McGeechan sets sights on future Lions success

(getty images)

Ian McGeechan, commonly considered to be the greatest single contributor to Lions rugby, says there is next to no chance of him travelling to Australia in 2013 for a fifth stint as head coach of the most celebrated touring team in international sport. He will, however, do his level best to ensure that whoever his successor might be – and there are alarmingly few obvious candidates – is given the clearest possible shot at victory.

"We'll need a discussion back home about how to give the Lions a fair chance," he said, following yesterday's triumph over the Springboks, who suffered only their sixth defeat at Ellis Park in 40 years. "What this group has achieved in the last six weeks should not be underestimated: to take on the world champions in their own back yard and give as good as we received in one of the finest Test series I've ever been a part of is quite something. This victory was vital to us because it will last the four years to the next tour.

"But as I understand it, the two major elements of the International Rugby Board's fixture schedule are the World Cup and Lions tours, so it should not be beyond the wit of the people involved to plan for a Lions trip in terms of the structure of the domestic season two years in advance, as is done for World Cup campaigns. The players have shown what the Lions shirt means to them. I believe we can win a series in the southern hemisphere if the preparation is right."

Paul O'Connell, the tour captain, restated his view that "the Lions jersey is the greatest a player can pull on" and admitted to his relief at breaking the chain of British Isles defeats in southern-hemisphere Tests – seven on the bounce since the first match in Wallaby country in 2001. "It would have been very tough for me to look into the eyes of some of those successful players from 1974 and 1997 [the two previous Lions series victories in South Africa] with a personal record of six Test starts and no wins," he said.

"As soon as this game ended I wondered whether, after enjoying the victory, we might be filled with regret. We'll see. After all, we've lost a series we came so close to winning. It was certainly a hard few days leading into this match. I experienced one of the toughest weeks of my career, just when it should have been one of the most exciting weeks. I'm just glad we've come away with something. It would have been a long summer had we not won today."

Neither the Springbok coach, Peter de Villiers, nor the captain, John Smit, were keen to discuss the "justice" armbands donned in a show of solidarity with the banned lock Bakkies Botha – a development that took the Lions hierarchy entirely by surprise. ("We knew nothing about it, but then, it was nothing to do with us," said McGeechan). The South Africans did, however, accept that they had been comprehensively outplayed by a Lions side who were superior in accuracy and intensity.

"They were all over us," said Smit, who has not ruled out continuing until the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. "We knew it would be tough, though. Test matches against the Lions are amongst the greatest prizes rugby has to offer and such contests are not decided by a kiss on the cheek. I have had two cracks at winning the World Cup and achieved it once. This series is right up there with that success. It has been an amazing experience."