NZ the big winner from whole Lions experience

There's really only one glaring box left unticked when measuring the success of this Lions rugby tour.

The on-field deeds of the tourists have been uninspiring to say the least, not coming close to the pre-tour bluster.

The hype was overdone a little considering the Lions' awful winning record in New Zealand.

But marketing won the day, we believed Sir Clive Woodward still had it and breathed deeply at pronouncements from Graham Henry that the All Blacks would confront their greatest possible challenge.

Instead the Lions have been hopelessly outclassed in the tests, out-passioned by New Zealand Maori and have graunched through the gears in beating seven provincial foes operating below their best.

But as our recollections of the Lions playing style fade (who have the Warriors got next week?), many more treasured memories will remain.

Mark this tour down as a success, in blazing lights.

At a time when sameness threatens to drown rugby, when Super 14s and extended Tri-Nations are morphing into a predictable Southern Hemisphere stew for nearly half a year, this tour brought with it freshness and colour.

Eden Park on Tuesday night was perhaps the best case in point. A sellout crowd of 47,000 turned up to watch a midweek match between out-of-season Auckland and a group of Lions players not good enough to get into their struggling test team and whose thoughts were surely drifting towards Auckland Airport at lunchtime on Sunday.

The rugby wasn't flash but it didn't matter.

For the home supporters it was a chance to see a slice of history and revel in the sort of atmosphere rarely seen here. The ever-smiling and chanting group of British and Irish fans were clearly not put off in the slightest by the shortcomings of their team.

It's these visitors and, by association New Zealand, who have been the big winners over the last six weeks and are the major reason why tours mustn't be lost to rugby.

Friendly and courteous throughout, the attitude of the touring fans and how it has rubbed off is proof that the popularity of the Lions hasn't wavered, even in their new monolithic state.

The tour and its hordes of followers have done wonders for New Zealand, and not just the national economy and the New Zealand Rugby Union's 2011 World Cup bid, which needs to prove this country can cope with the masses.

It has germinated seeds of patriotism rarely seen from New Zealanders. You won't hear anything like the same decibel levels when God of Nations is sung at the next Tri-Nations test, nor will you see the number of black flags fluttering around the test city, out of car and home windows. And you certainly won't get the thousands jamming every street, pub and club afterwards.

These travelling supporters have also given their New Zealand counterparts -- who can be a mite overbearing in support of the All Blacks -- a lesson in humility. Their presence has been welcomed in every town and city they've visited.

The length of the tour has been about the right for them -- even the pound can only go so far -- and for New Zealand. Interest has waned this week but it would be soaring through the roof about now if the test series was tied 1-1.

The very nature of these Lions -- massive in size and led by a coach many New Zealanders have trouble relating to -- created an us-against-the empire feel before they even landed.

It has been perfect for the media, eager to boost their ratings/readership by enhancing any hint of the classic good guys-bad guys scenario.

Sir Clive Woodward and his evil spinning henchman Alastair Campbell are surely the most despised double act to hit these shores since the Rainbow Warrior bombers.

Leave Tana alone you bastards, we cried. Yet it remains fascinating to ponder the reaction if the All Blacks skipper was on the end of the same upsy-daisy treatment from a couple of Lions.

"Speargate", the cancelled community visits, the reported bust-ups -- none of them really matter much in the big picture but it's all grist for the mill. These tales only come about once we get to know the touring team over more than a few days, even if they spend most of it in hotels or on private training fields.

There are reports that the Lions concept is threatened, that costs are now too great and the players are burning out.

Rugby's bosses must address these issues, even if it means sacrificing other parts of the rugby calendar.

These Lions are welcome back any time -- even you Woody.

- NZPA