British Lions tour documentary hits the small screen: 'It will be jaw-dropping stuff'

An anecdotal documentary series, Two Sides, is coming to television screens this Sunday. Executive producer Gareth Whittaker talks to Kamva Somdyala about the complexities of bringing the story to life in light of ferocious Covid-19 wave, off-field drama and July unrests.

The celebrations at the Cape Town stadium as Siya Kolisi hoisted the Lions series silverware last year belied weeks of toiling to pull off a successful tour.

It was a tour that hung in the balance - on several fronts - until the Springboks beat the British & Irish Lions 19-16 to seal the tour 2-1 in their favour, meaning the Boks are now the owners of the World Cup and the Lions Series cup.

While the circumstances around the tour were business unusual, producers of Chasing the Sun were on hand to capture the moments in between the battlefield, and it’s coming to the small screen in a three-part documentary, Two Sides, starting this Sunday.

In the official promotional clip on SuperSport, respected commentator Matthew Pearce can be heard saying "well you can almost call it the tour against all odds."

Executive producer Gareth Whittaker told Sport24 they subjected themselves to a string of checks and balances to ensure a quality product that did not compromise Covid-19 measures which were strictly enforced within team environments.

He stressed that a Covid-19 third wave and the July unrests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng play a key role in the series. The rugby, Whittaker noted, is still king, however, it was incumbent on them to reflect that much more was happening outside of their secure environment.

"This tour happened at a unique time in human history; at the height of a Covid-19 wave," Whittaker began.

"Putting on a sporting event at that time brought with it the most incredible set of complexities.

"We had an opportunity to tell an iconic story of what it was like for a major global sporting event to unfold at that unique time.

"That really is the story that unfolds: it’s a story of the complexity... of whether it [series] would happen… then the complexity from within the two camps."

The hosts themselves were rocked by Covid-19 and, at the time it was all unfolding, looked set to jeopardise hosting the coveted event.

On and off the field, it was a jam-packed couple of weeks. A couple of players earned their 50th caps for the national team and the captain led from the front after being down with coronavirus.

It also had its ugly moments: when "Rassiegate" dominated headlines after what many observers called a screed on referee Nic Berry; the host nation’s captain also felt he didn’t receive the deference he deserved.

World Rugby reacted to Erasmus' leaked video, calling him to order and slapping him with a list of sanctions.

Whittaker, part and parcel of the team that produced Chasing the Sun admits that that one tugged at our collective heartstrings, but Two Sides will bring fireworks to audiences.

"People will love it [the documentary] if they love rugby. People will love it if they love the Springboks and the Lions, but will also love it if they love stories about people.

"It just gets better and better," Whittaker enthused.

The Springboks celebrate winning their series against the British Lions (Gallo)

Given the temptation in documentary making to exaggerate events (think F1’s Drive to Survive), Whittaker gave the assurance that "while it’s full of drama, we’re not creating that drama".

"The drama was there and my hope is that while watching, the players experience an authentic drama-filled representation of what they went through," Whittaker added.

"It will be edge of your seats, jaw-dropping stuff," he promised.

Whittaker saved his last word for two individuals he says really drove the project; Marc Jury, CEO, SuperSport as well as head of commercial, Rendani Removha.

Part one of the series hits screens this Sunday evening on M-Net (18:00) and SuperSport at 19:00.

Watch trailer below.