Lions 2009 - Superb Lions down South Africa

Eurosport - Mon, 06 Jul 15:44:00 2009

The British and Irish Lions avoided a second successive series whitewash and restored their pride by thumping world champions South Africa 28-9 in the third and final Test on Saturday.

RUGBY 2009 Lions britanniques Ricky Flutey Ugo Monye Photo AFP - 0

South Africa, who won the first two Tests, made 10 changes and two tries for recalled wing Shane Williams helped the Lions avoid a first series sweep of defeats by the Springboks four years after losing 3-0 to New Zealand.

The victory, which matched their highest score and widest winning margin against South Africa set in 1974, also ended the Lions' record run of seven successive defeats. Their last win came in the first test against Australia in 2001.

It was South Africa's first loss at Ellis Park since France beat them in 2001.

"It's a very proud moment. Today was very important," captain Paul O'Connell said.

"It's been a very tough week mentally for everyone and we really dug deep there and some guys produced some serious form and some great scores."

The tourists, also forced to make seven changes following a raft of injuries, looked far more organised from the start.

Phil Vickery, who was scrummaged off the field by Tendai Mtawarira in the first test, gained revenge when he popped the "Beast" out of the first scrum and earned the Lions a penalty which fly-half Stephen Jones converted.

A great charge by hugely impressive number eight Jamie Heaslip and a neat inside pass by centre Riki Flutey then set up two tries for Williams as the Lions reached halftime deservedly 15-6 ahead.

Unlike last week in Pretoria when they allowed the Springboks to fight back from an 11-point deficit, the Lions overcame the sin-binning of lock Simon Shaw for kneeing and maintained the pressure after the break.

Ugo Monye intercepted a Wynand Olivier pass for a 70-metre try and two penalties from Jones, who kicked three in total plus two conversions, stretched the lead.

The new-look South African side, who wore white "justice" armbands in protest at Bakkies Botha's suspension, struggled for cohesion and when they did cross the line the TV official ruled out Odwa Ndungane's try for putting a foot in touch.

"We knew we had to dig deep and the guys are very conscious of the whole Lions ethos and we wanted to do it proud," O'Connell said.

"The first game we could have won, the second we should have won and we were eager the memory of playing well wouldn't be upset by a poor performance today.

"I hope people don't misconstrue the lap of honour," added the Irish lock. "We are under no illusions we've lost the test series but a lot of people have paid a lot of money to come here and we just wanted to thank them."

Coach Ian McGeechan, in charge when the Lions triumphed 2-1 12 years ago, added: "It was massive, the players really picked themselves up. There was such sadness in the dressing room last week so to come back and play like that again, that's an outstanding group of players.

"To finish off the way we have done is satisfaction but it's slightly secondary satisfaction as we came here to win the Test series and we haven't managed that."

Reuters

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  1. correction-Victor

    From jaco.delarey, on Mon 6 Jul 8:09AM

  2. Its sad that there was a Victir (not matfield) after­ this tour. I am a springbok through and through,but­ feel sorry for the lions. Look at how close the first­ games were this one should have gone down in a draw.­ Then again im a bok and I dont look a gift horse in the­ mouth so in that case- julle moere julle klomp rooineck­ souties! jokes all round. time for the big test of the­ tri nations!EINA!

    From jaco.delarey, on Mon 6 Jul 8:08AM

  3. RE - 74 points in 3 tests..................... 54 of­ those­ points from Welsh players...... 15 from England­ & 5­ from Ireland.......... Need I say anymore ???­ ; ))) ............ Sorry for not expanding on my­ comment, l was merely vindicating the choice of certain­ key players (M. Williams, S. Williams, M. Philips &­ S. Jones), who played well of each other during the six­ nations and have the ability to speed up the passage of­ play at the flick of a switch. Maybe they should have­ been first choice in the other tests, as they add that­ extra dimension that was lacking in the previous test,­ and could have tipped the balance in our favour­ especially in tight games???

