The South Africa coach, Peter de Villiers, has expressed surprise over the Lions decision to omit the England captain, Steve Borthwick, and his Wales counterpart, Ryan Jones, from their squad for the three-test tour here.
De Villiers yesterday announced his 28-man squad for the series, which he believes will be closer than many pundits in South Africa are predicting. He is adamant that the lessons of 1997, when the Lions won the first two of the three Tests despite being rank underdogs, have been absorbed.
"Ian McGeechan was in charge 12 years ago and he is a brilliant coach," said de Villiers, in the latest issue of SA Rugby magazine. "His biggest attribute is that he is a very organised person and he will have done his homework thoroughly. He's willing to take on anything in front of him and he is a brilliant tactician.
"You can see the influence the other coaches around him have had and they have put together a great squad, although I was surprised that Borthwick, Jones and, originally, Mike Blair were left out. McGeechan had his reasons for that, which he did not reveal.
"I would have made Brian O'Driscoll captain because he was the most successful leader in the Six Nations, but I respect his decision to go with Paul O'Connell and McGeechan knows a thing or two about winning in South Africa. Did I make the right call in making John Smit my captain?"
The loss in 1997 still rankles with South Africans. "We have learned a few lessons from that tour, but we cannot guarantee that we will not repeat those mistakes," added de Villiers. "There will certainly be an emphasis on cutting them out. The fact we do not have sufficient preparation time before the first Test presents us with a challenge.
"We made some trips to watch Six Nations matches earlier in the year, but rugby players are very dependent on each other, so what works for Wales might not work for the Lions with a different group. We just have to be ready for the onslaught.
"We will play the game that we have employed for many years. We will have a very tough pack of forwards, but the players will play what is in front of them, although there will be a structure because without it you are a headless chicken. I am looking for intellectual players, guys who make the right decisions instinctively.
"There is no coach in the world who can make players, it is players who make the coach. I will be there to give the players direction, but if we lose we lose. We will never prepare to lose, but we do not have control over winning and losing.
"The Lions are in a privileged position because we are giving them six games to prepare for the Test series and turn the team into a unit, so they will have the advantage in that regard, but South African rugby is on the up and sport in South Africa on the whole is on the up."
In the same issue of the magazine, Smit said he was motivated by the failure in 1997 having played 10 minutes against the Lions off the bench for the Sharks and spending a week in the Springboks' camp as part of the under-19 squad.
"The Lions will pray every day that we take them as lightly as the '97 side took them," he said. "But that won't happen. Guaranteed. There are too many guys who have spent part of the last two years on being part of this series and beating them. We will come in very prepared and desperate to win.
"I remember 12 years ago that there was not a good flow of communication between the players and the coach, who had just been appointed. Peter de Villiers has been in place for more than a year and he is less conservative in his approach than his predecessor, Jake White.
"Peter showed faith in me by keeping me on as captain when I was playing in France and I would like to repay him by going out on such a limb for me. What better way to do that than to help him win a Lions series?"
