Lions 2009 - Steyn seals epic Test for Boks

Eurosport - Sun, 28 Jun 12:10:00 2009

South Africa secured a series win over the British and Irish Lions after a Morne Steyn penalty in the last minute earned them a 28-25 victory in an epic second Test in Pretoria.

Morne Steyn - South Africa 2009 - 0

In what was an almost unbearably exciting finish to a classic encounter at Loftus Versfeld, replacement Morne Steyn (pictured) punished an illegal tackle from Lions substitute Ronan O'Gara with a monster kick from inside his own half with the last play of the game.

The defeat was all the more heart-breaking for the Lions as only a minute earlier the outstanding Stephen Jones landed a touchline penalty to level the scores and keep the series alive.

Unlike in the first Test, the Lions started superbly and built up a 19-8 lead before South Africa justified their world champions tag by reeling in the injury-hit tourists.

The Lions will rightly feel it was an opportunity missed but luck was not on their side as they lost both props and both centres to injury as the Springboks finished the game strongly.

But the scoreboard will show that the Boks out-scored the tourists by three tries to one with JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana and replacement Jaque Fourie crossing, the latter six minutes before the end to claim the lead for the home side.

There were several outstanding performances for the tourists, not least try-scorer Rob Kearney, who produced one of the great full-back performances in Lions' history.

Stephen Jones can also be proud of his efforts as he scored 20 of the Lions' points with a conversion, five penalties and a drop goal.

The Lions might also feel aggrieved with the decision of referee Christophe Berdos not to punish Schalk Burger with a red card for a gouging incident on Luke Fitzgerald early in the game that earned the recalled flanker a spell in the sin bin.

The tourists continued where they left off last week in Durban and tore into their hosts from the first minute, refusing to give an inch up front and moving the ball into midfield at every opportunity.

Indeed, the Lions had the edge in the front row, with loosehead prop Adam Jones getting the better of Tendai Mtawarira, and also in midfield, where Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll were again outstanding.

But by the 68th minute the Lions had lost all three plus tight-head Gethin Jenkins to injury, and with their departure the visitors' chances of squaring the series looked in serious doubt.

The Lions took the lead with an early Stephen Jones penalty and made the most of Burger's absence when Kearney showed great composure to go over in the right corner four minutes later after an excellent offload from Stephen Jones.

South Africa, although on the back foot, wasted little time bouncing back and scored the first of their tries when Pietersen came off his wing to take a superb scoring pass from scrum-half Fourie du Preez.

With outstanding veteran lock Simon Shaw leading the challenge up front, the Lions continued to get the better of the early exchanges and punished the Boks again in the 15th minute when they were caught offside.

Fitzgerald had a couple of chances to add another try as the Lions developed a good attacking position for Stephen Jones to extend their lead with a drop goal four minutes before the break.

By this stage Andrew Sheridan had come on for Jenkins, who suffered an eye injury in a tackle on Habana, and the Boks went into half-time 16-8 down after a Francois Steyn penalty from within his own half.

The Lions lost Adam Jones with a shoulder injury five minutes after the restart and were lucky not to be penalised for their indiscipline when Boks fly-half Ruan Pienaar twice missed shots on goal in the 48th and 53rd minutes.

With Pierre Spies finding his running game, the Boks started to stretch the Lions defence but it was the tourists who added to the scoreboard, with Stephen Jones's third penalty just after the hour making it 19-8.

A minute later O'Driscoll flattened Boks' replacement flanker Danie Rossouw with a barely legal tackle. Rossouw had to leave the pitch and it also signalled the end of O'Driscoll's influence on the game.

South Africa scored their second try moments later when Habana came off his wing at speed and burst clear under the posts, with the conversion making the score 19-15.

With O'Driscoll and Roberts having left the field, the Lions were in disarray, with replacements playing out of position and the Boks gaining confidence from the injuries.

Morne Steyn and Stephen Jones swapped penalties to make it 22-18 going into the last 10 minutes, but it looked just a matter of time before the Lions defence cracked.

That moment came in the 76th minute when Fourie was worked into space in the right corner and showed excellent strength to fend off the tackle of Mike Phillips and dot the ball down.

The television match official needed several looks at the score before rightly awarding the try.

Morne Steyn landed a glorious touchline conversion to make it 25-22, but the drama was not over as a high tackle from replacement Andries Bekker on Stephen Jones handed the Welshman a chance to tie the scores.

The fly-half showed remarkable composure to land the penalty from the touchline and the Lions were back in the series.

But with the last move of the game, O'Gara gathered a ball deep in his own half and proceeded to take out du Preez in mid-air as he chased his own kick ahead.

