There were a lot of wounded Lions to be found in Bloemfontein on Saturday night. For the second weekend in a row Ian McGeechan’s pride had disappointed.
Wednesday’s rout of The Golden Lions was meant to inspire the Saturday side into a rousing performance in The Free State Stadium, one which would have atoned for the dismal showing in the tour opener in Rustenburg seven days previously.
However, after failing to build not only on the momentum generated by the midweek side but also the 20 unanswered points they racked up in the opening quarter of the clash with The Cheetahs, The Lions are now right back where they started.
The Cheetahs’ domination at the breakdown was particularly worrying. There is no doubt that Wayne Barnes had been a factor in the Lions coming off a bad second best.
Ian McGeechan did his best to be diplomatic. Asked if he had been unhappy with Barnes’ interpretation of the breakdown, the smiling Scot replied: “Possibly.” When asked if he’d care to elaborate on that, he replied: “No.”
Paul O’Connell described some of the calls as “dodgy”, while Stephen Ferris, whose sin-binning coincided with the concession of 14 points, went further, claiming that it had been one rule for The Lions and one rule for The Cheetahs.
However, all three freely admitted that The Lions had underperformed badly, which was particularly disappointing for everyone involved.
Indeed, this was a massive game for so many players. Indeed, nine players were making their first starts, three of whom were appearing for the first time on Tour.
Keith Earls took his try extremely well, Donncha O’Callaghan produced a solid showing in the second row, while James Hook produced a flawless goal-kicking display. But, in truth, only Ferris, who walked away with the man of the match award, made a big impression on the game. Did anyone really make a cast-iron case for inclusion in the Test XV? The answer is surely no.
Of course, that is not to say that some of those involved will not start against The Springboks in Durban but there really were no outstanding performances in Bloemfontein and that is extremely worrying. Time really is running out. One could even argue that time has now already run out for some players. Even the likes of Shane Williams, once considered a shoo-in for the left wing berth, must now be wondering if he will even make the 22!
However, if there is one reason to remain positive in relation to The Lions' hopes in the Test series it is that the sense of camaraderie within the camp, which has been much heralded, really does seem to be genuine.
Each and every player has brought it up when talking to the press and McGeechan really does seem to have harnessed a fantastic team spirit, a real sense of unity, an all-for-one-and-one-for-all ethos which everyone involved has bought into.
However, this sense of togetherness will undoubtedly be put to the test in the coming week as more players see their Test dream slip away, starting in Durban on Wednesday.
How it holds up could determine the success of the entire Tour.