Trying time for Brits who get kicked in the teeth

Back in this altogether more innocent age, controversy and rugby were almost exclusively linked on the field only.

There were no punch-ups in bars (there probably were, but they weren't reported), no kiss-and-tell royal romances, no claims of youth misspent dealing drugs. No players writing columns slagging off tour management ... while they're still on tour.

No, controversy normally happened inside the white lines and no more so than the first test between the All Blacks and the Lions at Dunedin on July 18, 1959.

The Lions arrived on these shores having beaten the Australians 2-0 in their test series and having established a reputation for running rugby, which was something of a rarity in New Zealand.

Run it they did in this test, scoring four tries, while the mighty Blacks failed to cross their line once.

But it still wasn't enough for the Lions. Standing at the back for New Zealand was a slightly ponderous Waikato-an with a prodigious boot.

Don Clarke answered every Lions try with a penalty and a bit more. So while the Lions four tries (they were only worth three points in those days) established them as the better team on the park, Clarke's six penalties meant the All Blacks, including Colin Meads who met the Lions for the first of his record 14 appearances against the British, walked off the field winners.

The result didn't go down well, even among New Zealanders whose sense of fair play left them feeling more embarrassed than elated by the result.