of tours, the Lions today set off for South Africa. To lose four and a bit players - Leigh Halfpenny's delayed start providing the bit - of the party of 37 before a ball has been kicked, probably falls within rugby's norm, but for the injured Tomás O'Leary, Tom Shanklin and Jerry Flannery, and even for the suspended Alan Quinlan, the laws of averages must seem pretty cruel.

They miss the tour of a lifetime to the country that has done most to nourish the Lions as a going concern. Australia has only hosted two tours exclusive to themselves, although it must be said that both 1989, when the Lions came from one down to win the series, and the truly enthralling 2001 were special.

If New Zealand was the only destination for the Lions the whole thing would probably have long been given up. The Lions have won once there, in 1971, and generally come home completely bent out of shape. A tour to NZ is best followed in a camper van, a healthy distance behind the team bus.

South Africa is different, if only because there's no jet lag to blur the front and back of the six weeks spent there. It was here that the Lions came in 1997, on the first tour of the professional age, when the whole notion of hammering one team out of four in just a few short weeks was being seriously questioned.

Coached then, as now, by Ian McGeechan, the Lions swept the doubters aside. In fact, they made the Lions hot property. On all fronts, from re-establishing rugby credentials to developing new business opportunities, there is a cosiness to relations with South Africa.

In the old days these close ties often made real life decidedly uncomfortable. Protests against Apartheid were well organised and widespread. Overseas tours by the Springboks were successfully halted, most memorably in 1980 when flour bombs were dropped on Eden Park, Auckland, and the Test match between New Zealand and South Africa was abandoned.

What the protestors could not prevent were trips into South Africa. The Lions toured twice during the supposed age of isolation, in 1974 and 1980, winning the first time, losing the second. Any reverence for the achievement of '74, perhaps the finest Lions of all time, was always tempered by the voices that had urged them not to go in the first place.

But in "The Lions' Roar," going out tonight on BBC Wales, the tour of '74 is seen partly through the eyes of young black rugby fans who turned up to watch the Lions play. Their mood at first was hostile, for they were not just rugby players but politically active too and the position of the resistance was to keep the white-minority regime isolated. "We felt that the Lions would be walking on the graves of the many who had died in the struggle," says Ibrahim Patel.

And yet, as Willie John McBride's team went from strength to strength, standing up to the Springboks and beating them - beating them up via the "99" call that summoned the forwards to slug the nearest opposition player - the black supporters grew in numbers. There is a glorious black and white photo of JJ Williams scoring in the corner at Boet Erasmus Stadium in Port Elizabeth in the third Test and the black section, to a man, woman and child, rising to celebrate.

"The Lions' play taught us that if you stand together against the bully, anything is possible," says another supporter then, Bernie Habana.

A third teenager, Peter de Villiers, would be inspired, too. "I decided to come to Wales because I adored the style they were playing. I drew energy from what they did."

De Villiers is now coach of the Springboks. Habana is father of Brian, the Springbok wing, while Patel became the joint president of the new, united South Africa Rugby Union when segregation finally ended. Their embrace of the '74 Lions does not exactly legitimise a rebel tour that they at first opposed, but it takes the sting out of the sanction-busting guilt.

It also means that in the new South Africa there is no animosity towards the Lions. No bitterness, but not as much support in the grounds. The tourists will not be able to salute the section behind the wire, and will have to count on the red shirts in the stadiums for their cheers, the travelling supporters who will not be there in the numbers predicted this time last year.

Economic conditions dictate that points on the board will come before the noughts on the balance sheet. The rediscovery of the primary reason for being out there may be no bad thing. Once it was politics that overshadowed everything; nowadays they can get carried away with money-making.

Under the manager, Gerald Davies, and McGeechan, the old priorities may not be so hard to re-establish. Time may be short and injuries may be occurring, but there seems to be a relaxation about the camp. Forging a team can be done naturally.

There was always something strained about the team-building exercises in Graham Henry's Lions camp of 2001, and something manufactured about Sir Clive Woodward's efforts in 2005, although of course he had a cast of thousands to exercise. Davies and McGeechan seem happy to let their players breathe.

Quite what they will instruct them to do on match day remains to be seen. The Welsh trio of Lee Byrne, Shane Williams and Halfpenny (thigh permitting) will have licence to thrill, it has been declared in the Welsh press. The forward battle will have to won, is the more sober English assessment.

Perfect. For the moment the management can fill each listening ear with what it wants to hear and keep their real intentions to themselves. The true order is probably somewhere in the middle: "Give it width, but make sure it's under the right conditions." McGeechan will say it softly, Warren Gatland will growl it, Graham Rowntree and Rob Howley will explain it and Shaun Edwards will bellow it. It may just work.

It won't if the Springboks are good from the off. The hosts have arranged a fixture for themselves against a Namibia Invitation XV, to try to ensure that they are not rusty on 20 June in Durban. But a work-out against a selection of this and that is not the same as the first Test in a series.

The Lions must strike while the Springboks are disjointed. A victory in Durban lights up the tour; a finale in Johannesburg is guaranteed - unless he Lions win the second Test in Pretoria.

But lose the first Test and the tour turns, and could even tip over. McGeechan has come from one down before, in 1989, but to do it at altitude against the reigning world champions is something else. History tells the Lions can do well in South Africa, but the stopwatch is running and 20 June is racing towards them.

• Lions Tour 2009
• Rugby union
• British & Irish Lions

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