    From Pedro', on Sun 5 Jul 8:12PM

  4. what a difference Martyn Williams made to the back row.­ Why was he not chosen before? Similarly the Lions could­ have done with the inpirational play of Shane Williams­ in the previous tests

    From KEITH J, on Sun 5 Jul 8:12PM

  5. which ever way people try to dress it up we lost the­ series 2-1
    im just glad to have watched all three­ great games

    From jaygummer2101, on Sun 5 Jul 5:14PM

  6. ALL MATCHES ON INTERNET: TEST MATCHES, WORLD CUP, SIX­ NATIONS, TRI NATIONS, GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP, HEINEKEN­ CUP, EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP, SUPER 14, SUPER 10 AND­ MUCH MORE

    From WWW.PREMIERSHIP.ALTERVISTA.ORG, on Sun 5 Jul 4:56PM

  7. its about rugby,nothing else just rugby,well done boks­ well done lions........its abouy rugby!........

    From yaosullivan, on Sun 5 Jul 2:51PM

  8. COMMENT 81. You're the man! I support your comment­ 100%. Some of the comments in this thread are irelevant­ and insulting. Some were even ashamed to write in­ English. These mindless nutjobs have no place here and­ any chat about rugby is better off wothout them. The­ standard of test rugby played, by both sides, on this­ tour was just a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately the­ IRB still cannot provide the same standard of referre­ to do justice to these men. I'm no great fan of Mr­ Dickinson but I thought he handled the last test very­ well. He made it clear from the start that neither­ side would get away with the 'goings on' of the­ last two tests. Yes he made a few glaring errors but­ that was nothing compared to what had gone on before.­ The IRB should take action against any team who make­ such a childish gesture as those stupid armbands­ although the referee has the authority to prevent any­ inappropriate changes to players kit. But the last word­ should be about the players. This Lions squad were­ impressive not only for their playing style but also in­ the way that they came together and consistently­ improved as the tour went on. The outstanding example­ of this was Phil Vickery. In the first test he was­ made to look completely ineffective at tight head,­ legally or illegally is another debate. But he came­ back in the third game and was absolutely solid in the­ front row. A lesser man may not have recovered from­ that first performance but Vickery stood up to be­ counted and must be given recognition for that. I­ would just like to thank the Lions and SA Rugby for the­ enjoyment they have given me over the past month and­ also to thank Rowntree, Edwards, Howley, Jenkins et al­ for their work. And last but not least, Geechs who is a­ legend in the history of this great side.

    From John L, on Sun 5 Jul 2:42PM

  9. How many points did the Boks score in the series and­ how many the Lions? How many tries did the Boks score­ and how many the Lions?
    A great game! One wonders what­ would have been the outcome if those players in the­ Third Test had been given a chance earlier.
    A great­ series.The Burger and botha issues apart, some very­ fine Rugby all round. Thanks Boks and Lions.

    From TONY, on Sun 5 Jul 2:23PM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Is that really something to be proud of ? We avoided a­ white wash and the Uk goes crazy. WELL DONE !!! Funny­ how happy everyone in the UK is . haha
    South Africa­ were putting our a weeker side to give some of the­ players exposure to the big seen so it was more­ opportunity for the weeker players to be even stronger­ .
    What a victory for the Lions , yeh sure .

    From www.prosoccer.co.za, on Sun 5 Jul 1:01PM

  11. some of the south africans are a disgrase to the game­ trying to get into fights and no. 6 was trying to push­ mike phillips about but phillips had none of it. shaw­ shouldn't have been yellowed.
    When the south­ africans can play such good rugby why do they have to­ cheat so much

    From menace_in_the_making, on Sun 5 Jul 12:33PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    To armcor. Yes I don't know what a rugby ball looks­ like, although I have been told that your head does­ have an uncanny resemblance. Egg shaped with nothing­ but air and a bladder inside it. Stop moaning and­ accept your fate, you lost the important stuff and won­ the irrelevant stuff. Watch the Tri-Nations and learn­ how to play rugby, oh and you might see your­ 'head' (the rugby ball) being kicked about the­ park by Steyn

    From whatever, on Sun 5 Jul 12:11PM

  13. Martin is a narrow-minded ^rse wipe? Thank god almost­ no one in the world can understand afrikaans! He's­ an embarrasment!

