Rugby: History repeats as Lions lob accusations

Lions halfback Conor Murray clears the ball under the pressure of All Black lock Brodie Retallick. Photo / Greg Bowker

History has a priceless capacity to repeat, especially, it seems, when it comes to Lions tours to New Zealand.

In the last few days, it has been hard to remember whether it is 2005 or 2017. It has felt like 2005 all over again with the conduct of the All Blacks having incensed the British Lions coach and trial by media having ensued.

That was the scenario 12 years ago after the first test. The Lions were angry that an obvious act of foul play by the All Blacks had gone unpunished.

Their rage was understandable and justified - the incident just 42 seconds into the test ruled Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll out of the series with a dislocated shoulder.

The fact Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu escaped any censure remains a blight on rugby officialdom and whether that was pivotal in shaping the series or not, it didn't rob the Lions of their right to feel aggrieved in those first few days after the first test.

The situation 12 years on is staggeringly similar. There is an eerie feeling of having gone back in time - different characters of course, but largely the same plot.

The Lions of 2017 failed to deliver in the first test in all the same ways as the Lions of 2005. They promised extreme physicality and set piece dominance and couldn't find it.

They wanted to make an emphatic statement about their muscularity in 2017 just as they tried in 2005, and the disappointment at not being able to do so was intense. Defeat was their lot in both first tests but at least in 2005 there was reason to dwell on the conduct of the All Blacks and ask questions about their ability to play within the laws.

It was valid 12 years ago to question the intent of Mealamu and Umaga and state as the Lions did, that whether it was malicious or clumsy, the O'Driscoll incident required some kind of sanction.

And this is where the 2017 tour diverges from its predecessor. The same accusations have been made by Lions head coach Warren Gatland in regard to the conduct of the All Blacks in the first test.

His grizzle is based on one inconclusive piece of footage after 10 minutes where All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino clips Conor Murray after the Lions halfback has kicked the ball.

Gatland has interpreted that as evidence Kaino and other All Blacks were on orders to deliberately try to injure Murray - a key play-making cog in the Lions' wheel.

Kaino, a ferocious but highly disciplined warrior, says he wasn't trying to charge down the ball - that he was trying to disrupt Murray's kicking leg - as he's legally allowed to do - didn't get the timing right and ended up sliding into the halfback's standing leg.

It would hardly rate as Kaino's finest work but nor should it have caused the fuss that it has. The officials saw it, reviewed it and moved on quickly - as should have Gatland. This is not 2005 all over again. Not even close and the international game can't really go down the road of massive accusations being made on the back of minor, isolated incidents.

Never mind the unfair reputational damage it causes and needless tension, there is the danger for Gatland that the All Blacks could unearth footage of Lions players in grey area incidents that won't look good in isolation.

Mistakes will be made with timing and technique and referees will judge things best they can. That's part of the game and coaches have to live with it and understand that test football would be stuffed if any team set out with the intention of injuring opponents.

And that's why it simply doesn't happen - no side in the world game has that mindset.