Supersport, a South African TV broadcaster, released the trailer for their documentary for the 2021 Lions Tour. The documentary is called ‘Two Sides’ and the trailer truly is mouth watering.
The 2021 Lions Tour certainly wasn’t the same last summer, when it went ahead without any fans in any of the stadiums. However the fact that it went ahead despite the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, is something sport and rugby fans should be grateful for, with the spectacle that was shown on our TV screens.
Although the build up and the atmosphere wasn’t the same, the tour wasn’t short of any drama. The series began as the Lions took on Japan at Murrayfield in Edinburgh as the only game of the tour with fans present. From there, for the most part, the Lions made easy work of the warm up matches. Although having only played 2 games against Georgia and the Bulls, the Springboks brought the fire for the test series against the British and Irish Lions.
Ultimately South Africa won the test series 2 to 1. On July 24, the Lions won the first test 22–17, but South Africa won the second test 27–9 a week later, and the third test 19–16 with a late penalty on August 7 to finish the series.
A standout moment from the drama of the series, came from controversy off the pitch. Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had an hour long video leaked of him critising referee Nic Berry from the first test match. The Lions won the opening test match to start the series off strong. From the video, the pressure was surely on the shoulders of Ben O’Keefe as he took charge of the second test. Erasmus was later banned by World Rugby in November 2021 from all rugby activities for two months, and from all match day activities until September 2022.
The tour, all things considered, for most people, certainly lived up to expectations.
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