Wynne Gray: Rejigged Lions can revitalise the North

The Boks all wore Justice 4 emblems signalling their solidarity for banned lock Bakkies Botha.

Despite my searching, there have been no similar clothing billboards signalling support for coach Peter de Villiers, whose utterances during the compelling series with the Lions have been more erratic than normal.

Same with his selections and decisions. He hauled a core of senior players off during the first test and then watched as the Springboks almost squandered a huge lead while his mega changes for the final Ellis Park test paid no homage to the occasion.

De Villiers can dribble on as much as he likes that he needed to check out his next layer of talent. He did that in the first test and discovered the difference. Had he really wanted to decipher that form, de Villiers should have sent all his other troops into battle against the Lions in their tour matches, instead of keeping them in cotton-wool for the test series.

It was a weekend where there seemed lots of decent sporting choice until closer examination.

The Warriors were warmly heated fare, the Tour de Farce does not get going until the Stage One time trial is done, while it is difficult to take seriously a sisterly shootout in the Wimbledon final. There was some curiosity about the under-19 basketball while Danny Lee does not complete his tournament challenge at Congressional until today.

Some dude walloped down 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes to set a new world record for an excited rent-a-crowd but it really was about as thrilling as snail racing.

So it was back to the Boks and the Lions and all the snarling after the series decider at Pretoria with Ronan O'Gara's brain fade and the subsequent justified ban on Schalk Burger and the debatable suspension on Bakkies Botha.

The big man is a loose cannon but his solitary cleanout, for which he was suspended for two games, is seen many times every weekend. Botha seemed to be punished because of his previous.

Meanwhile Simon Shaw was placed in the naughty chair at Ellis Park after dropping his knee into Fourie du Preez as he lay on the ground.Not much word from the Brits about that cheap shot, just like the one he got a red card for against the All Blacks at Eden Park five years ago.

While the Lions also changed a number of players, because of injury and fatigue, they did show a depth in resources and style changes which augur well for a stronger challenge from the Six Nations when they host the All Blacks this year.

The tourists showed they could play width and multi-phase rugby to regenerate the sport north of the equator, though the All Blacks will not meet the Irish and stars like Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Jamie Heaslip, Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell this season.

Mike Phillips shapes as a special halfback, Stephen Jones held up under the heat, Jamie Roberts is a classy midfielder, James Hook too, Shane Williams can be mesmeric, Martyn Williams belied his size and years while Alun Wyn-Jones, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones grafted well. All Welsh, all primed to interrogate the All Blacks in the tour's second test at Cardiff on November 7.

You felt the Lions might run out of gas in the altitude at Johannesburg, but they stayed on track while the Boks played like a pickup side de Villiers had grabbed from a suburban park. When he changed the spectating reserves to players, the rot could not be rectified.

He followed his dopey comments defending Burger with some dopey selections.

Unfortunately, even de Villiers will realise his mistakes, or have them pointed out by the senior players, before the Boks do battle next with the All Blacks at Bloemfontein and Durban.

Meanwhile Riki Flutey celebrated his callup with some sharp play including a kick, chase and slap pass to the twinkle-toed Williams and then Ugo Monye, after a thrilling intercept, put the ball down properly this time after messing up two groundings in the first test.

There was an interminable wait for a TMO decision on whether Akona Ndungane had scored or gone into touch. Eventually the no-try decision came - thank God the series did not hang on it.

After the spiritless Lions visit to New Zealand in 2005, their modest test showings and the lack of interaction with the public from their bloated squad, this series restored much of that fervour which accompanied their visit to Australia in 2001.

Let's hope it can be a catalyst for even more spirited showings from the Six Nations teams when they host the All Blacks this season.

In Graham Henry's coaching reign the All Blacks have played the Six Nations and the Lions 33 times at home and abroad with just two losses to France at the last World Cup and Dunedin this season.