THE game has undergone something of a revolution over the past decade or so to the extent that some old timers can barely recognise the sport as the same one that they played so recently. But, for all that, several truths have endured, set in stone and passed down the generations; rugby's real rules if you like. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
"Take your chances", "kick your goals", "make your tackles", we have heard them all countless times from numerous coaches throughout our rugby lives, they are as familiar as fairy tales and as common as con-men but still Ian McGeechan ignored t
he first and the most important of all these commandments: "WIN YOUR SET PIECE!"
Deep inside the opening quarter of this match the game could have been dead and buried and it speaks volumes for the character of these tourists that they did not roll over and die there and then. Around the 13-minute mark the Lions' creaking set scrum was not just shoved backwards – it disintegrated, utterly destroyed and humiliated. This was meant to be a South African weakness and instead it probably won them the match.
The Durban crowd roared their approval, as well they might. The front row of John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira, all play their rugby for the Sharks and thoroughly deserved the adulation, especially Mtawarira, "The Beast".
Where is Euan Murray when you need him? Less than 12 months ago the giant Scot had The Beast doing the sort of contortions that won Olga Korbut several Olympic medals. Fast forward to yesterday and the boot was on the other foot as the very same man gave a painful lesson in scrummaging to one of England's finest. The Beast against the Raging Bull; the contest was akin to a bee against a bazooka and the sight of Vickery giving way to the Welshman Adam Jones exactly four minutes into the second half said everything you need to know about the sort of (half) day he'd endured at the office.
The damage had been done. The Lions lost at least four scrums in the first half alone and coughed up two penalties in the process which Ruan Pienaar slotted. The scrum hurt the tourists' statistics but the real damage occurred below the waterline where it couldn't be seen; it fatally undermined the Lions' confidence.
It was all the more damaging because it was wholly unexpected. Up until then the Lions' scrum had been arguably their most potent weapon, yesterday it was their Achilles heel, an open festering sore that was only lanced when Jones was joined in the front row by the bulk of Mathew Rees to form an all-Welsh trio with the ever-reliable Gethin Jenkins. Only then did the tourists' set scrum gain some sort of parity with the Boks and, even then, it was helped by Peter de Villiers' odd decision to withdraw The Beast and skipper Smit from the fray in the 64th minute.
Getting bested in the set scrum is a psychological body blow, especially when the scoreboard is not helping any. With the whip hand up front, the Springboks oozed confidence right across the field and it showed in their body language. In one little cameo, the quite brilliant hooker du Plessis stood over the prone figure of Brian O'Driscoll with his fist cocked and ready for action. In another instant David Wallace was picked up off his feet and thrown into touch by the same man with a little help from Bakkies Botha. The big lock had already targeted Paul O'Connell at an early break down and barrelled him backwards just to prove he could.
Early in the second half the home side stuck the ball up their jersey and marched the men in red, ten, 20, 30 yards up field until they won a penalty. Smit ignored the posts, kicked to the corner and the Lions were powerless, literally powerless, to prevent the Boks big men from marching a rolling maul back across the Lions' line. In contrast, the Lions' driving game was non-existent. For two-thirds of this match the Springboks were at their bullying best and it all derived from their dominance at the set scrum.
There was scarcely a physical contest on the field that the Lions can claim to have won, at least in the opening hour of the match, and yet still they can have every right to feel aggrieved by what might have been. If Ugo Monye had scored either cast-iron opportunity that came the wingers' way? If Tommy Bowe had not been called back for an obstruction by Lee Byrne early in the second half? If Stephen Jones had kicked his kicks? If Mike Philips, pictured left, could learn to pass the ball while we are still young?
If, if, if, but just imagine what could have been achieved if McGeechan had started the Lions front row that finished the match?
The full article contains 844 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
