Lions make it a rousing finish

Shane Williams © Gallo images

The British and Irish Lions made it an emphatic finish to what before that had been a closely fought series as they ground out a 28-9 victory over the Springboks in the final test in Johannesburg.

It was the biggest Lions win over South Africa since Willie John McBride’s triumphal march through the country in 1974, and equalled the biggest win for the Lions over the Boks, which came in Pretoria on that same tour. It should have been more than enough to ensure that the Lions return to the northern hemisphere feeling proud of themselves, even though they lost the series 2-1.

The Lions scored three tries to nil, and they could even have scored more, so superior were they in every aspect of the game outside of the lineouts, where there was parity. The Boks wore armbands to protest the suspension of lock Bakkies Botha, and there was no denying that the big man was sorely missed. But maybe they should have put more focus on their rugby, and less on the protest, which had effectively been carried off well enough by skipper John Smit at a press conference on the eve of the test.

With Chiliboy Ralepelle installed at hooker instead of Bismarck du Plessis, the absence of Botha was felt even more, with the Lions forwards, as they had at Loftus, getting all the early momentum. Two well taken tries from Shane Williams made it 15-6 to Paul O’Connell’s team, a similar score to last week, but this time there was surely no-one in the stadium who would have bet on a Bok comeback.

The South Africans looked directionless and they looked like a team that is under-coached. They made 10 changes from the previous game, and as some suspected it might be, it was just too many. While the decision to play Wynand Olivier and Jaques Fourie together was the right one, it didn’t make sense to blood the promising young Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner on the same day that you were leaving out your first choice wings.

Morne Steyn, the hero last week with his late penalty goal, was shown up in this match, with his apparent indecision on where he should stand when taking the ball – he was in no-mans land for much of the game – not helping his outside backs.

But it was in the forward battle that the Lions set up this victory, and it left questions over what might have become of the Springboks had the Lions coach got his selections right from the outset. In the time the Lions fielded a physical pack in the second half in Durban the Lions were on top, and again in Pretoria.

In this match, with Simon Shaw and company again contributing handsomely, the Lions simply smashed the Boks backwards. The possession statistics may not have shown it, but in terms of quality of possession, this game was no race.

For a dead rubber, the match, watched by a crowd of 58 000, many of them Lions supporters, it delivered lot. It got off to a frenetic start, with the Lions again employing the multi-phase tactics used in the first two test matches.

There was an early late charge from Shaw on young Kirchner which was not spotted by the referee but which summed up the Lions’ aggressive intent, and the Boks, perhaps because they spent too much time focussing on side-issues this week, were disturbingly behind the pace when it came to intensity.

With young Ralepelle in ahead of Du Plessis at hooker – the latter did come on for the second half – and no Botha to anchor the scrum behind Bok skipper John Smit, it was the Lions who gained the early scrumming ascendancy. Their allround superiority was translated into mistakes made by the Boks, with four penalties in the first eight minutes against the home side having a big impact on the flow of the game.

Ralepelle and Smit were both popped at the first scrum, and it was then that the Boks would have known that they were in for a long afternoon. Stephen Jones slotted a penalty to make the Lions advantage on the scoreboard count, and although Morne Steyn did draw one back for the Boks, it was always the Lions who looked to be in the ascendancy.

Much like the first hour of the previous test, they were always sharper, more intense, more physical than their opponents, and Riki Flutey and Tommy Bowe had good games as the newlook midfield combination.

It was IRB Player of the Year Williams, however, who stole the plaudits with his two well taken tries. The first came after No8 Jamie Heaslip made the initial break and then passed inside, the second came off some superb individual brilliance from Flutey, who put in a well directed kick, gathered it himself and then batted it sideways for Williams to use his pace and score.

Suddenly it was 15-3 and the Boks were up against it, a situation that they rescued only slightly after Shaw was yellow carded for kneeing Fourie du Preez in the back, an act that saw the South African scrumhalf not appear after half-time. A penalty from Steyn on the halftime siren made it 15-6, and in terms of getting a score just before the break, it was reminiscent of Loftus.

Any thought that the Lions would fall away in the second half quickly evaporated into the chilly Johannesburg air, however, when the Lions fronted up and even dominated in the six minutes they had to play without Shaw being present.

Once he did return, the Lions forward dominance was obvious, with the Lions repeatedly mauling the Boks backwards. The Boks did threaten for a while, but when a poor Olivier pass found its way into the hands of Ugo Monye, who ran almost the length of the field, to make it 22-6 with 25 minutes left, the game was effectively over as a contest.

Scores:

British and Irish Lions 28 – Tries: Shane Williams 2 and Ugo Monye; Conversions: Stephen Jones 2; Penalties: Stephen Jones 3.

Springboks 9 – Penalties: Morne Steyn 3.

Read more on the British & Irish Lions page.

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