At the end of the match between Gloucester and Sale, a disgruntled home supporter turned to me and said, "So much for the new scrum laws then?"
The world's Number One team, the All Blacks, have their fair share of giant athletes but it is rugby nous that glues them together. Richie McCaw is a great player but there are open sides with more speed and strength. There are none with greater rugby intelligence which explains his longevity at the summit of the game.
If a club team in Europe wanted to sign a back capable of changing the way they play, the first name on the book would be Conrad Smith. He's tall but gangly, elusive but hardly mesmerising on the run and a fine defender, yet not a brute of a hitter. But he has a brilliant rugby brain. A constant increase in size and an ever larger scrum is progress, but not all progress is of a beneficial nature.
Gloucester lost to Sale because they were rudderless. All the physical conditioning in the world cannot save a team that loses the ability to think for itself.
This weekend
Next week the cerebral Kiwis wits needs be quicker than at any time this season as they clash with South Africa at Eden Park. With home advantage the All Blacks are favourites but the Springboks have size and a clearly thought out strategy that could cause a few problems for New Zealand. Even if New Zealand win, South Africa have scored enough bonus points to leave them in a good position to make the Rugby Championship decider in Johannesburg the game of the year for the rugby neutral.
In British eyes that game has to be the third Test in Sydney and rightly so. The Lions don't often win series, but the manner of the Springbok demolition of the Wallabies is perhaps a reminder that the people charged with appointing the manager for the New Zealand tour in 2017 should not rush things.
Australia are not a good team and brilliant a performance as we saw in the deciding Test, we could easily have lost 2-1 had Christian Leali'ifano not been injured within a minute of the first Test. Warren Gatland has Lions knowledge and a series win to his name. He deserves to be in poll position at the moment, but Australia's constant losing run is a reminder that perspective needs to be kept and some time taken before reaching a decision that could look very different even a year from now.
So much for the Lions, it is the other championship for me at the weekend - My first Greene King IPA match. And having enjoyed a few sunny days in the company of Andy Robinson and Ian Davies, as The Cornish Pirates and Bristol prepare for their first games, I am excited to see some ambitious attacking play.
But It is fair to say that I am looking forward to the All Blacks versus the Springboks even more.
