What next for Gatland?
Gerard Meagher on Finn Russell.
Player ratings.
I’ll leave you with Rob Kitson’s match report from Cape Town, and we’ll have much more reaction and analysis of South Africa’s win to come. Thanks for joining me, and enjoy the rest of your weekend, wherever you are.
Here’s the Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi: “As soon as Morne went for the kick, I said no way! I’m really happy for him, and the team. Really proud of the team, particularly with all the turmoil in our country – I hope we gave people something to smile about. We tried to do everything better and harder in the second half. [Lions series] every 12 years – I’ll never get this chance again, most of this team won’t.
He is asked what he would say to kids watching, who will feel inspired by the win. “Without this team, I wouldn’t be where I am [but] to someone who comes from a similar situation [to me], you’ve got to protect your dreams, believe in them no matter what your circumstances are.”
As the Lions trudge down the tunnel, it’s time for Siya Kolisi to hoist the trophy as fireworks fill the sky. It’s the closest South Africa fans will get to seeing the action in this shut-off series – but amid Covid-19 and civil unrest, their team have followed up a World Cup with a Lions series win.
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We’ll have Rob Kitson’s match report, and plenty more reaction, online shortly. Here’s a sneak preview:
They do not come much more tense than this. Nor, from a British & Irish Lions perspective, do they come any more gut-wrenching. For the second time this century South Africa have clinched a Lions series by the tiniest of margins via the boot of the same man, Morne Steyn,
who popped up with a penalty goal in the 79th minute to break Lions hearts just as he did in Pretoria in 2009.
Congratulations SA. Series win. Hugely painful for Lions & fans. But nothing to be gained by pointing fingers etc. Just have to accept the result. 🦁🙏
— Will Carling (@willcarling) August 7, 2021
Heartbroken for the @lionsofficial 💔
— ugo monye (@ugomonye) August 7, 2021
It’s a repeat of the 2009 tour, with Morne Steyn’s late penalty a dagger for the Lions once again. The Lions will look back on missed opportunities – the Adams overlap, turning down kicks at goal. This one will sting for a while.
Alun Wyn Jones: “Hugely disappointed with the result, but I’m very proud of the team. We wanted to come out for the second half with more of the same, we did that probably after the early exchanges, then the to-ing and fro-ing with the penalties broke up the game.”
He backs the “brave call” to go for the corner with the late penalty, pointing out that it worked in the first half. He finds it tough to say much more, the emotion taking over. He looks gutted, having left it all out on the field.
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South Africa win the series 2-1!
Full time: South Africa 19-16 Lions
The scrum folds, it’s a South Africa penalty, and Steyn just needs to kick it into touch. That feels like a fitting end.
Bravo South Africa – they got the job done. It was a battle on a razor’s edge for that entire second half, but it’s the world champions who prevail!
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80 mins: Marx, the final front-row replacement, isn’t penalised for not releasing, with the Lions getting a scrum. There are two seconds left as Murray puts in ...
Penalty! South Africa 19-16 Lions (Steyn)
It’s there, and South Africa have one minute to hold on for the series win!
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78 mins: No, it’s a South Africa penalty, Lions not moving away – although it looks like Jantjies has wasted it with a tap-and-go. It’s called back by Raynal – he started from the wrong mark. What a let-off that is!
In other news, Damian Willemse is on for the Springboks, replacing Le Roux. But never mind that – Steyn will have the chance to win another series with his boot ...
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77 mins: Russell knocks on under Jantjies’ high ball. The imperious De Allende collects, and South Africa are edging towards drop goal territory ...
76 mins: How are your nerves? An exchange of box kicks, and it’s Lions ball. Russell sends a grubber through, Steyn almost spills it close to his own try line, but recovers and clears away ...
Penalty! South Africa 16-16 Lions (Russell)
Big pressure on Finn Russell with five minutes to play. Not that you could tell – he nails the kick, and we are level again!
