Wallabies show respect to Lions tour traditions

WHEN James Horwill, the Australia captain, was interviewed soon after the match over the stadium communications system, the thousands of Lions followers gave him both barrels.

WHEN James Horwill, the Australia captain, was interviewed soon after the match over the stadium communications system, the thousands of Lions followers gave him both barrels.

The voice of Horwill, who escaped suspension in two hearings after he had allegedly booted Alun Wyn Jones in the head, was almost drowned out as he responded to questions.

But when the followers heard what he was saying, they piped down with dramatic suddenness. Horwill congratulated the Lions with great magnanimity, then praised to the skies the Lions support. “You are what makes these occasions so special,” he said. As he walked to the dressing rooms there was fervent applause for him.

Later, he expanded on his affection for Lions tours and touring itself. “This tour has been huge for rugby in Australia and I am only disappointed that as a team, we did not capitalise on it. The whole experience has been massive, and sometimes I think that playing Saturdays and then midweek on a real tour is what rugby is all about. I would like to see more of it.”

I was tempted to give him an ovation. I will probably go to my grave believing that he should have missed the game yesterday through suspension but have always rated him as a player and as an ambassador for Australia and rugby.

As a career fan of rugby tours, his words were music to my ears. We have thoroughly enjoyed the touring visits to smaller places such as Newcastle and Noosa and part of me pines for those places that once appeared on the touring schedule, such as Dubbo, Cairns and Cobar.Lions tours have been special for me. One mathematician in the office concluded that this is my eighth reporting for this newspaper. If you doubt my longevity, you have only to study my picture byline. No one ever wants to hear much about the vicissitudes of following the long tours but they are always outweighed by attending such glorious occasions as the three Tests in this series. The rugby in the second Test in Melbourne was poor but taken as a whole, the series has shown rugby and Australian cities in a grand light. Rugby union, especially in Melbourne and Sydney, is dwarfed in its coverage by the media attention given to Australian Rules and rugby league. But what would those two landlocked sports not give for just the occasional gigantic match and portentous surroundings - we had three in three weeks.

Australia is a funny old place. They affect to dislike the Poms and Irish but are never quite convincing. Perhaps some of the bite comes out in cricket exchanges but in rugby, Australia's heart does not really lie in baiting us at all.

Occasionally in South Africa and with increasing frequency in New Zealand, the Lions are used and abused. The power of the brand makes Kiwis uncomfortable, and there is a bitterness in the reception.

Australia gets the Lions. There has been fervent support for the home teams but also fervent support for what the Lions are, for the wonderful traditions. There has even been an element of partnership in what both sides of the ferocious argument have been trying to achieve.

Yesterday morning, Circular Quay was a sea of red, with the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Opera House on the other, framing a vast pre-match festivity. It was a glorious sight.

As usual, the basic organisation of this Lions tour was bungled badly - more of that next week. But while the Lions escaped, so did many more things of value.

Australian rugby union is not in a boom period but with its natural gifts and the impetus of everything dressed in red, it will rise again, and Horwill will get his wishes.

The Sunday Times