Morne Steyn had been brought on for just such a moment and the Blues fly-half wrote his name in South Africa rugby history with the winning kick from 55 metres.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport

Comment 231 - 250 of 250

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. I keep on reading (papers, websites, everywhere) about­ Burger deserving a red card. (not in disagreement with­ that, though) BUT from journalists, fans, even the Lion­ players!? "You can't go doing things like­ that. Referees are paid to do a job and that decision­ cost us the game. What Burger did isn't sport,­ it's disgusting." (quoting Mike Phillips) COST­ US THE GAME? So, Mr Phillips, you're saying the­ only way you could win was if the Boks had one man less­ on the field?

    From gustavrischmuller, on Mon 29 Jun 10:49AM

  2. Poms stick to sports no one plays your pathetic,­ organise a medal ceremony for some pie eater , you­ spineless twats

    From king penguin, on Mon 29 Jun 10:01AM

  3. Unbelievable mesteele42 and Bruce E! I, for one­ don't expect that verbal diarrhoea from Brits.­ Isn't lame excuses, bad sportmanship and­ sore-looser-ness reserved for the French? You lost.­ Finish en klaar mate. Whooped by the natives from the­ old colony.

    From gustavrischmuller, on Mon 29 Jun 8:55AM

  4. I was pleasantly surprised by the vigour and­ intelligence of the Lions on Saturday. They did­ everything right for almost 60 minutes to counteract­ the Boks.(Especially the very clever little incidents­ on the floor and off the ball, clearly planned to make­ the Boks loose their cool.. :) The old thug-reputation­ of the Boks is actually rubbish - frankly in the modern­ game they are probably the most disciplined­ international team. Any game against the Boks is bound­ to be a very physical encounter. But the Lions­ couldn't keep up for 80 minutes - The long and the­ short of it.

    From gustavrischmuller, on Mon 29 Jun 8:45AM

  5. To comment 244. If rugby is too hard and violent for­ you to watch, go watch football then. The game for­ softer petite men. If the Lions cant handle hard­ tackling, so be it. Then they should not play the­ Southern hemisphere teams at all. Cause we always play­ HARD rugby. I dont agree with what Schalk Burger did,­ but the rest od the game was fine. I thought the ref­ handled the game alright as a first timer for big games­ he just seem to strugle a bit with his English. But­ maybe all French do.

    From Geraldine, on Sun 28 Jun 10:53PM

  6. Well done Bokke. The Lions were not innocent. Brian o­ Driscoll should have been yellow carded for foul play.­ The Lions are just too soft. The players did not get­ injured because of foul play, they got injured cause­ they arent used to the Southern hemisphere intensity. I­ think the Boks would have one easier if Schalk Burger­ did not get yellow carded. I hate foul play so im not­ happy with how Schalk played, he should not have played­ at all. Replacement Heinrich Brussow were MUCH better­ and should have started. You could say Schalk Burger­ handed the Lions 13 points.

    From Geraldine, on Sun 28 Jun 10:43PM

  7. Re post 224: Well said: When you read about the scale­ of the injuries done to the lions players you would­ think they had been in a mass brawl rather than a game­ of rugby:

    South Africa hang your head in shame -- you­ have brought a wonderful sport into the gutter

    From Bren, on Sun 28 Jun 7:12PM

  8. Today watching the game and the violence that the­ Springboks play with its a game I am thinking is not­ woth watching anymore. With referees who are happy to­ ref small mistakes to the maximum yet allow foul play­ to be the norn should be sacked from the game. Good­ luck to the South African for winning the series, but­ if they need it that much and are prepared to commit­ such fouls then good for them. They maybe world­ champions but they are a disgrace to the sport.

    From Mr look for the truth, on Sun 28 Jun 6:37PM

  9. Whith regards to comment 246, talk about bad­ sportsmanship,firstly I cant see what being white or­ black or working in engalnd for 2 years to pay for­ further education has anything to do with Rugby. As for­ Habanas smiling face its constantly that way, possibly­ cause of the passion he has for the game. I thought it­ was a great test and as for the injuries that the lion­ substained, was due to the fact of hard tackles and­ dedication. The lions played the better rugby for 60­ min but its an 80 min game, as for the lions­ substitutions that replaced the injured, they have the­ experiance and should have been able to close the game­ down. Well done to the WORLD CHAMPS and I look forward­ to a 3-0 series white wash

    From michael_whitaker20, on Sun 28 Jun 5:54PM

  10. FYI: The 99 call was raised to deal with the issue of­ the boks acting like thugs: You are right to brink that­ up: Poor sportsmanship and gernral disregard for the­ rules of fair play are still part of the boks mentailty­ today just as they were in big Willies day:

    Perhaps­ for the last test the lions should give the dirty boks­ a rerun of that 99 call to teach them some­ manners:
    Boks are a disgrace to the game of rugby: They­ have a long reputation for dirty tricks and taking out­ players to win games:

    History will record that you­ won the series, but it will also record the manner in­ which this was achieved: A hollow empty victory: Enjoy­ it: The lions would rather lose than play to your low­ levels of sportmanship:

    From Bruce E, on Sun 28 Jun 4:18PM

  11. One number: "99," called by your hero Willie­ John.....so who is calling who dirty? Bad luck chaps, 2­ - 0.....yes, NIL!!!!!

    From Matthew Cocks, on Sun 28 Jun 2:31PM

  12. One number: "99," called by your hero Willie­ John.....so who is calling who dirty? Bad luck chaps, 2­ - 0.....yes, NIL!!!!!

    From Matthew Cocks, on Sun 28 Jun 2:31PM

  13. Look for once and for all the boks were beaten twice in­ two test matches and had to resort to bad sportsmanship­ and cheating to win the two games:
    First test the lame­ exceuse to bring back on the captain to prop up a­ disorganised team:
    Second test: The lions first team­ were to good for them -- so what do they do second half­ they target all the lions key players to take them out­ of the game: One or two serious injuries you would­ expect but to put 5 lions in hospital is more than just­ coincidence:
    Just look at the facts two boks have been­ cited: Burger for gouging -- a tradition bok welcome?­ Botha for taking out prop Adam Jones:

    Boks grow up if­ you can't play the game fair don't play at all

    From Bruce E, on Sun 28 Jun 12:28PM

  14. I am not a Schalk Burger fan. I have mantained for a­ long time that he has lost us matches with his tactics­ and over robust play.He should not be picked to play­ for the Boks or Stormers ever again.There are far­ better and more disciplined players sitting on the­ sidelines that dont get a chance.
    Morne Steyn should be­ the start up flyhalf for the next test.Ruan Pienaar is­ good, too bad he had an off day otherwise the score­ could have looked very different 40-25 maybe had four­ kicks at goal been on target Henry

    From henryhartley, on Sun 28 Jun 10:01AM

  15. Well done the lions, just think what you would of done­ if the injurys didn`t happen, and the ref had of called­ it a red. But its rugby and not football, so as a fan­ we will accept the result and well done the boks, but­ you know the lions will make you pay next time. Once­ again well played all the lions.

    From BRAD G, on Sun 28 Jun 9:31AM

  16. i think ohara saw headlines ohara late try secures win­ for lions

    From Patricia, on Sun 28 Jun 9:30AM

  17. boys we lost to the better team just put up with it­ rugby has highs and lows well done for the effort it­ was first class

    From evanssteven66, on Sun 28 Jun 9:11AM

  18. seems most of the comments on this page are NOT from­ real Rugby fans only people that want to moan about­ politics or anything other than the game.
    David F

    From david.carolann, on Sun 28 Jun 8:52AM

  19. I watched the game and was very excited by the Lions­ start, and hugely respected the Boks strength of­ character to come back. I am a qualified ref - yes,­ Burger should have gone for good - intentional contact­ with the eyes. BODS tackle - you could see his arms­ going up for the wrap, but the collision was so intense­ that he got knocked into the middle of next week! Just­ chance that he came off better - unlike webster in the­ 6 nations! I thought the Ref had great control of the­ game, made the right calls and allowed a fair contest.­ Lions lost because they could not maintain their­ intensity - caused by injuries. 3 tries to 1 sort of­ makes it fair? We in the rugby fraternity are meant to­ be above this squabbling - perhaps the fan base is­ deteriorating with the player base to "soccer­ standards"...

    From hblackburn, on Sun 28 Jun 8:26AM

  20. just saw the highlights as i was travelling back from­ Aus vs France in sydney, (France were awful and­ Australia just relied on Giteau's boot). The ref­ had a shocker! Burger should've been a red, how­ BOD's tackle went unpenalised I'll never know­ (this from an Irishman), and don't even get me­ started on the penalty, O'Gara has eyes on the ball­ and doesn't make a 'tackle' at all,­ he's been jumped into and very hard done by! As a­ qualified referee I've seen that so many times so I­ imagine that a professional ref has seen it more and if­ he gave that decision every time he would be under­ review and there's no way he'd be a test ref.­ BIG MISTAKE! but having said that any team who­ outscores another 3 tries to 1 must've done­ something well enough to win!

    From Paddy, on Sun 28 Jun 8:02AM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account