After watching the All Blacks sweep aside three South African URC clubs, the Lions decided it was time to fight fire with fire. CLINTON VAN DER BERG reports.
For 26 days, the All Blacks had swept through South Africa as conquering heroes, winning hearts and minds with flamboyance on the field and warmth off it. Four teams down, the Boks included, and 27 tries later, nobody had laid a glove on them. On Tuesday night, the Lions tore up the welcome mat.
What made this performance remarkable wasn’t just the scoreline, it was how the Lions engineered it against a squad containing 17 players with Test caps – 563 in all.
REPORT: Unbeaten All Blacks edge brave Lions
This was not a side content to hang on and hope. From the opening exchanges, the Lions took the fight to the world’s best, refusing to be cowed by reputation or the aura New Zealand had built over three-and-a-half weeks on tour.
Captain Francke Horn had handed rival captain Patrick Tuipuloto a gift at the coin toss, and that was the last bit of benevolence shown by the Lions,
Defensively, they were courageous. The line largely held watertight, impressive given this is pre-season rugby for them, with fitness levels still building toward peak condition.
Flyhalf Chris Smith was immense at the heart of it, throwing his body around with a bravery that bordered on reckless, while flank Siba Mahashe was a constant nuisance, disrupting All Blacks ball and rhythm at every opportunity. Kelly Mpeku and Erich Cronje, the wings, were also daring and dangerous, making huge contributions.
Where the Lions truly separated themselves, though, was in their efficiency. Three visits to the All Blacks’ 22 in the first half yielded three tries, a conversion rate most Test sides would envy against a team of this calibre. There was no wastage, no fumbled opportunity. When the door opened, the Lions walked through it.
At the breakdown, an area where New Zealand have been relentless and clinical all tour, the Lions matched fire with fire. It was feisty, combative, and they refused to concede the collision battle, a crucial factor in slowing the visitors’ usually rapid ball and disrupting their attacking platform.
Credit, too, must go to preparation. Contact sessions with the Springboks over the past fortnight clearly sharpened the Lions’ physicality and understanding of what confronting All Blacks-calibre opposition demands.
It amounted to a near-perfect team performance, one built on courage, discipline, and ruthless execution in key moments. The All Blacks may have escaped with the result, but the Lions proved the aura can be punctured.
The red carpet, so evidently rolled out over 26 days, lies in tatters.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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After watching the All Blacks sweep aside three South African URC clubs, the Lions decided it was time to fight fire with fire.
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