Rugby’s Greatest Matches: South Africa 28 - 25 British and Irish Lions

Bakkies Botha and Tom Croft come to blows during the Second Test in 2009.

CREDIT: David Rogers/Getty Images

Physicality. Coaches, players and pundits always talk about it as the fundamental key to winning top tier professional matches. The ability to front up to your opponent, and dominating the physical aspect of rugby, goes a long way to earning victory they say.

Often, it may feel a match fails to live up to this billing. Sloppy mistakes, poor weather or a mismatch can drop the intensity of the fight and can put across the game of rugby as the not so full-blooded battle people talk about. 

However, make no mistake, when the physicality is there in rugby you do notice it. No more so than in the 2nd Test of the 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa. 

It was a match that had everything. Pace, skill, accuracy and, most importantly, bone-crunching physicality. It was less of a rugby match and more of a war. Let’s find out what makes this grueller so special. 

Lions roar again

The background to this match is important, not least it because it showed where the Lions, as a concept, were at. The doomed 2005 tour to New Zealand under Clive Woodward was an unmitigated disaster.

Not only was the 3-0 Test Series defeat lop-sided but Woodward’s style of management - splitting the squad into a Midweek squad and a Test squad - along with coaching-mandated songs seemed to drive the romanticism out of the team.

It was a smart move back then to hire Sir Ian McGeechan, whose name will forever be linked to the Lions, for the next tour in 2009.

Even if the Lions failed to win they needed, at least, to finish the tour with pride and continue to make those in charge see its benefits once again. 

The 1st Test in Durban went a ways to do that. It was a physical contest where South Africa were the better team but the World Champions were give an almighty scare.

Tom Croft, Mike Phillips and a centre combination of Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll asked serious questions of the Boks and although the best team won, there was a sense the Lions could make history the following week in Pretoria. 

Lions on top- Burger lucky not to see red

The Lions picked up exactly where they left off when after just six minutes, Tommy Bowe flicked a delicious offload to Rob Kearney who scythed through the defence.

Ball in two hands, he gave Francois Steyn just too much to think about before putting his head down and scraping over the line. 

Red jerseys in Ellis Park became unglued and for good reason, for even before the early try there had been plenty of action.

Just after opening kick off, Schalk Burger was spotted by a linesman gouging the eyes of Ireland winger Luke Fitzgerald. Cameras clearly caught the act, a certain red-card offence even by 2009 standards. 

Upon discussion with referee Christophe Berdos, touch judge Bryce Lawrence said to the Frenchman: “I think it’s at least a yellow card.”

Whether Berdos failed to insinuate what his assistant said, or whether he legitimately understood, is a matter for debate. Ultimately, Burger received only a yellow when it should have been red. 

It seemed to infuriate the Lions and South Africa for that matter. After a break in play Brian O’Driscoll and second-row Victor Matfield got into it, triggering a melee involving almost every player.

When it had subsided O’Driscoll gestured to Matfield, as if to say, ‘Come on then’. At this point, five minutes weren’t even on the clock. 

British Lions ascendency

Already 3-0 up, Kearney’s converted try gave the Lions a strong platform and they led 10-0 before JP Pietersen hit a sumptuous line to go over for South Africa off first-phase line-out play.

It only triggered the Lions to go on further. Further surges into Springbok territory did not bring more tries but they forced South Africa into conceding a string of penalties, which Stephen Jones took with aplomb. 

The Lions had improved markedly in the scrum compared to their previous week and at 16-5 would have been far the happier team going into half-time.

A penalty for crossing, however, gave the huge boot of Steyn the chance to close the gap to eight points and he knocked the 60 metre bomb over easily.

It ended the half not in the way the Lions would have wanted but make no mistake, they were pushing the best team in the world around almost at their will.

This South Africa team, however, was made of sterner stuff. 

Walking wounded

It was time for the Lions to get their first taste of bad luck in the game. Within two minutes of the restart, both loosehead prop Gethin Jenkins and tighthead Adam Jones would suffer game-ending injuries.

As a result the scrums, which had been dominated by the Lions so far, would become uncontested with only six subs on the bench back in 2009.   

Jenkins, who had gone off previously for blood treatment, clashed heads with O’Driscoll as they made a huge double-team hit on Habana. Jones, unfortunately, dislocated his right arm after a clearout from Bakkies Botha (more on that later) 

It forced on both Andrew Sheridan, who would have relished scrummaging that day, and a young Alun Wyn Jones to take their place. Perhaps a momentum shift was just starting to take place. 

The Lions manfully continued on and it appeared South Africa were throwing their chances away. Ruan Pienaar missed twice off the tee whereas Stephen Jones remained peerless and by the 60 minute mark, the game was 19-8 to the Lions. 

It seemed the only way keep the massive Springboks from scoring was for the Lions to give up their bodies.

O’Driscoll smoked both replacement number 8 Dannie Rossouw and himself when he rushed out of line. The Irish legend made a barely legal hit on the big Springbok, which later forced O’Driscoll off the pitch with concussion.

Slow-motion cameras caught Rossouw staggering to his feet and immediately falling over again as the sheer force of the hit continued its effects, leaving him unable to continue.

It was morale-boosting stuff for the fans, but it was taking its toll on this Lions team. It would lay the groundwork for a whirlwind 20 minutes, which felt like a full game in itself. 

