Blow-by-blow scoring

The Springboks mounted a phenomenal fight-back in the last quarter of a stupendous test match and Steyn’s kick, from 53.7 metres and right in front, gave John Smit’s men a 28-25 victory that for a long time seemed out of their reach.

In an incredible match packed full of unbelievable incidents the Springboks were able to survive the loss of Schalk Burger to the sinbin after 32 seconds in an eye-gouging incident that is going to reverberate for all of next week and twice trailed by 11 points against a Lions side who dominated the first 60 minutes.

Burger’s moment of madness at the first riotous clash seemed to set the tone for a match that had it all – from stunning tries, bone-jarring collisions, angry confrontations, horrible injuries to uncontested scrums.

Burger, whether it was the large blotches of scarlet in the Loftus ramparts or simple determination to, in his 50th test, make the kind of impact he was selected to do, not only threw his team-mates out of kilter but probably ended his involvement in the series when the red mist descended.

Burger will almost certainly be cited for clawing at Luke Fitzgerald’s face in full view of touch judge Bryce Lawrence – and you must know how the British media are going to dine out on what will be called eye-gouging – and he will be lucky indeed to escape further censure.

Burger’s momentary derangement occurred in the 32nd second and it meant the Boks were down to 14 men and under the gun from the start.

And, to be honest, they might have been under pressure whether Burger was present or not for the Lions were focussed and full of grit and dominated every phase.

The tourists’ scrum woes of Durban were but a distant memory and, with Brian O’Driscoll their conductor, set out to play a varied and expansive game to exploit the Springboks’ defensive frailties that they had shown up in the first Test.

The Lions brought to bear the full repertoire of tactics, taking it wide, then applying the pick-and-go, then sniping around the fringes, then kicking tactically and O’Driscoll constantly had the Boks chasing the game with his ability to draw players onto him, set up others or suddenly make the play himself.

The Lions, taking full advantage of Burger’s untimely and costly absence, made all the psychological statements of intent and also demonstrated that if it was to be physical they were up for that too.

Against this the Boks looked like the team who had spent the week in the mud and rain of Cape Town and who were struggling to come to terms with altitude.

The Boks were just not in it. The swarming defence of the Jake White years was nowhere to be seen as they constantly allowed Lions to make too many yards, they were slow to the breakdown, they missed first-time tackles, lost control of the ball in contact, failed to clean out the ever-present red-shirted loiterers, had more retreat than go-forward and were too quick to put boot to ball – and then not very effectively either.

The Lions went to touch with the penalty that accompanied Burger’s sin-binning but then wrested another with pressure play and Stephen Jones made it 3-0 in the 3rd minute.

There was an edge to the exchanges from the start with plenty of posturing, puffed out chests and verbals but the Lions made it count on the scoreboard when Rob Kearney got their first try in the 6th minute. Jones’s conversion meant the Lions were 10-0 up after seven minutes but the Loftus faithful, unaccustomed to being drowned out in their own stadium, finally found their voice when JP Pietersen scored an all-too-simple try off a lineout.

Juan Smith rose to take Bismarck du Plessis’ long throw, dropped the ball down to Fourie du Preez and Pietersen, coming off the blindside swing, ran hard onto the ball and scythed passed Fitzgerald before wheeling around to near the posts. Ruan Pienaar’s conversion hit an upright but it seemed the Boks had shaken off the tremors caused by their shaky start.

However Smit’s men were able to produce only flashes of inspiration and the Lions remained on top and in control of the ball – a fundamental of successful rugby that allowed Jones to kick two more penalties and move the score to 16-5 after 35 minutes.

The match had the feeling of an old-style Test match as French referee Christophe Berdos whistled up full penalties and it was from one such, after Jamie Roberts committed obstruction as Jones and O’Driscoll were attempting a loop-round behind him, that Francois Steyn produced a portentous precursor of the dramatic ending that would result in the Springboks winning the test and the series.

Steyn split the uprights with a massive penalty from inside his own half and the Boks trooped of 8-16 down but not looking as though they had the will or energy to save the game.

However there was a subtle change in the temper of exchanges after the re-start – perceptible in the Boks finally managing to take the ball through some phases and there were the first signs that the Lions were feeling the effects of altitude.

Exchanges had been attritional in the extreme but no-one could have predicted the unreal sequence of events that would play themselves out in the third quarter.

Lions prop Gethin Jenkins suffered a cut to his face and was severely dazed as he clashed with the back of Bryan Habana’s head as he and O’Driscoll pulled off a thumping tackle and as he was being led off it emerged that his prop-mate Adam Jones was also struggling – injured as he was “cleaned out” by Bakkies Botha.