    From Andrew M, on Sun 5 Jul 10:58AM

  14. hEY lONDON-ENGLAND-1966!!!!!! Im also a fellow­ Londoner why are you so bitter and twisted.You forgot­ about the first heart transplant and a few technologies­ actually.SA is a young country with a long way to go­ in many respects ---of course.
    But why are you so­ bitter and twisted??? Did some saffa do you in,­ probably outwitted you.But you cant blame a whole­ nation for that.
    Have you noticed the crime in London­ over the last few years.
    I love London what a great­ city maybe the greatest from a certain point of­ view.You might be right about some issues in Southern­ Africa in general.
    But it sounds like you would do well­ there with all the hate coming out of you.
    You dont­ deserve to be a Londoner mate!!!! get a grip.Maybe you­ need a brain transplant.Good spopkesman for the London­ Olympics you are !!!!

    From pfi100, on Sun 5 Jul 8:18AM

  15. Well done to the Lions, they totally outplayed us on­ the day and deserved to win. My biggest concern as a­ South African is when are we going to get rid of that­ imbecile coach of ours who is busy wrecking a world­ class side. De Villiers must GO!!!!

    From Andrew, on Sun 5 Jul 6:52AM

  16. Amazing all the b*llocks about the Anglo Boer War, we­ are talking rugby, first string Springboks or second­ string, don't care. I am passionate about rygby,­ the way it is played, the outcome.
    I would've love­ to have seen what would've happened had O Gara not­ screwed up, yes the boks won the series, but it was a­ close call, played by two passionate teams, no quarters­ were asked or given.
    Rugby won on the day.
    And yes I am­ a Bok supporter, and a South African

    From rory p, on Sun 5 Jul 6:00AM

  17. Gaz W: I feel the same. Rugby is more than a winning or­ whinging or insulting slugfest. I think rugby is one of­ the last true uniting sports out there. I loved this­ series. The Lions were great. The Boks were great. It­ was so close.
    It wasn't boring, not even for a­ second.
    Now let's go for a pint together.
    Cheers­ mates (from around the globe)

    From a Bok fan and Born­ and bred Boer.
    PS. Hope you beat the odds and get well­ soon, boet!

    From McGuyver, on Sun 5 Jul 4:37AM

  18. I just wished to write a wee something considering alot­ of the nonsense i've read on here

    I'm a guy­ that loves his rugby, above all the LIONS. i'm­ disabled with a illness & injury that at the rate­ it continues will end my life before the next lions­ tour. So for me, yesterday's game will or could­ very well be the last time i will ever get to see my­ beloved lions play live.

    To all the real LIONS­ fan's. Thankyou for your comments, the funny­ remarks & your thoughts, it's been a pleasure­ reading most of them & being ale to share my own­ toughts with you. Please keep the faith in this­ wonderful ethos that the LIONS embody, four nations­ playing under one badge for one goal, utterly unique­ & a truly wonderful representation of what sport­ can be & do

    To the real bok fans, enjoy your­ victory & it's been a pleasure sharing my­ thoughts with you & reading yours too. It's far­ from a perfect world & we all have our own­ individual views on the games, the players, the rules­ & remarks made, that applys to both sets of­ fans..

    Rugby is a brotherhood & to all lions­ fans, thankyou for being a brother in a sport i love­ & to all bok fans thankyou you too BOET

    gaz

    From Gaz, on Sun 5 Jul 3:45AM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Boks still won the series u dumb twats!

    From eben_wessels, on Sun 5 Jul 3:33AM

  20. I am an extremely proud welshman who loves his­ rugby,but i have never felt so proud as i felt at the­ end of the lions tour. Not only did we manage to play­ 75% of the rugby against the so called 'world­ champions',we also managed to walk off the field­ with our heads held high,having not lowered ourselves­ to the new low south african rugby have now dragged­ their 'rugby' to. I have never seen such a­ display of thuggery mixed with outright cowardice. Not­ once did I see a bok forward taking on a lion front­ five forward.eg burger vs fitzgerald ( his eyes mainly)­ and various bok forwards vs martyn williams ( our­ smallest forward and a true gentleman ). I have never­ witnessed such a dispicable bunch of players as this­ current bok squad.Any supporter of these scumbags who­ harps on about 'tough' rugby just shows how­ little they know about rugby.Roll on the next world cup­ when wales smash the boks ouf of sight,the­ 'beast' and poor refereeing included.

    From Redtide, on Sun 5 Jul 2:28AM
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