The success in the final test followed a determined and disciplined performance, punctuated by some of the fast handling and running rugby we craved. Within the duration of the tour, players fortunes have radically changed. The World Player of the Year, Shane WIlliams, has seemingly emerged form the purgatory which followed the award, which should be great news for Wales.
The emergence of a new Irish superstar seems assured after Rob Kearney's 2 superb performances at Full Back. The verve he brings to the attack with his choice of running lines is impressive, and his rock steady ability under the high ball settled the nerves. He even added try scoring ability and a massive boot, all of which would make him the stand out star of the tour in many opinions.
The two first choice centres were also excellent, O'Driscoll and Roberts were in a different class to their Springbok counterparts and Tommy Bowe again impressed with his elegant style. So in terms of the backs, a reasonable success. Certainly the tourists were able to score tries fairly easily against the world champions.
Not far behind in the success stakes would be Simon Shaw, the monstrous England second row, whose inclusion in the second test squad added power and aggression to the Lions, helping to counteract the Boks forwards, disrupting the rolling maul. Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones also made a huge difference in the scrum, and were dynamic in broken play. Mike Phillips had a decent enough time at Scrum Half, admittedly outplayed by the awesome Fourie Du Preez, but serviced his backs well enough.
The problem for the Lions has been in the forwards, who seemed less than cohesive as a unit. The lineout caused concern, especially the inability to disrupt Victor Matfield's dominance which allowed Du Preez quick and easy ball. The well documented scrum problems may have been laid at the door of Lee Mears and Phil Vickery, but it would appear that it was purely symptomatic of the overall power problem. The back row didn't do enough in the loose, and the Boks ruled the ruck seemingly unchallenged. Andy Powell may feel a little unlucky not to have even made a bench spot - although his problems with losing the ball in contact in a couple of warm up games will have counted against him, and Martyn WIlliams played well when he came on, so could he have replaced Wallace at an earlier stage?
Finally it would be a fair time to assess Paul O'Connell's captaincy. The leadership of a Lions tour is a prestigious appointment, but with it comes significant responsibility. It did at times appear that O'Connell retreated into his shell somewhat under the weight of expectation, and the players needed more from him. Certainly Brian O'Driscoll played much more like a captain, filling the void which O'Connell seemed to leave. Happily, O'Connell stepped up to the plate in the 3rd Test, and the players followed to gain a terrific victory.
