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The neutral observer's Lions tour

5th July, 2017
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All Blacks Codie Taylor celebrates after scoring a try during the first test between the British and Irish Lions and the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, June 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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5th July, 2017
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As a fanatical Wallabies and Reds supporter, it has been a delightful relief to watch the British and Irish Lions’ tour of New Zealand as a neutral observer.

I’ve become accustomed to my rugby coming with a healthy side serving of heartache and frustration, but this tour has fed my soul like few before it. The history, the fans, the story, and of course, the rugby, has reinvigorated my love for the game and reassured me that only on our shores has the proverbial death knell has been ringing.

But this is not about homegrown handwringing, I’ve well and truly had enough of that.

This is about how good rugby can be when it relies on its traditions and its strengths.

Four years ago, when the Lions toured Australia, I was so heavily invested in the result that I was almost blinded to the joy tours like this can bring. I leaped from one gut-wrenching moment to another. The Horwill suspension drama, the late night burger run, the dying days of Dingo, it was almost all too much.

Of course there were highlights, not least of which was the arrival of Israel Folau on the international scene and a memorable victory in the second Test. At the time, however, it was all about the win, and on that count, it was a failed exercise for the Wallabies and their fans.

This current tour, however, comes with none of that baggage. There have still been dramas, but by and large, they have been on-field dramas, and that only adds to the narrative of this great series.

It is that narrative that has me so captivated, particularly as it can really only develop on longer tours such as this one, with the ebb and flow of midweek matches building into the crescendo of this weekend’s deciding Test match.

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I grew up on these long tours, and they come around all too rarely these days. It’s been such a joy watching the Lions team grow together over the course of the tour, develop their style of play and combinations between nations, nations at war with each other just a few short months ago.

My Scottish heritage had me outraged at the apparent snub of such a well performed Six Nations team, but outrage has given way to acceptance, and it’s hard to argue with a team now one win away from a historic victory.

The traveling fans are of course the other highlight of these tours. No nation can compete with the British in terms of a mobile fan-base, and their vociferous support is sometimes as entertaining as the on-field action.

Without a vested interest in the result, I can appreciate the throng for all that they bring, undoubtedly adding another layer of personality and colour to the tour.

A Lions tour to New Zealand is unlike anything else rugby has to offer, arguably the two best teams in the world facing off in a contest we won’t see for another 12 years.

Full stadiums decked out in black and red is as imposing and impressive as rugby crowds get, and watching Owen Farrell take the kick of his life last week, sailing the ball through the posts and into that sea of red, was a glorious sight.

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Hearing the Kiwi crowd lift as one as their anthem kicks into the second verse always sends a shiver down my spine, and there seems to be a little extra gusto in their lungs for these games.

This Saturday’s rendition might just shake the foundations of Eden Park.

The scuttlebutt we started to hear about the death of the Lions has surely been put to bed. Rugby is built on its traditions and this team, this tour, is surely one of the greatest traditions we have. The scarcity only adds to the value.

The chance, this year, to watch the Lions do battle without my mental health hinging on the result has been a pleasure.

I can only hope the battle this Saturday night can live up to the expectation, and deliver a spectacle worthy of this great tradition. I’ll be on the couch, completely relaxed, but utterly enthralled. And I can’t wait.

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