After 65 minutes of the opening test in this years Lions tour you could have been forgiven for thinking South Africa were cruising as they drew nearer to a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Spring Boc’s were beginning to pound the weak Lions attack, and having just taken off fly half Ruan Pienaar an air of invincibility and arrogance crept into the World Champions spirit.
The withdrawal of Piennar, who had previously been scrutinised as to his lack of experience in the lead up to the opening test, and then of captain John Smit seemed to give the tourists some added impetus however as they sensed a chance to get at their ‘untouchable’ opponents.
With the South African’s prime out of hand kicker now on the bench they struggled to control the middle of the park, and from then on the Lions created their foothold.
Tom Croft added to his first half try by diving over after a succession of desperate tackles from the hosts, and if it weren’t for a last ditch tackle on Ugo Monye the Englishman would closed the gap further.
Finishing did seem to thwart the Lions progress; with Monye’s effort the second he had failed to ground having failed earlier in the match.
Mike Phillips was just as guilty in the second 40 minutes, but he reduced the arrears further with a dart under the posts from similar range to that of Croft.
With that single score the home side saw their opportunity to claw back the initiative.
Back on came Pinnar and Smit, who some would say is the most dominating international captain in world rugby.
An air of calm was re-introduced into the South African side, and with just five minutes to go they knew they had time on their hands.
Someone should have told Ricky Januarie however, who knocked on straight after the re-start, surely the Lions’ chance was now.
Jamie Roberts and Brain O’Driscoll were dazzling the South African midfield, not for a single minute of the 80 did they know where to turn when either centre gathered the ball.
But with seconds on the clock the home defence stood firm.
And with the Lions looking for another penalty Smit induced yet another infringement, and only then did the World Champions know they’d come through this gruelling encounter with a win.
Who really came out of this match the victor however?
The Lions will be hugely buoyed by their climax to the match; despite coming up short they’ve given their opposition plenty to think about.
It’s obvious that they visitors have the advantage in fitness, and that’s not something the Spring Boc’s can change overnight, they’ll have to learn to kill games off early if they are to avoid a series defeat.
If you’re a Lions fan however this game did bring up a series of what-ifs.
Three times the ball pinched with the line in-sight, not mistakes our Southern Hemisphere opponents would make with glory in such close vicinity.
And to add to that will South Africa be as complacent with their substitutions as they were on this occasion?
After the dismantlement of their game after a series of changes including the departure of awesome prop Tendai Mtawarira, are they going to make the same mistake again? Have the Lions truly missed their chance?
With the altitude of Pretoria sure present even more issues for the Lions side, a test that was always seen as damage limitation rather than a good chance of evening the series, getting back into the series now seems like an impossible task.
The hosts are sure not to let the same mistakes happen again, and are sure to clamp down on the space allowed to Roberts in the centre-who was easily the Lions best player after superb display.
The medical student showed on a world stage he can mix it with the world champions, and it’s not the last we’ve seen of the Welshman either.
But was the end of the Lions chances truly extinguished in those final five minutes in Durban, as South Africa squeezed what could be the most important victory of the entire tour.
Being Cheeky
12 years ago
