bosvark nou praat jy!!!! its difficult being the best..­ all the critics not giving credit were credit is due.­ But its even more difficult being the a lion now. The­ match officials and world cup had nothing to do with­ the end result-a scrum would obviously not be as­ awesome if they only had 7 men ,tiring faster instead­ of 8!!! Only one's to blame are the one's­ pointing the most fingers! how can you expect to win­ the world champs if you can't keep you frustrations­ at bay.I think the lions showed they belong in the­ circus with all there tricks seeming rather­ impressive.At the end Im only messing with the okes­ reading this,coz few things are as scary as a wounded­ lion. beware

First of all Dickinson didn't need any proof in the­ Fourie 'incident'. The referee's question­ was "Is there any reason why I cannot award a­ try?" There was no evidence to say that Fourie was­ or wasn't in touch therefore the try stands. Mr­ Lawrence's handling of the first test was weak and­ at times laughable. Paddy O'Brien should not use­ these games as experiments. In my opinion many fast­ track referees are not up to the job at this level and­ contentious incidents are on the up for this reason. I­ would be very interested to see the assessor's­ report from that first test. Certain elements of this­ article, concerning selection and itinerary, are valid­ but in the end that is what coaches and organisers get­ paid for. The players get paid for playing and they did­ that and more. They made these tests two of the best­ I've seen for a long time and they have to be­ congratulated for that. Shalke Burger aside, both sides­ should be comended for their comitment, ability and­ talent and whatever certain antipodean commentators say­ I think that we have witnessed the two best sides in­ world rugby go head to head and the Sprinboks came out­ on top...just. Had there been a trouncing for either­ side then you can begin to apportion blame but the two­ test were so close that, in the end, the difference was­ the attrition rate. Great rugby!

Awww, I don't know about that Bren. I think you do­ a huge discredit to all the players on both sides.
I­ think we can all agree that Burger's behaviour was­ totally unacceptable. But to paint the whole Bok side­ (and indeed the whole nation, as seems to be the­ prevailing attitude on some of these blogs) with the­ same brush and choose rather to be blinded to the many­ positives of the tour, is just meanspirited and small. ­ Maybe you will remember the tour for those negative­ things, and I genuinely feel sorry for you if you do.­
I on the other hand feel that this has been a great­ Lions tour on so many levels, played with incredible­ intensity and commitment that has been so wanting in­ the North: its been a total trip, real edge-of-your­ seat rugby. The teams have been well matched, and but­ for the "rub of the green" the results could­ have easily gone either way. McGeechan and his players­ have restored the Lions pride since the 2005 tour­ debacle, and have rightly earned huge respect from the­ Bok faithful. New heroes in the form of Kearney,­ Roberts, Croft and Byrne to name a few, have shone. The­ Lions have matched and outplayed the Boks in many areas­ of the game. That is the true rugby­ spirit.

Burgers' madness aside, I see no­ difference in the physicality or intensity of rugby­ played in any of the other southern hemi tournaments­ (super 14 and tri N) that we see week after week after­ week.
You might as well label every Southern­ hemisphere side as "thugs" and never tour­ below the equator again.

this tour will be remembered only for the bad­ sportsmanship and cheating of the boks team:
You guys­ truely have a coach that reflects your attitude: You­ are a disgrace to the ideals of true rugby where­ winning although important takes second place to the­ spirit of sportsmanship.

Lets take the BIL away from­ these people and move it to a more sporting nation --­ let this tour be the last the boks see of the lions,

What drivel. The only lesson to be learnt here is how­ to avoid blatant assault by certain players. I have­ always admired Springbok rugby, and it is a hard game­ in South Africa but if this is how the World Champs­ want to win, well, good luck to them but it's not­ what I call rugby. I can see that the Bok fans are on­ the defensive.... they know...

You must be kidding. The try in the world cup last year­ showed the foot of the England player touching the­ line. There was no evidence showing Fourie had been out­ of bounds. Stop trying to create issues when there are­ none.

Almost a carbon copy of the first Test, only roles­ reversed with Lions dominating for the first hour this­ time.

However the massive injury toll - both props,­ leading to uncontested scrums when the Lions were happy­ to take on SA this time, and one of them as a result of­ foul play from Botha which has cost him a place in the­ 3rd Test but more importantly a dislocated shoulder for­ Adam Jones - and the key centre partnership meant that­ they were unable to protect an 11 point lead in the­ final quarter.

O'Gara out of position at centre­ was not a match for Fourie, but still should have­ prevented his touchline try with 5 minutes left - then­ great kicks from Morne Steyn and Steven Jones left the­ game poised at 25-25 in the final 30 seconds.

To­ compound his error O'Gara then waded into Du Preez­ after his own high kick (he could have whacked it into­ touch and kept the series alive, it was very unlikely­ that he was going to create a score from his own 22)­ and left Steyn with a kick everyone watching knew he­ was destined to make.

