Moving on up need not bring Lions down

There have been more than a few suggestions that by playing yesterday's first test at sea level and by then moving the Lions up to altitude for next Saturday's second test, the Springboks will be gaining a sneaky advantage.

Given that the tourists have already acclimatised by kicking off their schedule on the Highveld, the switch to the altitude of Pretoria probably shouldn't have too much significance, however, it still begs the question as to why South Africa have arranged the games in this order.

It will be demanding enough playing at Loftus Versfeld, the home of Super 14 champions, the Blue Bulls, without having to gasp for breath in the final quarter, yet John Robbie, a former Lion and a captain of Transvaal in his day, doesn't see it that way.

"These guys come from playing in Europe where there's a lot of wind and rain, and suddenly they find themselves playing in these conditions. For good rugby players, the Highveld has the best conditions in the world. I always preferred playing at altitude when I was on the Lions tour in 1980 and I think the team played better."

Robbie, who remains one of South Africa's best known radio talk show hosts, believes the Lions have prepared well and that they shouldn't get hung up on the altitude issue. "People used to talk about the effects, but I never really experienced them. I suppose some of the big forwards would talk about shortage of breath, and the ball obviously travels a little further, but to me everything seemed more focused and faster. I loved it and I can honestly say I never noticed it."

When it rains, it really pours in Durban

Going into yesterday's game, several of the 1997 Lions such as Jeremy Guscott, Ieuan Evans, Paul Wallace and Matt Dawson were reminiscing about how they managed to clinch the series in Durban, but if that was a famous day in British and Irish rugby history, another game at King's Park two years earlier during the World Cup evoked slightly different memories.

In the hours before the South Africa-France semi-final, the city had experienced a torrential downpour, and with the pitch waterlogged, it seemed at one stage that the match would be cancelled and that France would go through to the final because they had a better disciplinary record – James Dalton having been sent off in a pool game against Canada for fighting.

In a desperate effort to get the sodden pitch ready, the best officials could do was to send out a group of black cleaning ladies with mops. Not alone was it hardly the most sophisticated method of drying out the playing surface, it was an enduring image of the bad, old South Africa.

But in the end, the ladies and the mops saved the day as the Springboks won 19-15 in the subsequent mudbath even though France had what looked like a perfectly good try disallowed. And the rest is history.

Ireland ready for finest hour in Churchill Cup

Elsewhere, Ireland A take on the England Saxons in the final of the Churchill Cup this evening in Denver (kick-off 9.30, live Sky Sports 1). The Irish come into the decider on the back of wins over Canada by 30-19 and Georgia by 40-7, while the Saxons have defeated Argentina A and the USA.

Seeing that Irish senior teams have won just about everything open to them in 2009 – Grand Slam and by definition, Six Nations championship and Triple Crown, along with the Heineken Cup and the Magners League – another victory would cap the season off nicely.

Southern Kings of ruck 'n' roll

There was a bit too much bleating from sections of the media following last Tuesday's victory over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth. There undoubtedly were a few cheap shots from the pumped-up Kings with De Wet Barry (right, getting acquainted with Gordon D'Arcy), Frikki Welsh and Jaco van der Westhuyzen the main culprits, but it was hardly a bloodbath.

Although Ian McGeechan was reported to be "privately fuming", he later made typically diplomatic noises about the game and the Kings' tactics. In fact, it was the first of the pre-test fixtures that had a real edge to it, and if anything, it was the sort of no-holds barred contest the Lions would have been expecting earlier in the tour.

Even if Euan Murray was ruled out of the tour – and his injury was the sort that could have occurred on the training pitch - when all was said and done, it was a much more meaningful game than those against the Golden Lions and the Sharks.