74 mins: South Africa have a chance to ease the pressure, but the Lions wrestle the ball back. Henshaw charges upfield, but looks isolated. No matter, he holds the ball up fairly and forces the penalty!
72 mins: Another reset, and this time the Lions pack wobbles. South Africa penalty, and a chance to clear away.
71 mins: Gatland doesn’t fancy another drawn series, it seems. Murray puts in, but the scrum folds like a house of cards. Alun Wyn Jones allows himself a wry smile on the touchline. We go again ...
70 mins: Simmonds leads the charge and the rolling maul barrels over the line – but Raynal says it was held up. Five-metre scrum, more treatment required for Etzebeth.
69 mins: They turn down the three points and kick for the corner. This could be the series, right here ...
68 mins: The Lions don’t want to die wondering here – time to get back on the front foot. Van der Merwe breaks into space down the left and while South Africa get back in numbers, Etzebeth concedes a penalty. Advantage for Lions and when the move breaks down, they take the penalty.
Penalty! South Africa 16-13 Lions (Steyn)
He never looked like missing, and South Africa edge back in front!
66 mins: An immediate chance for Steyn to put South Africa back ahead, as the Lions concede. It’s a long way out, tight to the right touchline ...
65 mins: Sam Simmonds is on in the Lions back row, making his debut as Jack Conan heads to the bench. Kolisi has come back on for the final throes.
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64 mins: A change at scrum-half for South Africa, with Herschel Jantjies on for the impressive Reinach. And Morne Steyn, the man who broke Lions’ hearts in 2009, is on for Pollard!
Penalty! South Africa 13-13 Lions (Russell)
Forty metres out and central, Russell drills through the post. We’re level again!
62 mins: Just as the Springboks had the game in their grasp, a moment of ill discipline presents the Lions with a penalty as Wiese shoves Russell. The fly-half will have a chance to level ...
61 mins: A welcome, if minor, shift in momentum for the Lions as South Africa concede at a scrum. Russell kicks handily downfield. Trevor Nyakane and Vincent Koch come into the Boks’ front row. Alun Wyn Jones’ race is run – he’s replaced by Adam Beard after another mighty performance.
60 mins: That Kolbe try illustrates why South Africa are world champions. They had a brief opportunity, little more than a half-chance, and they were absolutely ruthless.
59 mins: The mistakes are piling up for the Lions, wilting under the heat of the expected “Boklash”. Conor Murray is on for Price, Kyle Sinckler replaces Furlong. Twenty minutes to save the series ...
South Africa 13-10 Lions (Pollard con)
It does indeed, with Raynal finding no video evidence of a knock-on from Wiese. Alun Wyn Jones is not happy, but it’s hard to argue. Pollard adds the extra points.
TRY! South Africa 11-10 Lions (Kolbe)
Le Roux finds Kolbe in space, but the wing still has work to do. In a flash, he powers through the gears, twists beyond Liam Williams and races for the corner! You have to say that’s magnificent. The high ball is being checked at length, but I think this will stand.
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56 mins: Or not. Wiese wins a high ball, and Am collects and offloads to Le Roux, who skips into space and draws Conan off the touchline ...
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55 mins: Not sure what happened with Kolisi – he may have picked up an injury – but he’s potentially a big loss ...
Another miss! This is a tougher kick than the one Pollard missed five minutes ago – but the result is the same, hooked wide of the near post. Kwagga Smith comes on for Siya Kolisi, while Luke Cowan-Dickie is on at hooker for the Lions.
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Kolbe slipped as Russell went in, meaning that the Lions fly-half caught Kolbe full in the face with his arm. Because of the slip, Raynal will award a penalty, but no yellow card.
53 mins: Russell is forced to kick with his left foot, and it floats back to Kolbe. South Africa will go again, but Finn Russell clatters Kolbe to the floor. The TMO will check this ...
