'Things bad begun'
The Lions have been criticised for their 'poor' start against the Pumas at Millennium Stadium on Monday evening and prophets of doom have had lots of fun, not without Antipodean mockery. But things have not always gone well even with great Lions' teams.
Macbeth told his wife: "Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill."
Some of the Lions' tours have been "bad begun" and then made strong themselves, though by good, not ill. It is also true that some who have begun well have not always ended well.
The 1955 Lions shared a series with the Springboks, playing great rugby and are still revered in South Africa. They are the most popular side ever to tour South Africa and to many the best. They started with defeat and that at the hands of lowly Western Transvaal.
They played in Potchefstroom and scored two tries to nil, but lost 9-6 to three kicks. JBG Thomas in his book on the tour, The Lions on Trek, says: "Western Transvaal deserved their victory, but they closed up the game completely, so as to wear down the lighter British pack by hard scrummaging, fierce line-out play, and continuous accurate kicking behind."
Those exuberant Lions - 31 players, for they had a replacement during the tour, and a management team of two - sang and laughed their way on a tour of 25 matches, including four Tests. They went into the last Test leading the series 2-1 but lost 22-8 in Port Elizabeth.
After losing to Western Transvaal they won six in a row and then Eastern Province beat them 20-0. They then won the next eight, including the first Test when the crowd may have big as 100,000 at Ellis Park, one of the great Tests in the history of the game. The Lions won 23-22.
In 1959 the Lions played 33 matches on a tour to Australia, New Zealand and Canada, including six Tests. They had a team of 33 players, three of them replacements during the tour, and a management of two!
They played Victoria in their first match and then lost their first real encounter - against New South Wales in Sydney. They beat Australia twice, lost 18-17 to New Zealand in the first Test when they scored four tries to nil, lost the second 11-8 and the third 22-8, before winning the fourth 9-6. They scored 165 tries on their tour, a fine, exciting side.
Arthur Smith's side in 1962 had a better start, beating Rhodesia in their first match but they drew with Griqualand West 8-all in their second. Better start but worse results as they lost the series 3-0 with a draw in the first Test. They played 25 matches on the tour. They had a team of 33 players as three joined in as replacements during the tour and a management of two.
The 1966 team took 30 players and acquired another two on a 35-match tour of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. They, too, had a good start and then beat Australia in two Tests before being whitewashed by the All Blacks in four Tests,
Tom Kiernan's 1968 side to South Africa had an easier time - just 20 matches with two replacements and six wins to start with, but they lost the Tests 3-0 with a draw in Port Elizabeth.
Then came the glory if 1971. 30 Lions with a manager and Carwyn James to coach went off to Australia and New Zealand to play 26 matches, including four Tests in New Zealand.
Their start was disastrous, their end glorious. They played their first match against Queensland and lost 15-11. For this they were described as the worst Lions ever.
They then won 15 matches in a row until the All Blacks beat them 22-12 in Christchurch. That was their only defeat on New Zealand soil. They won the next two Tests and drew the fourth. They became only the second team to win a series in New Zealand, the first - and so far only - Lions to do so.
The great 1974 Lions captained by Willie John McBride of Ireland has no problems at all as they swept through South Africa, a victorious horde. They played 22, won 21 and drew the last Test. They too set out with 30 players and took in another two as replacements.
In 1977 the start was good with eight wins in New Zealand, and then things fell apart as they lost the Test series 3-1 and, en route home, lost 25-21 to Fiji in Suva.
The 1980 side was the first big side - or became so. They picked up injuries from the start. It had been 30 players to start with but eventually 38 played on the tour, and that on a tour of only 18 matches, far fewer than on previous tours. But the first injury came after just one minute of the first match.
Billy Beaumont's Lions started well with six wins but lost the series 3-1.
The 1983 side started poorly and continued in the same vein. They lost their second match, to Auckland, and in total lost six, including all four Tests on their 18-match tour of New Zealand.
The 1989 Lions were the first to tour Australia only and they lost only the first Test on their 12-match tour. They took 30 players, adding two for injuries, and a management team of five - a manager, two coaches, a doctor and a physiotherapist.
In 1993 the Lions got off to a good start on their 13-match tour of New Zealand. They won their first four matches. They won only three after that though one was the second Test in a series lost just 2-1.
In 1997 the Lions took 40 players to South Africa for 13 matches. As in 1993, they started well and got better, winning the series 2-1.
In 2001, the Lions played ten matches on their tour to Australia. They won the first three, scoring 241 points to 24 - and then they lost the series.
It would seem that early matches have little bearing on the team's eventual results.