Northern | US

'It's a major advantage now to South Africa': Lions third Test preview


Maro Itoje/ PA
Comments
Comment

South Africa bounced back on Saturday from their loss in the first Test, levelling the series with the British & Irish Lions with a resounding 27-9 victory, setting up an epic finale which Warren Gatland has described as a “cup final”.

ADVERTISEMENT

When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 17:00 (BST) on Saturday August 7th at Cape Town Stadium.

It will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Supersport in South Africa, Stan Sport in Australia and Sky in New Zealand.

Video Spacer

Mike Dawson & Mike Brown Quiz 3 (do Not use)

Video Spacer

Mike Dawson & Mike Brown Quiz 3 (do Not use)

Head-to-head
The Springboks’ victory extended their winning record over the Lions to 23 wins and 17 losses, including six draws. Across the last twelve matches, which includes all tours dating back to 1980, South Africa lead with seven wins and five losses.

1980
South Africa 26-24 Lions
South Africa 26-19 Lions
South Africa 12-10 Lions
South Africa 13-17 Lions

1997
South Africa 16-25 Lions
South Africa 15-18 Lions
South Africa 35-16 Lions

2009
South Africa 26-21 Lions
South Africa 28-25 Lions
South Africa 9-28 Lions

2021
South Africa 17-22 Lions
South Africa 27-9 Lions

Lions Springboks yellow cards
(Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
ADVERTISEMENT

Match odds from Bet365
Bet365 have South Africa as 8/13 favourites to win the third Test, with 21/20 odds that the world champions win both halves. They also have 5/6 odds that the second-half will be the highest scoring half.*

Use bonus code RUGBYPASS and Get Up to £100 in Bet Credits**

Prediction

Three-time Lions tourist and a member of the squad that lost to South Africa in 2009, Ronan O’Gara, is not confident about the visitors’ chances going into the final match of the series.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, the Irishman said: “I think it’s a major advantage now to South Africa.

ADVERTISEMENT

“They have an established game plan that they have huge trust in. It’s one think knowing the ball is coming in the air, so what Lions need to do this week is, they don’t select wingers or back three people who are good at counter attack, I think they select people who are good in the air.

“[South Africa] ruled the air this afternoon and unless the Lions sort that out, it will be the same result again.

“Where I’m scratching my head a little bit is that the Lions don’t have an established style of play, so trust is huge when it comes to shoot-outs and finals, so for me it’s hard to see what style of play we’re going to have to beat the world champions at home.”

 

*Odds accurate as of 02/08/21. BeGambleAware.org 18+ Gamble Responsibly

**New customers only. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

T
TL 51 minutes ago
Joe Schmidt bows out on a high - but can the Wallabies escape 'the twilight zone'?

All of that seems fair enough, aside from the 10 criticism: Lynagh was injured so not up for selection this year + missed most of SR, Noah went to Japan league 2, maybe an argument for bringing him back in early, but we had Carter. Dono and Meredith (who looks decent enough). Definitely not a straightforward call. Edmed was an experiment that didn’t bear fruit, I’m happy to forgive him that one though, because he did what Cheik and Rennie didn’t do, which was consistently look to develop young 10s in the face of criticism (Rennie’s chopping and changing wasn’t great for Noah, and it was back to the future too often for Cheik, which hurt our development pathways e.g. Mack Mason, Jack Maddocks, and too often gambling on people out of position—more than Joe!). Tane is one specific failed experiment. l just wish we had a more scrupulous punditry when it comes to the recent past (your obvs not in the crosshairs here, it’s the Aussie media). TBH, I worry about the identity piece: feel it should be the salt on the meal, rather than the meal. The Reds are full of Aussie identity but they play the most hairpulling rugby at times and the identity seems to excuse this, while the Brums with less talent and less of an identity in the Australian mould over perform. To be optimistic, maybe it does look a little like the Ireland transition with Les coming in a bit like Farrell, seemingly more of a emotive, man motivator type than the technician Joe. What would have been fantastic and helped everything also was for RA not to burn bridges with Lancaster and be able to get him back and have the Tahs cooking, that is one big piece of the puzzle (the Tahs) that will make our national coach’s job a lot easier.

257 Go to comments
Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Copied to clipboard

Share Article close