Last week was hard to bear from­ a Lions perespective, but this weekend was a­ heartbreak, and a real shame that the SA win will be­ tarnished firstly by the eye-gouging of Burger, who­ should have left the field permanently, not just for 10­ minutes (and has also been suspended) and the SA coach­ de Villiers, who scandalously has gone on record as not­ even thinking it was a penalty, just one of those­ things that happens in the game.

All that should not­ spoil what was a classic Test match, and one that­ showed that the concept of the Lions still has its­ place even in this ultra-professional era.

Lets try and salvage some pride on saturday by beating­ them.

Both teams played great rugby and it was sad to see a­ loser. Burger has always been a hard player and I would­ like to think he wouldn't intentionally hurt­ another player.

But it appears to have been reviewed­ and the correct decision made.Playing against 14­ players would not have been the correct way to win­ either.

The Lions team have been exemplary and their­ leader an inspiration. They have given the world­ champions a tough fight and can hold their heads high­ in pride.

I think a fair commentary is that there was­ complete passion out there and no place to hide for any­ one. Were there dubious tackles - of course and from­ both sides. But don't forget that we sit and watch­ from the sidelines with the benefit of repeated slo mo­ replays and consider ourselves experts in the­ game.

The courage displayed by both the Lions and the­ Springboks resulted in a magnificent match and one to­ be remembered for many a year.

Imagine this tempo and­ passion around some of the EPL soccer players. Renaldo,­ Drogba (I am a Chelsea fan by the way so no bias­ here)and company would be terrified. They fall like­ flies when slightly brushed, so I cannot see them in­ any sort of company with these rugby players. And this­ from me, a soccer player and soccer nut who doesn't­ miss a match and played the game for 30 years!

We­ received trhe match from Setanta over here in Canada­ and I certainly hope that they survive and continue tom­ provide great sporting coverage.

I think the trouble is with the british press and their­ one sided reporting of the whole business stirring up­ sensationalism as usual. Dont report the facts just­ stir up the public into a frenzy. I love the way Bryan­ O Driscoll was concussed by a head blow. (that­ magically floated down from the heavens and landed on­ his angelic head.) No mention of Rossouw, not even a­ hope that he recoved! Gethin (one of my heros)tackled­ too hard (lets face it unneccessary because Habana is­ only little, and hurt himself. O Gara likewise except­ that he lost the game for the BIL. That leaves Adam and­ since I support Welsh rugby, we need him and I am as­ sorry as anyone else, but Botha was legally mauling at­ the time on his feet doing his job. All that leaves is­ the famous eye-gouging which has frankly been played to­ death, burger was cited and banned. end of story.
Twice­ now I have recorded games on Sky plus (the replay) as­ my boyfriend was working and twice its been censored. O­ Gara suddenly doesnt punch anyone and rossouw doesnt­ get carted off the field. mmmmm who are they­ protecting. Sky news and BBC news are one sided and­ biased. Why are they hiding the facts? I think both­ teams played a great game, as a south african, the boks­ were frustrating in the first half but the likes of­ karney, Stephen Jones Mike Phillips Jamie Roberts and­ co were brilliant, playing the ball as if they had­ played together for years. Sheridan and the captain­ were thugs through most of the game but thats what you­ expect from Rugby, hot tempers ect. Viva la Rugby.­ Anyone who thinks its disgraceful should find a nice­ girly sport.

De Villiers musst surely go. Burger, whom I have always­ admired, will llive in infamy -but for the coach to­ support such appalling behaviour means he has no right­ to coach a great team like the Boks. Same on you De­ Villiers!

McGuyver, the reason O'Driscoll didn't seem to­ use his arms in that tackle was that he was knocked out­ before he could complete the tackle. You should be­ inspired by the mans bravery and talent, not be­ disappointed in him.
Sheridan's jab was out of­ order alright but he had been putting up with a lot of­ hard stuff himself from Botha and others, they all wear­ cups now anyway so he prob hurt his knukles more than­ the other players knackers anywway!
I really enjoyed­ this tour. I think I and others are finding it tough to­ take because we could so easily be sitting on the other­ side of the fence...would of, could of,­ didn't.
Well done Boks, a mighty scalp for your­ collection.

To all the British and Irish Lions fans. Guys, aside­ from Burger's foul play, of which any South African­ would be embarrassed about, if you want to be the best­ team on the day, you need to beat 15 other players.­ Don't hope for the easy way out to beat 14 players,­ beat 15 Springboks if you can. Take it on the chin and­ be proud of the Lions, they played­ fantastically.

Don't moan so much boys, real men­ and rugby supporters don't cry when they lose. They­ get better and there is always a next time guys.

Well­ done Bokke!

Well Done SA the best team won on the day, You just­ need to look at the try count compared to the lions­ which tells you that they broke our defence way to many­ times.

But with that said, I do think Schalk Burger­ should of had a red card and a longer ban as he is a­ world class player who should be setting a better­ example to the younger generation of the game.

