Pre-tour Prospects
South Africa had won the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup, but were in decline at the time. The inaugural Tri Nations in 1996 had been comfortably won by the All Blacks with South Africa winning only one of the four matches in the tournament. There was also some disarray in the management of the game in South Africa with the resignation of the coach Andre Markgraaff and the acrimonious replacement of the World Cup winning captain Francois Pienaar. Nevertheless the Lions were seen to be underdogs - for example an editorial in the South African sports magazine "SA Sports Illustrated" said "The British Lions arrived in South Africa rated - by their own media, South African media and supporters - as nothing more than rank underdogs. A nice bunch of blokes who were making a bit of history and, in so doing, winning friends rather than matches".
Read more about this topic: 1997 British Lions Tour To South Africa
Famous quotes containing the word prospects:
“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)