52 mins: It’s slow, grinding stuff from the Springboks, whose backs have hardly featured in the second half. But now they will, Kolbe finding Pollard – but the Lions turn it over!
“Only a few minutes into second half but looks like Lions are falling apart,” says John Ryan. “No territory, composure or energy, looks ominous ...” This is the kind of premature, unbridled pessimism we like around here.
50 mins: Another South Africa penalty after a handling error from Van der Merwe. This feels like death by a thousand cuts at the minute, Lions unable to regain a foothold.
48 mins: As the saying goes, South Africa’s Plan B is their Plan A, but better. There’s no drastic change of plan, but they would feel much happier if Pollard had kicked those three points.
Missed penalty: It’s more than 30 metres out but very central ... and he hits the post! Lions preserve their four-point lead.
47 mins: Raynal has awarded free-kicks against both sides for stepping into the gap at a lineout. Kolisi on the ball, brought down by Curry and Aki – but the former is penalised aftter going to ground. A chance for Pollard to cut the gap to one ...
46 mins: The Lions will take heart from that defensive effort, with no penalties conceded. Etzebeth is having ice applied to his neck. The two packs are locked in an absolutely relentless battle out there.
45 mins: South Africa work the ball right, Wiese making some ground. Into double figures in phases, and then Pollard wriggles free. The Boks creep to within ten metres – but Pollard’s kick is charged down.
44 mins: Pollard kicks for the corner, and De Allende joins the pack as they push forward from the lineout. The red wall holds firm, Itoje tackling De Allende in the middle of the pitch ...
43 mins: The scrum stops and starts, before South Africa get a penalty as the Lions front row folds. Wyn Jones is carrying a back injury, and now makes way for Mako Vunipola.
41 mins: Last week, South Africa came out of the traps early in the second half and took the game away from their opponents. Can they do the same today? They have a scrum, 30m out.
Here we go again
Pollard gets the second half under way. This game is on a knife-edge. Fasten your seatbelts ...
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The good news for the Lions is plentiful: they lead, they’ve scored the only try, and Finn Russell has added flair and tempo that was sorely lacking. However. Both of the previous Tests have turned in the second half, and a four-point lead doesn’t feel sufficient in the face of an inevitable second-half Boklash. It’s very much up for grabs.
Half time! South Africa 6-10 British & Irish Lions
The referee decides a penalty isn’t warranted, and sends the players down the tunnel. Lions lead at half-time!
40 mins: South Africa take the lineout but their forwards are held up, Courtney Lawes standing tall to stop Reinach offloading. Wiese flies into the melee with a hefty shoulder charge, and the referee wants the TMO to take a look ...
39 mins: This is a big minute, alright. Lions get possession from the scrum and set about trying to bludgeon their way over the line – but Price gets isolated, doesn’t release under pressure from Kolisi, and it’s a South Africa penalty!
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38 mins: A Lions penalty, kicked for the corner – but Etzebeth beats Jones to the ball! Raynal blows his whistle though, and the Lions will have a put-in at a scrum, 10 metres out ...
Penalty! South Africa 6-10 Lions (Pollard)
It’s Handre Pollard kicking from the left-hand side, where he’s missed a few in this series. Not this time, and he passes 500 points in a Springbok shirt.
35 mins: South Africa win the next scrum battle and claim a penalty – the cheers and back slaps suggest relief, more than anything else.
33 mins: It’s Damien de Allende who rescues South Africa, forcing a penalty on the floor with the defence firmly on the back foot. The Springboks are hanging on a little here.
32 mins: Oof, more Lions pressure here as Alun Wyn Jones thunders forward. As three green shirts set about hauling him down, he slips a pass to Itoje, who breaks clear of a tackle and into space ...
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30 mins: Lions roll towards the line from the lineout, but Tom Curry is a bit too eager and concedes a penalty. A couple of good chances there to widen their lead.
28 mins: That was a big opportunity, with Adams in space on the overlap. Williams mutters a few choice words to himself. The Lions get a penalty, though, and Russell pings a dart into the corner ...
