Former coach Carel du Plessis has hailed South Africa's series victory over the British and Irish Lions in which he claims the Springboks did not hit top gear.

The world champions wrapped up the win two weeks ago when they took an unassailable 2-0 lead, following up the 26-21 triumph in Durban with the dramatic 28-25 victory in Pretoria. With changes aplenty for the final Test in Johannesburg, the hosts slumped to a 28-9 loss - but du Plessis believes it was an impressive showing from John Smit's team.

"Winning the Lions series was a massive feat for the Springboks," he told the Business Day. "It was a fantastic win and it was good for our rugby. That said, it is debatable whether the Springboks played their best rugby. I think people would have loved to see them register a whitewash, but it was still a great series."

The 49-year-old, who was at the helm in 1997 when South Africa were beaten 2-1, also felt the Lions could have been much better if they had played more games together.

He continued: "They did well, they played quality rugby. In the last Test, particularly, they converted their opportunities into points at crucial times.

"I think if the tour was longer they would have performed even better because they would have had sufficient time to develop star combinations.

"In the first two Tests the breakdowns were a mixed bag. But their defensive system was effective, which put pressure on us at times."