John Smit: Lions 'declined' post match beers in 2009

Former Springbok captain John Smit has revealed that 2009 British and Irish Lions management rejected the invite for post-match beers after the three test matches.

Speaking on Brian Moore's Full Contact podcast, Smit revealed that the Lions management was not keen to build relationships during the 2009 tour.

Brian Moore asked Smit if he could remember what kind of camaraderie, if any, there was between the two sides after the final whistle in the third test, which South Africa lost.

"This was probably one of the things that I felt could have been better." Smit responded.

"We sent out an invite to the British and Irish Lions management weeks before they arrived to invite them into our changing room after every Test match to share a beer, and they sadly declined."

"We didn’t have an opportunity to make any friends. So the only relationships I’ve got with some of those players are the ones that I’ve made through internationals. It was almost as if they went out of their way to stay away from us for those three weeks, which was disappointing."