Lions Tour, July 2
The memory of Neil Jenkins’ ruthless, cruel efficiency from the kicking tee in 1997 has remained one of my most enduring sporting memories of the last quarter of a century as the Lions beat the Springboks against the heaviest odds.
Although it was centre Jeremy Guscott who dropped the goal four minutes before the end of the second Test which is widely remembered as the winning moment, Jenkins scored 15 points in both of the first two Tests which was the biggest difference between the teams. He scored another 11 in the third Test which the ‘Boks won 35-16 but it was no consolation.
There was much debate before the series about whether the Lions would pick the ‘limited’ Jenkins or whether they might even try to ‘fit him in’ out of position in order to have his deadly kicking, but they stuck with him and the gamble, if that’s what it was, paid off. I was looking forward to the interview this afternoon. Lions media management told me to be ‘ready to go’ at 1:45pm. I was ready by 1:30pm, just in case.
It was 75 minutes later that Jenkins was finally appeared, evidently unaware that he was late. The Lions are extremely well cared for and the last thing they need to worry about is keeping the media waiting. Still, it was worth the wait: “Back in 1997, in the immediate euphoria of victory, you said it was a moment in your career you would remember with the same joy for the rest of your life. So, 24 years later, were you right?” I asked him.
The grin spread wide, then wider: “Oh yes, no doubt about that. Nothing has changed, thank you for asking,” he replied. “To come to South Africa and beat a great team on their home patch, as underdogs who were supposed to lose three-nil. Nobody saw that coming, everybody said we’d lose. You can’t really describe what it meant to us, it was the hardest rugby most of us ever played.” Jenkins missed the 2005 Lions tour but has been on every other one as a player or coach since that ’97 tour. Two as a player and four as a coach. “But I did go on the ’05 tour as a fan,” he says, smiling broadly again.
The day began with two Covid tests. Two. The Lions require me to undergo a full PCR test every 48 hours in order to speak to the tourists and SARU require everybody who enters any stadium to undergo a ‘rapid test’. I fear for the durability of my nasal tissue at the end of six weeks. This morning the main testing nurse asked whether I would mind if a trainee performed the test. Having had over 50 since January, it made no difference to me. “Sure, go ahead.”
Loftus Versfeld in the evening for the Springboks vs Georgia. The choice of South Africa’s largest, most intimidating stadia for the international season still intrigues me. Given that every match has essentially become a made-for-television event, why not stage them at smaller venues which are dramatically cheaper to run. There were still thousands of people working the match, as many as half a dozen security staff at every gate, inside and outside the sprawling arena and dozens more guarding car-parks.
The internal Red-zone is for players and team official, match officials and medical staff. The Orange-zone is for…I’m not sure. The media is in the Yellow-zone. Maps were emailed to us with our ‘safe routes’ to reach our venues. It is a huge logistical operation.
Sadly, there were no broadcast technicians or local media venue managers amongst those on site. My ISDN line, installed earlier in the day, refused to function. So I watched the Springboks 40-9 victory with all the kit I had dragged into the stadium sitting lamely in front of me. Never mind. There is still a long way to go before the Tests start.
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