Well­ Done

It's a pity that rugby gets infected like this.­ Stiff upper lip? I don't think so, these days the­ fans just whine and blame. That is of course a­ generalization, since a few here remind me of my­ English buddy, who's about the coolest person I­ know. Personally I would have liked a draw in the­ second test. But when steel nerved Morne Steyn just­ slotted it I would be a liar if I said it wasn't a­ huge moment. I thought if Burger went off in the first­ minute, red card, that the whole match would have been­ a waste of time, and no victory in it for the BIL­ except on the scoreboard. Am I happy Burger has been­ banned? YES! Do I feel freakin frustrated with a player­ like that on our team? YES! How would you feel? (Maybe­ he'd be your hero, since no one seems to mention­ Sheridan and BOD's transgressions. Why's that?)­ Two reasons why Burger won't play anytime soon. 1.)­ Brussouw 2.) He's too risky. Now, talk about a­ waste of talent! Only a true rugby fan would feel the­ same. I loved watching the Lions. Their backline play­ was entertaining, their centres and full backs..­ exceptional. I am a fan. But the journalist said they­ weren't given quality opposition. Maybe, but they­ still struggled... a lot... in the midweek games, and­ drew with Emerging Boks. I was dissappointed in BOD,­ Schalk and Sheridan. More so in BOD since I was a­ bigger fan of him than the other 2. I still am, but­ he's not the god he used to be. I think bigger­ factors in the Boks victories include their start in­ the first test (a shock to all), their self­ believe(most ex-world champs), and physicality. The­ decision making on the field has improved, which is­ scary. We won IN SPITE of De Villiers, Schalk giving­ away 10 points, a lot of missed kicks by Pienaar. I­ LOVED watching the crazy Lions fans, the energy on the­ field. I just hope that if we lose, we will take it­ with more 'stiff upper lip' than some BIL fans.­ For Chrismas we will post you De Villiers, although it

Well done South Africa, they showed us how to play. We­ lost because we did not over come the challenge of a­ world champion side. We selected Ugo Monye who runs­ down the right wing with the ball under his left arm -­ proving he is not a topclass winger. He got over the­ try line three times and never scored The two best­ wingers in the last six nations was left at home -­ Cueto and Lamont. We paid for it in the first test.­ Vickery should have been replaced after 20 minutes. It­ was obvious the ref was blaming him for the beast's­ indiscretions and he couldn't outwit/out play him.­ We had a good replacement for O'Driscall in the­ second test and we brought on the wrong sub. O'Gara­ should never have been on the bench - it should have­ been Hook. We had a team that could take the­ Springboks, but bad selection and itinery took its­ toll. The whole of South Africa were laughing saying­ that the itinery was so heavily weighted in South­ Africa favour.

All this talk about referees and wrong decisions will­ anything be done " A Big No" Stuart Dickenson­ will be in GB next Autumn and for the Six nations as­ will probaly be Bryce the bottle it Hamilton, Dickenson­ should stay in Australia he is probably the worst judge­ of decisions about.but will anything be done­ "NO" as for South Africa they caught us out­ not playing they best sides and also dictating, no­ respect will we do the same when they visit GB sadly­ another big "NO", as for DE - Villers he­ should be brought to task about his support for eye­ gouging and foull play, maybe Burger is honourable or­ is it he could not spell horrible

Terence O'Rorke (Writer of this article), Like any­ other brit, you should just accept defeat in the world­ of sport. You lost to South Africa in the 20-20­ cricket, rugby world cup final 2007, and now the Lions­ Tour, I think it is time you gave up with all the­ excuses. I understand defeat is tough, but after living­ with it for several decades now, I would of thought you­ would be used to it. Stop trying to make excuses why­ you never won this sport or any other sport, stop­ blaming the ref, stop being bad losers. How about­ blaming your government, for some of the following­ reasons. If sport was compulsory in schools, parents­ raised their kids the way they should of been, and you­ all grew some balls. Southern Africa produces fine­ sportsmen, Mainly Zimbabwe and South Africa that is.­ All because they stuck to their roots! It all starts­ with Kids, and they way they are brought up. I think if­ you Brits got this part right, you would have near­ perfect sportsmen, as the United Kingdom has all the­ oppertunities and facilities. Come now, you played­ great on the past weekend, but give up the garbage­ talk. Maybe next time hey!

As a Welsh Rugby fan this has been enjoyable, even­ great series, both games could have gone either way,­ the illegal scrummaging did not cost us the first test­ it was management lacking the courage to change the­ front row after 30mins. Rugby has never been like­ Footbal blaming the refs, the side with courage and­ never say die attitude won the last test. S.Africa have­ been magnificent - that said Burgers behavior was­ Barbaric, and S.African managemnet supporting the­ tactics do nothing but bring the game uinto disripute­ and lower standarsd of our sport to unacceptable­ levels, and it takes away from the magnificent world­ Chapions you are