Springboks show their class 

It started with a bit of magic from one of the greatest wingers to ever play the game: Bryan Habana.

With Fourie Du Preez able to operate freely due to the uncontested scrums, he peeled away and threw a delicious out-the-back pass to the speed merchant.

Habana splits the Roberts-O’Driscoll axis, but still has the entire Lions back three to beat. He skips out of a covering Fitzgerald tackle before making a beeline for the whitewash.

He puts his head down and although Tommy Bowe gets there to make a tackle, it is far too late. Habana has scored and put the momentum firmly with his team. 

At 19-15, the Lions are grimly hanging on. Replacement fly-half Morne Steyn nudges the Springboks to within a point in the 68th minute before pantomime villain Schalk Burger gives away another penalty in font of the posts which Jones slots.

Lions have their four point lead back as we head into the closing stages.

At this stage, it really is all hands on deck. O’Driscoll may have forced off Rossouw, but he damaged himself in the process.

With no replacement to cover centre, Shane Williams comes on. Roberts too is struggling and on in his place is Ireland’s Ronan O’Gara. 

The Lions have a wing playing outside centre, a 10 playing 12 and the Spingboks start to smell blood in the water. Whereas the tourists are being forced into substitutions, South Africa have now put out their cavalry to make the difference. 

Right when it matters most, the Springboks are playing their best rugby. Steyn and Du Preez are bossing around their pack and finally they see an overlap.

Pietersen flicks a great pass to Heinrich Brussow who dished it on to 56th minute substitute Jacque Fourie.

The big centre sits down O’Gara in the wing channel, the Irishman not even getting close to tackling him, before storming towards the line.

Welsh scrumhalf Mike Phillips takes the big centre but Fourie just keeps his feet in touch and dots down right in the corner. Could the covering Tommy Bowe do better? It doesn't matter anymore, South Africa now lead the game for the first time.  

Loftus Versfield duly goes berserk. Morne Steyn nails the touchline conversion, proving more adept to the pressure than Pienaar was, and the huge physical contest continues.

Brussow absolutely smashes the wiry Shane Williams in broken play, something I imagine is as difficult as catching a slippery fish, before a lifeline presents itself.

Stephen Jones, running into the South African halfm is caught high by the giant Andries Bekker and now has a penalty to draw the Lions level.

The noise in the stadium is deafening but Jones silences them. A magnificent kick from the corner splits the uprights as kicking coach Neil Jenkins can’t contain his joy and hugs the fly-half when he runs back for the restart.

Yet somehow, the drama is still not over as the Lions continue to stay in the game by their fingertips. Steyn tries a drop goal for the win, but it comes up well short.

Kick-tennis between Steyn and Kearney leads to the ball dropping to O’Gara, headband reflecting Fourie’s destruction less than 10 minutes ago. 

On the sidelines, defence coach Shaun Edwards shouts, “Kick it out, Kick it out!” but to no avail. O’Gara puts up a bomb for himself but Fourie du Preez is there already, rising highest to take the ball.

However, O’Gara does not jump, instead colliding with the scrumhalf’s legs and toppling him over in the air. Penalty to South Africa. 

On commentary, Miles Harrison speaks for us all when he simply shouts, “Why?!”

Morne Steyn, the hometown hero who has helped turn around this game, now has a 55 metre shot to win the match and the Test Series - which would be South Africa’s first against the Lions since 1980. 

Morne Steyn seals a historic victory for South Africa over the Lions in the last play of the game.

CREDIT: Gallo Images/Getty Images

He sets himself, looks up towards the posts and starts his run up. The connection is perfect, the accuracy bang on and with the game taking place on the Highveld, the distance is not a problem. It doesn't creep over the posts, it sails over.

South Africa have won it with the last kick of the game. 

Aftermath

Controversy reigned despite the historic win. Burger was banned for eight weeks for “making contact with the face in the eye area” but not gouging, with a disciplinary panel finding his actions were “reckless” but not intentional. 

It got messy. Burger’s coach Peter de Villiers said he thought the incident was not even worthy of a yellow card, while O’Driscoll said he should have been sent off.

South Africa’s response to Bakkies Botha’s harsh two-week ban, where the players had “Justice 4” written on black armbands during the Third Test, was also, arguably, a bit of an overreaction.

It could not overshadow a titanic game however. Man of the Match Simon Shaw had tears in his eyes in his post match interview, with his words accurately and poignantly summing up the character of that year’s squad.

He said: “I’d have rather been taken off at half-time for playing poorly than to have won Man of the Match and lost, to be honest. I’d rather have played badly and won this game.”

This was a 36-year-old playing in his first Lions Test match and it was never about him. That’s what those 2009 Lions did. They ultimately failed, yes, but they put pride back in a jersey which many were starting to see as a gimmick. 

A cathartic 28-9 win in the final and 3rd Test, although against a slightly understrength Springboks, finally gave the Lions their first test win since Brisbane in 2001 and had reignited its fans once again.

This may have been the curtain call for one of South Africa’s greatest ever teams, but it laid the foundation for the Lions to achieve its future successes - winning 2-1 in Australia in 2013 and famously drawing 1-1 with New Zealand in 2017. 

We can only hope any of the three games in 2021 are half as good as this one when next year rolls around.