The British press on Sunday hailed a “brave” performance by the Lions who were beaten by South Africa with a last-gasp penalty which won an enthralling second Test and the series.
“Match defined how good test rugby can be.”
The Observer said the Lions could hold their heads high after the enthralling 28-25 defeat in Pretoria, concluding they “might have lost another series, but they have salvaged their battered reputation on this tour”.
“The Lions will not return home with a stained character – unlike in 2001 and 2005,” the paper said.
Lions substitute Ronan O’Gara stumbled into Springbok scrumhalf Fourie du Perez in mid-air in the closing seconds of the match. Morne Steyn stepped up to convert the penalty kick and seal a dramatic victory.
Former Wales captain Eddie Butler, writing in The Observer, said: “A match of the highest intensity and tightest drama was decided by a split-second of recklessness by Ronan O’Gara. Contact is not his thing.”
The Sunday Telegraph asked: “Has there ever been a game like it? This was one of the great matches of all time, a drama which defined how good Test rugby can be.”
The paper’s analyst Ieuan Evans, another former Welsh international, said the Lions were unlucky to suffer so many injuries which eventually undermined their potency in a gruelling encounter.
“If the sight of Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones departing at the same time was not enough for supporters then the situation became grave when both centres, Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll, departed later in the second half,” he wrote.
But, he said, the difference between winning and losing was South Africa’s “try-scoring ability”.
“They gained three good chances and took the lot,” he wrote.
The Mail on Sunday questioned why “an act of craziness” by Springbok flank Schalk Burger in the opening minutes had gone largely unpunished.
Burger had been “lucky not to have been sent off” for making contact with the eyes of Luke Fitzgerald, it said, and his dismissal could have influenced the outcome of the match.
[RW: Suppose that should have read "red carded."]
LIONS THE PERFECT GUESTSÂ
 In the New York Times PETER BERLIN reports:
McGeechan then did some promoting for the Lions.
“It’s still the biggest jersey for our guys to wear and for opposition sides it is still the biggest challenge,� he said.
That may seem a stretch for a team that has not won a test in eight years. But in one way, the British and Irish Lions are in tune with the sporting zeitgeist: They generate money.
The stands in the South African capital were filled with tens of thousands of red-shirted Lions fans, the lucrative sports tourists craved by any nation.
The Lions are the perfect guests: They lose on the field and make money for their hosts off it.
June 28th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
one of the most tense matches I’ve ever seen, Lions were great, the brand must never die.
June 28th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Reply to asteroth @ 5:14 pm:
Tense and brutal. But only
succesfull brands survive.
Actually they better survive,
because the countries on their
own does not offer much to SH
teams.
June 28th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Joost rushed to hospital
2009-06-28 16:43
Cape Town – Unconfirmed reports say rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen has been admitted to the Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg.
The hospital spokesperson refused to comment and referred calls to his publicist, who confirmed that Van der Westhuizen had been admitted to hospital for observation.
She declined to say what the nature of his complaint was, but reports indicated that he could have suffered a heart attack.
- News24
June 28th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Ruben Kruger in hospital
Former Springbok rugby player Ruben Kruger, has been admitted to a Pretoria hospital after he lost consciousness while driving and was involved in a car accident.
Kruger, his wife Lize and their two daughters, Zoë 6 and Isabella 4, were driving back home from the Test match between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions when the accident happened.
It comes only five weeks after he underwent surgery to remove a third brain tumour.
According to his wife, Ruben lost consciousness and started driving faster, colliding with two cars in Garsfontein. The car drove into a ditch.
==========
Strange. Colleague had a brain op,
not allowed to drive for 12 months.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
The Guardian:
Dr James Robson described Saturday’s second Test against South Africa as “brutal” after it left five of the British and Irish Lions in hospital.
The props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones had to undergo surgery last night and will miss the third and final Test of the series in Johannesburg next weekend.
Jenkins suffered a fractured cheekbone in a clash of heads with Bryan Habana while Jones dislocated his shoulder in a challenge from Bakkies Botha.
The Springboks lock, who relishes his role as second-row enforcer, was subsequently cited for the offence.
Schalk Burger was also charged for “allegedly attacking the eyes of Luke Fitzgerald”, although the Lions wing was not seriously injured.
Brian O’Driscoll was replaced early with concussion while Jamie Roberts has a sprained wrist and Tommy Bowe an elbow strain.
Dr Robson said: “It certainly was a fairly brutal game. As the casualty list goes it is not something I am happy with. To lose two of our most colourful characters in Gethin and Adam is distressing.
“Gethin has had a plastic plate inserted. The timescale for his recovery is six to eight weeks. We couldn’t get Adam’s shoulder to pop back in at the stadium and he was required to go to theatre. He will be subject to further investigation and specialist opinion.
“Brian is very much alert and conscious today but he is subject to the usual return to play protocol.”
The Lions will not send for any further replacements ahead of the third Test and will monitor the likes of Bowe and Roberts closely before deciding whether they are fit to feature at Ellis Park.
The squad have been given two days off and the majority of players – apart from the walking wounded who have been kept behind in Pretoria – are going on safari tomorrow.
Along with Jenkins and Jones, Ronan O’Gara is one of those to remain behind after his left eye was forced closed by a nasty cut
June 28th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Reply to Minora @ 5:53 pm:
Reply to Boertjie @ 6:08 pm:
Damn!!!
My thoughts with both families.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Reply to Minora @ 7:03 pm:
Apart from Schalks thuggery, this was test match rugby.
I fokken love it!
June 28th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hey guys,
any news on the citings as yet?
Weren’t the hearings this afternoon?
June 28th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Reply to welshbok @ 8:00 pm:
No news whatsoever.
June 28th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Unconfirmed:
Schalk 6 weeks, Bakkies nothing.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Reply to Morné @ 8:58 pm:
Phew!!!
June 28th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Reply to Minora @ 9:08 pm:
Please note the “unconfirmed” part…
June 28th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Reply to Morné @ 10:05 pm:
Seems News24 is slipping by the day
- if the hearing was indeed this
afternoon.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
:em63: SEE HOMEPAGE
Beeld’s site has come alive:
Bakkies suspended for two weeks
for his shoulder charge.
No news about Afkophoender’s
hearing avalable at the time
of going to press.
June 29th, 2009 at 7:38 am
‘Stained character…’ from the 2001 series… what a crock… one of the best tours I’ve witnessed…
June 29th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 7:38 am:
Schalk 8 weeks…
June 29th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Schalk I understand – lucky not to get a red card. Bakkies – ???
June 29th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Anyway purely on contribution Schalk should be replace by Brussouw. At some point in the middle of the second half they showed his stats – 3 tackles made. Either poor stats, or Schalk did not pull his weight
June 29th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I have lost the last bit of respect for these Poms (not that I had much before). Now they even complain about JP not being yellow carded when he collided with Kearny = that was a bloody soccer dive