Longest Rugby thread ever, then let me add my 2 peneth....
I thought the refereeing was awful - Its easy to say as the Lions lost, but there is a real danger that these Lions tours may be shelved. The Springboks should have had a man sent off for gouging, but instead was yellow carded. Like football, this means the ref has dealt with it, so the Associations cannot impose the 6 month ban they should.
There were some obstructions against Lions, but there were also instances of this when the boks scored, so again, as with Chelsea this year, some interfering, or sub-standard referreeing effects the outcome of a match.
The Lions have merchandising of shirts etc, and get a proportion of the ticket sales, but they only receive a part share of TV rights, as these are negotiated and agreed with the host countries, and its the smaller share. There are more and more going as part of the tour, the tours are longer than ever, and all in all... its not profitable.
I did hear that if they did not get a result in South Africa.... this could be the last tour.
Time will tell.
Lee
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