Springboks vs British and Irish Lions

I've been a rugby union fan since I was a kid and played the sport competitively throughout my schooldays. The first time I saw the British Lions was back in 1980 when the Springboks (South Africa's national team), lead by eighthman and brilliant leader Morné Du Plessis, beat Bill Beaumont's side 3 - 1 in the Test series. There were a lot of injuries and a lot of players had to be flown in to reinforce the original squad. John Robbie was one of them. He's a well-known TV & radio presenter in SA today. It was a ten-week tour consisting of 18 matches.

I loved those big tours because the touring sides played regional teams as well. This lead to a lot of rivalry between the players in the so-called midweek team and the eventual team that would run out for the Test series. Those long tours are basically unheard of today. That is why I'm really looking forward to this Lions tour in June since they'll be playing ten matches which include three Tests. Due to logistics, money and club commitments I doubt whether the Lions will embark on a similar tour in the future.

Springboks vs British and Irish Lions 2009 tour schedule
(Time: SA local time GMT+2)

Date	Time	Fixture	Venue
Sat, May 30	3pm	Highveld XV v British and Irish Lions	Rustenburg
Wed, June 3	7.10pm	Xerox Golden Lions v British and Irish Lions	Johannesburg
Sat, June 6	3pm	Vodacom Free State Cheetahs v British and Irish Lions	Bloemfontein
Wed, June 10	7.10pm	Sharks v British and Irish Lions	Durban
Sat, June 13	3pm	Vodacom WP v British and Irish Lions	Cape Town
Tues, June 16	TBC (3pm)	Coastal XV v British and Irish Lions	Port Elizabeth
Sat June 20	3pm	South Africa v British and Irish Lions	Durban
Tues, June 23	7.10pm	Emerging SA v British and Irish Lions	Cape Town
Sat, June 27	3pm	South Africa v British and Irish Lions	Pretoria
Sat, July 4	3pm	South Africa v British and Irish Lions	Johannesburg

The Springboks are considered favourites by most to win the test series considering they're the current Rugby World Cup Champions; they also beat the British union sides on their last tour in November 2008. The annihilation of England in the 42 - 6 defeat at Twickenham was quite impressive. However, traditionally the British Lions have always been a strong side. Their coach Ian McGeechan is very experienced; this will be his fourth Lions tour.

Roll on June!