I must admit that I was hoping British and Irish Lions could hold on for a win in Pretoria last weekend, making this Saturday night’s third and final Test a decider.
Greg Clarke writes for Foxsports that it wasn’t to be and the Boks have an unbeatable 2-nil lead in the series.
It was great viewing and was played with more intensity than the Test in Sydney between the Wallabies and French.
All along Australia coach Robbie Deans has been saying that this year’s Tri Nations will be the best ever.
New Zealand have the silverware and usually rise to the occasion.
Australia have improved and will only get better and of course the Springboks will be full of confidence on the back of their series win over the Lions.
The Wallabies will need to take it to the next level judging by what we saw from the Springboks.
They were seemingly down and out and then they lifted the intensity and overpowered a gutsy Lions outfit.
A spate of injuries didn’t help the Lions in the second half and they just failed to go the distance and lost by three points.
With the series already lost and with so many injuries to overcome, it’s hard to see the Lions gaining a consolation victory in Johannesburg this week.
It’s the end of a long and hard tour and of course they are at the end of their long season.
It will be extremely hard for the coaching staff to get them up for this one, especially as they will not be at full strength.
But the Boks also have personnel problems this week after Schalk Burger was suspended for eight weeks and Bakkies Botha for two weeks.
I don’t know what Burger was thinking when he eye gouged an opponent in the opening minutes and subsequently gave a judicial officer no other option than to ban him.
He’ll miss one Tri Nations game against Australia and two against New Zealand.
Bakkies Botha will miss this week after his brain explosion.
He charged dangerously into Lion’s prop Adam Jones who had to leave the field with a shoulder injury.
It’s not the first time Botha has been suspended for reckless and dangerous play.
Fortunately for the Boks, they have depth in both positions.
This Lions’ tour has been another wonderful promotion for rugby and I hope the third Test is as good as the two previous encounters.
I’m tipping the South Africans to complete the clean sweep, and I can’t wait for the Lions to tour Australia in four years.
Hopefully by then the Wallabies, like the Springboks at the moment, will be world champions.
