Home and away

Not the brightest of starts for the Lions in South Africa - very nearly beaten by a team hastily assembled by the King of Bafokeng it seems. I didn't see the game live as I was attending a family wedding in the back end of beyond in North Wales (accessible only after what seemed like several hours sat behind a caravan on winding mountain roads). I did manage to catch the last 20 minutes or so of the repeat on Sky Sports 2 on Sunday morning in our hotel room (a hotel which was also hosting Doctor Who actor David Tennant, much to the delight (aka awe) of my kids) and, from what little I saw, the Lions appeared to make a bit of a pig's ear of the whole thing. In a team seemingly determined to hand over possession to the opposition at every opportunity, only Lee Byrne showed any real composure, managing to spark the team into avoiding a disastrous opening result with a decent last 10 minutes.

Talking of near disasters, England's rookies very nearly took one hell of a beating from the BaaBaas at Twickenham, only a late rally, the hot weather and the fact that the average age of the Barbarians was 58 preventing an absolute stuffing. A performance by England which even made the Barbarians' Ian Balshaw look a world beater has to be worrying for Johnno.

What's certain is that neither the Springboks nor Argentina will be quaking in their respective boots and will hope that both the Lions and England continue to select fly halves who view tackling as an optional extra.