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Neil Back on the Lions: Important that Lions regroup and prevent series whitewash after going close in Pretoria
FIRST and foremost, I thought the second Test was a fantastic game of rugby. Rob Kearney was outstanding for the Lions at the back and he, along with Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald, were a great combination that bodes well for Ireland in the future.
The centres were an obvious choice and there will always be conjecture as to how the game could have gone if both of them had stayed on the field.
The game started with incredible intensity and, as a fan, that is exactly what you wanted.
I am sure that the disciplinary panel will be taking a close look at the incident involving Schalk Burger and we can only speculate what may have happened had he been shown a red card instead of a yellow. If the review shows that he did gouge then I would hope he would be dealt with because there is nothing more unacceptable than gouging.
History will show that the Lions have lost the series and they have now lost seven games on the bounce over the past three tours. This group of players have the responsibility to re-gather and push as hard as they can to win the final Test and it is important that they avoid a second consecutive whitewash.
Having said that, this tour is completely different from that which lost 3-0 in New Zealand four years ago.
Ultimately, South Africa deserved to win both Tests but both could have gone the other way. If the Lions had taken their chances in the first or had they not lost so many players to injury on Saturday, they could have been heading into the third Test at one-all and looking for a series win at Ellis Park.
Tom Croft has made a name for himself considering that he was not named in the initial tour group. I was particularly pleased for Simon Shaw that he got to make his Test debut for the Lions on his fourth tour and he showed at 35 that you are never too old if you have the right mentality.
The Lions are in a similar position to ourselves in 1997 going in to the third Test. Those involved in that game were the walking wounded and it proved to be one match too far for us but it will be difficult for the South Africans to win three games on the bounce.
It is great to see the size of the support out in South Africa and I hope for their sake, especially in the current economic climate, that the Test is a classic.
This week, we at Leeds found out our fixture list for our return to the Guinness Premiership and that has given everyone a lift in training.
We are pleased to be at home on the opening day on September 6. It is important for us that we hit the ground running come the start of the season. We have been back in training for over a month which is ahead of most other teams.
Our home form will be crucial as Northampton showed last season. They won all but one of their home games and that helped them consolidate their place in the Premiership, which is what we hope to do.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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