CAPE TOWN - What a pity that the fans will not be at Cape Town Stadium in what promises to be one of the most tense encounters in modern international rugby! The current British and Irish Lions Series against the Springboks will go down to the wire with the two sides deadlocked at 1-1 going into the final match tomorrow.
The tourists were the first out of the starting blocks with a 22-17 win over the Springboks.
No doubt the Boks were a little ring-rusty in that Test having last played together competitively at the World Cup final in Japan in 2019.
So, Jacques Nienaber and his men had quite a bit of cobwebs to remove before tackling the mighty Lions.
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After a promising start in the first half, the Boks struggled to handle the tourists’ aerial game, while they were also their own worst enemies with their ill-discipline. That result immediately piled the pressure on them – they now had to win both their remaining Tests to clinch the series, and they moved one step closer with that impressive 27-9 victory at Cape Town Stadium.
Whoever pulls this one off will claim the series, that’s how big this game is. Apart from what is going to happen on the field, it has also been an interesting build-up to the first two Tests.
The off-the-field drama has been impossible to miss over the past two weeks, with Lions coach Warren Gatland starting the war of words when he questioned the appointment of South African Marius Jonker as television match official.
In the second week, it was SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus who came out with a video detailing the refereeing discrepancies and inconsistencies he felt happened in the series-opener, for which Nic Berry was the man in the middle.
Since then, World Rugby has spoken out about Erasmus, who has now been charged with misconduct by the governing body. So, it’s safe to say there has been no boring build-up.
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But despite everything that’s gone down over the last two weeks, the Boks will need no reminder that they have to do their talking on the field.
They managed to do it last week in stunning fashion, and they will no doubt try to back that up this week as well.
IT’S the big one, it’s the decider. After the British & Irish Lions took the opener with a 22-17 win at Cape Town Stadium, the Springboks claimed the second Test in better fashion, winning it 27-9.
How this one will go, we will have to wait and see. Until then, here are five areas where the decider can be won or lost:
WON The Bomb Squad
Last week, the impact of the bench was insane.
The replacements came on and helped drive the Springboks’ second-half surge as they completely took control of the game. The Lions struggled with their kicking game, the Boks forced them into errors and, overall, just proved too much for a Lions side that were decent before half-time.
Pollard’s boot
This is a point so obvious that it could have been excluded it, but it’s still an important one to mention.
How Handre Pollard hits his targets is, of course, going to be a big feature in the clash. At the end of the day, a simple penalty kick can decide the quadrennial Series.
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A mere five points separated the Boks and the Lions in the opening Test and those five points could easily be missed or grabbed with a successful conversion or penalty attempt. Just think back to Morne Steyn’s kicking heroics during the 2009 Series in the second Test ...
The driving maul
Iit worked stunningly in the second Test, where a monster driving maul was followed up with a sharp grubber by Faf de Klerk for Lukhanyo Am’s try. Now, seeing the forwards propel forward like that will never be an unappreciated sight in the game. But the way they did it was just pure class. If the Boks can use the driving maul to the same effect tomorrow, be on the lookout for some interesting, try-celebrating moments.
LOST Give the wings wings
Last week when the likes of Makazole Mapimpi and Am got their hands on the ball after nifty kicks from Pollard and De Klerk … good things happened. Good things in the form of tries.
If the outside backs aren’t involved in creating or finishing off some moment of magic, there might not be those rewards.
Winning the physicality battle
There seems to be this notion where many believe that if you beat the Springboks at physicality alone, you’re good to go.
Granted, it is such a big feature of the South African game that it is a fair connection to make (even though there is a little more to the Boks than that).
Still, how tall the Lions can stand against the Boks in the physicality department is going to be a key feature, not just in terms of the physical exchanges, but also the mental aspect.
@WynonaLouw
IOL Sport