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Bok-lash: Lions set for series decider as Springboks bite back

By PA
Maro Itoje and Stuart Hogg /PA

The British and Irish Lions will collide with South Africa in a series decider next Saturday after the Springboks emerged emphatic 27-9 winners from an ugly second Test at Cape Town Stadium.

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A grisly spectacle disfigured by repeated stoppages saw the Lions build a deserved 9-6 interval lead through three Dan Biggar penalties, but having been largely bossed until that point the world champions began to snarl in the second half.

Makazole Mapimpi crossed to propel them back in front and then Lukhanyo Am touched down as they capitalised on excellent kicks from Handre Pollard and Faf De Klerk.

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Jason Robinson’s history as a British & Irish Lion

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Jason Robinson’s history as a British & Irish Lion

A feature of the match was the world champions’ growing control of the air as the Lions struggled to deal with the barrage of kicks raining down on them, while up-front the home pack muscled up in a dominant 40 minutes.

Unlike in the first Test that was lost 22-17, the ‘Bomb Squad’ had the desired impact from the bench, and the size of the win as the Springboks powered over the finishing line with their forwards rampant suggests they were undercooked for the series opener seven days earlier.

A major outbreak of coronavirus severely disrupted their build-up but by full-time of this rematch they had rediscovered their swagger as the Lions fell away at an alarming rate.

South Africa were lucky to see Cheslin Kolbe avoid a red card after he took Conor Murray out in the air, while a high tackle by De Klerk, also on Murray, was given only brief attention by the officials.

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Otherwise it was a fine performance by referee Ben O’Keeffe, who was subject to unprecedented scrutiny after Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus released an extraordinary hour-long critique of the officiating in the first Test.

South Africa v British and Irish Lions - Castle Lager Lions Series - Second Test - Cape Town Stadium

O’Keeffe was calm and composed throughout a fractious match that was constantly interrupted by reviews on a huge number of incidents, with the first half alone lasting over an hour.

In a sign of the conflict to come, tempers flared as early as the third minute with Alun Wyn Jones and Eben Etzebeth locking horns after a South African maul was halted just short of the line.

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O’Keeffe seized the opportunity to assert his authority to the captains and a cagey opening was under way with Pollard and Biggar exchanging penalties as the packs tore into each other.

Kolbe came off worse in a head-on head collision with Tom Curry that he instigated, fortunately escaping any sanction, as the Lions continued to edge a ferocious opening quarter.

South Africa v British and Irish Lions - Castle Lager Lions Series - Second Test - Cape Town Stadium

Biggar was on target with a second penalty and the bad news began to pile up for the Springboks as Pollard missed the posts and 2019 world player of the year Pieter-Steph Du Toit departed with a shoulder injury sustained during an earlier tackle by Duhan Van Der Merwe.

It was a contentious challenge that ended Du Toit’s match but Van Der Merwe did not escape O’Keeffe’s attention for a trip on Kolbe that was punished with a yellow card.

The advantage was rapidly wiped out, however, when Kolbe took Murray out in the air and was also sent to the sin-bin where he could reflect on his luck that the card was not red.

Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje pinched home ball on successive line-outs as the absence of Du Toit began to bite at the set-piece.

The Lions were now on top as they camped on South Africa’s line, applying pressure with the line-out and then scrum before Robbie Henshaw was unable to ground the ball over the line because of Siya Kolisi’s intervention after grabbing Murray’s kick.

Biggar’s boot gave the tourists the lead for the first time but the second half had barely begun when Pollard hoisted a kick to the wing for Mapimpi to collect and score.

Momentum was growing behind South Africa and a powerful maul swept them forwards before De Klerk grubbered for Am to score, although he did not appear to have full control of the ball.

It was foot on the throat time as Pollard rifled over two penalties and the Lions looked a spent force, unable to match the Springboks’ physicality.

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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