With only one other prop on the bench in Andrew Sheridan, who had already made a brief appearance for Jenkins, it meant uncontested scrums – a situation that robbed the Lions of their advantage at the setpiece but which seemed would make it easier for them to tie up the ball and keep the Boks from making inroads.

Ruan Pienaar missed two penalty attempts and the restive crowed were beginning to chant for the introduction of Morné Steyn – especially when the darling of Loftus was seen to get up from the bench along with Jaque Fourie.

The Boks coaches however resisted bringing on the goal-kicker, or Heinrich Brüssow, and inexplicably instead sent on Andries Bekker and Danie Rossouw for Botha and Smith.

One wondered at the wisdom of relinquishing mobility and the concern became greater when John Smit snapped up a ball, which appeared to be out, behind a Lions maul and was penalised.

Jones kicked his fourth penalty to give the Lions an 19-8 lead with exactly 20 minutes left to play and that’s when Peter de Villiers decided to make what turned out to be two series-winning substitutions – Morné Steyn for Pienaar and Fourie for Jean de Villiers.

And the pair had hardly jogged into position or another bizarre occurrence resulted which would work in favour of the Boks.

O’Driscoll and Rossouw crashed head on, like mountain goats, and the big Springbok was left reeling like a prize fighter who had taken a punch to the jaw. It was clear that Rossuw, who had been on for just three minutes, could not continue and off the bench came Free State’s pocket battleship Brüssow.

However none of the trio had a hand in the next skirmish that holed the Lions below the waterline. A scrum (uncontested) went down with the Boks putting the ball in, Pierre Spies exploded off the back, Du Preez drifted to take his pass and Bryan Habana flashed in and straight through and under posts for his 33rd Test try – the Boks being lucky not to be blown up for crossing.

Steyn’s conversion would be his first points in the Springbok jersey, making the score 15-19, and before the final whistle sounded he would be in double figures.

A rush of blood by Du Plessis, which was indicative of the Boks’ poor discipline throughout, when he quickly tapped a penalty cost his side the chance of more points but Brüssow, as he should have been from the start, was causing the Lions no end of problems and he won another penalty by forcing the Lions to hang on – and this time Smit claimed the ball and gave it to Steyn to make it 18-19.

There were signs that the Lions were wilting but the next cheers came from the Red Army as Schalk Burger went off-sides and Jones kicked his fifth penalty to put the tourists 22-18 in front with 11 minutes to play.

The match had gone disappointingly flat with the introduction of uncontested scrums but now there was a hum of anticipation – could the Lions hold on? could the Boks pull it out of the fire?

Few could have guessed at the incredible Wow! Factor bubbling in the crucible.

A high tackle by Simon Shaw on The Beast gave the Boks the chance to kick for touch near the Lions’ line. The ball was won by Matfield, Brüssow recovered it, and the forwards drove it up… then out it came to the right to Jaque Fourie. The South African Lion blasted through Ronan O’Gara and then hurtled through an impossibly narrow gap to beat the despairing attempted tackles by Mike Phillips and Luke Fitzgerald to reach out and dot down the ball just inside the corner flag.

It was touch-and-go and how ironic that the TMO should have been Stu Dickinson – the man who had made the ruling on Mark Cueto’s controversial non-try in the 2007 World Cup Final – who finally told Berdos: “I have a decision for you, you may award the try.”

Next Steyn slotted the touchline conversion and suddenly, in the 76th minute the Boks were 25-22 in front having trailed all the way.

However the script contained more drama as Andries Bekker high-tackled Jones and the shaken flyhalf stood up, gathered himself, and slotted his 5th penalty from the touchline to level the scores at 25-all – and seemingly give the Lions a chance of squaring the series in the final test in Johannesburg.

Neither side however wanted to be kissing sisters and in the 78th minute the Boks worked Steyn into the pocket to attempt a drop, but he was not steady enough and missed.

Back came the Lions and Ronan O’Gara launched an up-and-under which he chased himself. Fourie du Preez leapt high to claim the ball, O’Gara took his legs from under him and Monsieur Berdos had no hesitation in awarding a penalty.

Thus it fell to Morné Steyn to place the ball in his own half, 53.7 metres from the posts and with time already having run out, to try for the goal that would win the test and, with it, the series.

And, for the second time in a few days a South African kicker (Willem de Waal at Newlands) broke the hearts of the Lions as Steyn sent the ball soaring over the crossbar for the three points that will ensure him a special place in the annals of Springbok rugby.

Scorers were:

South Africa (8) 28: Tries by JP Pietersen (11 min), Bryan Habana (62 min), Jaque Fourie (73 min). Francois Steyn kicked a penalty and Morné Steyn two conversions and two penalties.

B&I Lions (16) 25: Try by Rob Kearney (6 min). Stephen Jones kicked a conversion, five penalties and a dropped goal.