Writing in The Times, Stuart Barnes looks past the statistics and is reminded of one important fact from the Lions tour - they lost.
"Statistics lie, damn them; based purely on statistics, the 2009 Lions should have been the winners. South Africa scored 63 points to the Lions’ 74, the Springboks were outscored by seven tries to five, but the only statistic that history will remember is South Africa 2, the British & Irish Lions 1.
"Contrast with the winning series of 1997. That vintage is not recalled with the same awe as the mighty 1974 side, but the myth of Martin Johnson’s imposing pack and their looming power lives on.
"Yet consider the statistics of that series. In that three-match battle, the Springboks scored 66 points and the Lions a measly 55. The losing Springboks ran in nine tries to the Lions’ three. But winning is the only statistic that matters, and the Lions won where it mattered by two games to one.
"In Lions history, the past presses upon the present, mythology and fact combine in shades of grey as the men of today are judged by yesterday’s standard bearers. By such a judgment, the 2009 side should be adjudged a better team than their winning predecessors."
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