27 mins: The Lions continue to push forward, making ground at the gain line – something they failed to do almost entirely in the second half last week. Russell looks for Williams with a trademark flat pass out wide, but the full-back can’t get his pass away ...
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26 mins: Williams reels in a testing high ball and the Lions keep possession, only for Eben Etzebeth to come this close to charging down Price’s kick away. Pressure on the Lions, but it’s eased by a needless Springbok penalty ...
24 mins: South Africa are unhappy with the non-award of a penalty as Wyn Jones gets hands-on in the scrum. The game had been relatively good-natured, but that was never likely to last.
22 mins: Neil Jenkins is part of the Lions’ backroom team and has been onto the pitch to deliver water, and a few tactical instructions. Something he said clearly irked Siya Kolisi, with Reynal advising both men to keep their distance.
21 mins: Finn Russell entering the game has changed the narrative dramatically; after a tough first 10 or 12 minutes, they’re playing with tempo and finding gaps in the Springbok defence. Mostert is back on, and not before time.
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TRY! South Africa 3-10 Lions (Owens 20')
And from it, the Lions score! It’s a textbook rolling maul from the lineout, and Ken Owens carries over the line with the Boks back-pedalling. Russell converts from a tight angle.
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18 mins: South Africa concede the penalty, and Russell goes for the corner! He’s not messing about. Lions throw, 10m or so out ...
17 mins: Signs of progress in the scrum, there – now can the Lions get their backs involved? They can, with Russell’s floated, sideways kick finding Adams, who skips forward before hitting the brick wall that is Jasper Wiese. Promising signs, particularly for Russell.
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Penalty! South Africa 3-3 Lions (Russell)
Finn Russell takes the kick, 25m out. A nice settler, and it sails between the posts.
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15 mins: The Lions win a scrum, but the ball gets stuck under their feet. They get another go – and this time they get a penalty as Wyn Jones forces the Bok scrum to collapse.
14 mins: Franco Mostert has a bloody nose and has to go off to get patched up. Kwagga Smith is his replacement as the Lions prepare to restart with a lineout.
13 mins: That’s a great shame for Dan Biggar, who is hobbling down the tunnel. This is a huge opportunity for Finn Russell, who hasn’t featured on this tour for five weeks.
Penalty! South Africa 3-0 Lions (Pollard)
After that stoppage in play while Biggar was helped off the field, Pollard slots the penalty away to put the hosts ahead.
11 mins: Dan Biggar has an injury and is being helped off the field by physios. It looks like Finn Russell will be called from the bench early, which will mean a big change of strategy for the Lions ...
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11 mins: Lions concede a penalty and the Boks keep going, gaining ground consistently and rolling into the 22. Am tries to barrel between two defenders before Mbonambi spills it – but we’ll go back for a penalty.
10 mins: South Africa scrum, and they retain the ball with De Allende bursting forward and feeding Pollard, who makes a clever offload to Le Roux ...
8 mins: Price with another high kick, which deflects into Willie le Roux’s hands. The Lions didn’t score a try last week, and are struggling to break their opponents down early on here.
6 mins: The Lions work through the attacking phases but can’t get any forward momentum and Price is forced to kick.
4 mins: South Africa reversed the lineout trend in the second Test, winning 10 to the Lions’ eight (It was 14-4 to the tourists in the first Test). Mbonambi takes a quick throw here, but play is brought back.
3 mins: Pollard claims a high ball cleanly and Wiese sets off, scrambling past Itoje before Aki bundles him over. It’s a touch high, according to Raynal.
Missed penalty! Biggar lines the kick up some 40m out, and it goes straight as an arrow. Unfortunately for the Lions, said arrow is pointed well wide of the left-hand post.
1 min: South Africa immediately set about testing the Lions under the high ball, and win the first couple of claims. The Lions wrestle the ball back, Price launching a box kick that Pollard knocks on. A bit of a technicality, but a chance for Biggar to kick for goal ...
