Welcome to the coverage of this series-deciding, career-defining 3rd Test between South Africa and the British & Irish Lions from Cape Town.
Rassie Erasmus’ contentious but enlightening video caused a scene among British & Irish Lions coaches, players, media, and fans, which has lit the blue touchpaper for this eagerly anticipated final Test.
- The British & Irish Lions 2021 tour to South Africa has come down to this third and final test match in Cape Town.
- Both teams have won one Test each, but South Africa’s Springboks have the momentum after a convincing win (27-9) last week.
- British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has made a number of changes to his side. Noticeably, he has brought in Liam Williams at fullback as well as Josh Adams on the wing and Ali Price at scrumhalf. There is also a place on the bench for Finn Russell.
- Bundee Aki makes his Lions debut in the centre, the third different midfield pairing for Robbie Henshaw.
- Alun Wyn Jones plays his 12th Lions Test in a row.
- Damian de Allende plays his 50th Test for the Boks.
- South Africa’s Springboks have also made changes as Faf de Klerk has been ruled out as well as Pieter-Steph du Toit.
- If the Lions manage to avoid defeat, Warren Gatland will have completed three undefeated tours in a row against the Southern hemisphere ‘Big Three’.
- Both teams have everything to play for this weekend as the next British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa will be in 2033.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kickoff.
The British & Irish Lions camp, media, and supporters seem to think the Springboks are boring; however, the Boks have only conceded one try in the 2019 World Cup playoff run which culminated with Rassie Erasmus’ side thumping England in the biggest final defeat in history.
Self-serving Stats for the moaners and groaners:
South Africa only conceded four tries in the entire tournament (seven games), and six in total if you take the wins over Georgia, and three Lions matches (SA A & 2 Tests).
The Bokke scored 27 tries in seven WC 2019 matches, 6 vs Georgia, 3 in the first 2 Tests – 36 tries 10 Tests is not boring.
The Boks have only lost two of their last nine Tests (2019 World Cup, 1 vs Georgia, 2 vs B&IL), conceding just four tries.
England and Wales managed one try (Wales). The Lions thrashed all the weakened South African franchises, but have only managed two tries in two Tests and the SA A match, losing two.
That is nothing to shout about, but the Northern hemisphere has always held a disdain for southern hemisphere rugby despite being thumped regularly by South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway in Cape Town.
2.00: Handre Pollard loses a high ball and Jasper Wiese plays the ball from an offside position.
3.00: MISS! Dan Biggar pulls his kick well wide. 0-0
5.00: A high tackle on Wiese by Bundee Aki allows Pollard to clear to Lions’ 10m; however, Bongi Mbonambi’s throw is not straight.
7.00: South Africa’s tackling is ferocious, they are hitting the Lions backward every time.
9.00: The early indication from Warren Gatland’s side is that the Lions will not be spreading the ball wide, they are, instead, kicking everything unless they are near the halfway line.
10.00: The Cape Town Stadium’s pitch is cutting up badly again, especially at scrum time.
11.00: Mbonambi knocks on with the Boks in a good attacking area; they should have scored a try; however, they go back for a penalty. Biggar limps off after being smashed by Damian de Allende. Finn Russell is on for Biggar.
12.00: PENALTY! Pollard opens the scoring. 3-0
13.00: Russell kicks a penalty to the Boks’ 22. The tackling has been brutal by the Boks, blood everywhere. Kwagga Smith is on for Franco Mostert, who is in the blood bin.
15.00: Steven Kitshoff is pinged for collapsing the scrum, Russell calls for the tee.
16.00: PENALTY! Russell levels. 3-3
18.00: The Lions have had the better of the territory and possession so far, they are using the ball well, and beginning to get over the gain-line. Russell kicks to the corner.
19.00: TRY! Ken Owens crashes over from a powerful driving maul. 3-8
21.00: CONVERSION! Russell adds the extras. 3-10
22.00: Mostert changes his line, and is pinged for obstruction.
24.00: South Africa look a bit shell-shocked, they cannot get anything from the ref, and the Lions are upping the intensity. There is a lot of verbals on the field. Wyn Jones is off his feet, Pollard kicks to the 22.
27.00: Ali Price’s clearance-kick is charged down by Mostert, but the ball rolls into touch inside the Lions’ 22. Again, South Africa close the gap in the lineout.
28.00: Lions win a penalty for Mbonambi playing the ball off his feet. Russell goes to the corner.
30.00: Tom Curry takes out Siya Kolisi illegally saving the Boks from going down by more.
32.00: De Allende saves the day after Maro Itoje’s barnstorming run into the Red Zone. Pollard clears the danger, but South Africa is under the pump.
33.00: The ref awards the Boks a free-kick at the lineout. Pollard goes high, the ball is won back before being knocked on.
35.00: Wyn Jones collapses the scrum, Pollard calls for the tee.
36.00: PENALTY! Pollard doubles his tally and takes his points to 500 in Tests. 6-10
37.00: Russell kicks to the corner again, the danger for the Boks, but Etzebeth wins the steal. However, the ball is lost forward.
40.00: The Lions go through the pick-and-drives, but Kolisi wins the turnover near his try line to save his team’s blushes.
The halftime score was Springboks 6 British & Irish Lions 10
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in Cape Town.
43.00: Boks win a second scrum penalty. Pollard kicks to the corner. Interesting.
45.00: A 10-phase attack comes to nothing after Pollard’s kick is charged down and rolls out. Poor from Pollard.
47.00: South Africa wins another penalty, Pollard will take a shot this time.
47.00: MISS! Like Biggar last week, Pollard hits the post. 6-10
51.00: The Boks keep possession as the Lions concede more free kicks and the handling errors mount.
53.00: Pollard is isolated and loses possession. Somehow, the Boks win back the ball and attack before giving away a penalty.
54.00: MISS! Pollard slips and pulls his kick wide. Russell was lucky not to be sent to the bin for a high tackle on Kolbe. 6-10
56.00: TRY! Cheslin Kolbe does it again, he scores a carbon-copy try of his one in the World Cup final, slipping Liam Williams’ tackle, and handing off Owens to score. After several TMO reviews, the ref rightly awarded the try no matter how much TMO Marius Jonker tried to overrule the Frenchman. 11-10
57.00: CONVERSION! Pollard adds the extras. 13-10
60.00: It’s all Lions at the moment.
63.00: PENALTY! Russell levels from distance. 13-13
65.00: PENALTY! Morne Steyn puts the Boks back ahead. 16-13
69.00: The Lions win a kickable penalty, but Russell kicks to the corner.
72.00: South Africa keep out the first attack, holding up Mako Vunipola, scrum to the Lions, but it’s reset twice.
73.00: Kyle Sinckler collapses the scrum, Steyn clears with a monster kick.
75.00: PENALTY! Russell levels. 16-16
79.00: PENALTY! It’s Morne Steyn again, 12 years later with a possible winner. 19-16
81.00: South Africa wins a scrum penalty, Steyn clears to touch, and the Boks are champions again.
FULL TIME
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The final score is South Africa 19 (6) British and Irish Lions 16 (10)
Scorers
South Africa
Tries – Kolbe
Pen – Pollard (2), Steyn (2)
Con – Pollard
Drop –
Cards –
British & Irish Lions
Tries – Owens
Pen – Russell (3)
Con – Russell
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Nic Berry (RA)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Teams
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende (50 Tests), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Damian Willemse.
British & Irish Lions
15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams (Debut), 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki (Debut), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (Captain), 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones (Debut)
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Finn Russell, 23 Elliot Daly
