Staff Reporter.
Springboks levelled their three-Test series vs the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday courtesy of a 27-9 victory.
After a tense first half, which lasted far longer than 40 minutes, the Lions went into the break with a deserved 9-6 lead.
In many ways, it was a half that reflected the week’s buildup to the Test, as it featured plenty of stoppages and niggly play from both sides, as well as a few fracas breaking out. There were also two yellow cards as Duhan van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin for a cynical trip on Cheslin Kolbe, before the Springbok wing was very lucky not to be red-carded after taking Conor Murray out in the air.
The tourists were unlucky not to be further ahead, as Robbie Henshaw gathered an up-and-under kick before falling over the tryline. However, Bok captain Siya Kolisi capped his outstanding first half with a try-saving tackle that not only held Henshaw up, but dislodged the ball from his grasp.
As a further blow, the Springboks lost Pieter-Steph du Toit to an injury around the 20th minute and he was replaced by Kwagga Smith. This had a clear impact on their lineout, as Maro Itoje started to put plenty of pressure on and the Boks started to give away turnovers.
On the whole, the Springboks weren’t great in the first half as they struggled to break down the Lions defence with ball in hand and were once again troubled by the visitors’ kicking game.
The second half saw the Boks notch tries through wing Makazole Mapimpi and centre Lukhanyo Am – the second of which followed a lengthy TMO review which seemed to suggest there was a lack of control in the grounding.
The Lions’ discipline then deserted them, allowing Handre Pollard to kick the Boks into dangerous areas. He then landed three penalties in the final 10 minutes to seal a comfortable victory.
Both sides will have to raise their level once again in what promises to be a thrilling series decider on Saturday, 7 August.
Teams:
Springboks: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 1. Steven Kitshoff, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi (capt), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Kwagga Smith, 22. Herschel Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.
Lions: 15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Conor Murray, 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Jack Conan.
Replacements: 16. Ken Owens, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Tadhg Beirne, 20. Taulupe Faletau, 21. Ali Price, 22. Owen Farrell, 23. Elliot Daly.