Here we go!
Dan Biggar hoists the ball high into the air, the smoke clouds still clearing. The third Test is go!
The South African national anthem is led by a youth choir who join the players on the field. It’s a thing of beauty.
The players line up as an anti-racism message is read out, before a moment of silence to remember the victims of Covid-19 in South Africa and the UK.
Rugby is for all.#LionsRugby #CastleLionsSeries #BoksvLions pic.twitter.com/z8gzVYmnrJ
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 7, 2021
The Springboks head out, led by Damian de Allende, who is earning his 50th cap today. The Lions, already on the field, form a line as the pyro pops all around them.
Five minutes to go. A word for Sky commentator Miles Harrison, the “voice of the Lions” who returns having taken time off for colon cancer treatment. Welcome back, Miles.
Dan Biggar endured a tough second Test, throwing only three passes and failing to impose his game on the Springbok defence. He’s been given the chance to make amends today, with Finn Russell waiting on the bench.
“We’re very much aware we lost control of that game, probably in that second half when they strangled it,” Biggar says. “We’d like to think we can fire a few more shots and we’ve prepped all week for that in terms of looking to be positive. That’s the plan this weekend: to really showcase what we’re about.”
The referee this evening is Mathieu Raynal, and the Frenchman has taken a hard line on high tackles in recent months – not least when sending off Bundee Aki during Ireland’s Six Nations win over England.
Here’s Warren Gatland on the decider: “We’ve talked about how lucky the 23 are, to wear the jersey and how they might never wear it again. There’s a real edge about this group, something that wasn’t quite there last week. We were a few per cent off, lacking that mental edge.
Gatland is also asked about what a win would mean in the wider context, with the rugby calendar ripped up by Covid-19. “The tour has been a big sacrifice for both teams, but the Lions is a very special brand. It’s something we need to preserve, it’s unique to the calendar [and] something we need to keep fighting for.”
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Pre-game reading:
Warren Gatland has made six changes to the team that faded badly in the second half last Saturday. Liam Williams, Josh Adams and Bundee Aki come into a revamped backfield with Ali Price replacing Conor Murray at scrum-half. Wyn Jones and Ken Owens start in the front row, with the pack otherwise unchanged.
Just two changes for the Springboks, both enforced by injury. Scrum-half Faf de Klerk is replaced by Cobus Reinach, while lock Lood de Jager replaces Pieter-Steph du Toit. That means Franco Mostert will move to the back row, a reshuffle that worked wonders last week.
The South Africa head coach, Jacques Nienaber, speaks to Sky.
“Playing a World Cup final, and playing a decider in a Lions series, are the two biggest games there are. The emotional energy was big last week, it’s something we have to create [today]. It’s do-or-die, but that’s how it was at the World Cup too. Irrespective of who we play, our preparation goes from Sunday to Friday, just the same.”
The teams
South Africa: Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (c), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Morne Steyn, Damian Willemse.
British & Irish Lions: Liam Williams; Josh Adams, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Dan Biggar, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones (c), Courtney Lawes, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Adam Beard, Sam Simmonds, Conor Murray, Finn Russell, Elliot Daly.
Preamble
Hello. The last Lions tour of New Zealand ended with the two captains lifting the trophy together after the third Test was tied amid a party atmosphere at Eden Park. It’s safe to say today’s finale will feel a little different.
Or will it? In the post-match press conference in 2017, Warren Gatland wore a clown nose – an ice-cold dig at a cartoon published in a newspaper some nine months earlier. It wasn’t all smiles and sunshine, but history is written by the winners (or lack thereof).
For various reasons, the actual outcome of the series in South Africa has felt like a secondary concern for some time. But amid the long, bitter battle for the moral high ground, both camps have known this series will ultimately be defined by the end result. Kick-off is 6pm local, 5pm BST.
