The first test turned into a thriller at the Absa stadium in Durban, with the Springboks edging out the British and Irish Lions 26-21. The Boks looked to have the game wrapped up at 26-7, before substitutions and lack of intensity almost allowed the lions to snatch an unlikely victory.

The Absa stadium was a magnificent white hot cauldron, bathed with a sea of South African flags that was a beautiful sight. However pockets of the ground were awash with red, generally in the higher levels of the stands, with what I believed were over allocated sections for Lions supporters. Surely we should ensure South Africans fill our stands, but that’s the commercial realities of the modern game, with the ability to charge higher amounts to the Lions supporters.

The match started off at a frenetic pace, with the Boks dominating the early stages. Stephen Jones had an early attempt to give the Lions the lead but missed a difficult chance. Field position, possession and a green wave of attack then carried John Smit over for the first try. The Lions almost hit back immediately, but a try-saving tackle from Jean de Villiers on Monye kept the Lions out. The early exchanges after that were relatively even but Stephen Jones second missed penalty attempt continued to give the Springboks breathing space.

2 Further penalties to the Boks, stretched the lead to 13-0, and the pressure was on the Lions. To their credit they hit right back through a superb break from Jamie Roberts. Clinical finishing ensured the try and the lead was now only 6. This was the second tackle Adi Jacobs missed, and clearly his shoulder is not right. At no stage did he tackle with any conviction, and looked as if he has no strength and confidence in his shoulder. I was surprised the coaching staff didn’t pull him off straight away and send on Jacque Fourie.

The second 20 mins saw the Boks dominate, mostly through their scrum where the Beast got the better of Phil Vickery. He was penalised twice which saw the Bok lead extend to 19-7. At this stage O’Connell was getting very frustrated, and quite stroppy with the ref. 19-7 at halftime, saw the Boks firmly in control.

The second half started in much the same manner as the first half finished, and the Boks had complete control of the game. The rolling maul was superb, and I was pleased John Smit backed the Boks to go for the corner when a kickable penalty was awarded. The resulting lineout and drive, saw Brussow score from the back of the maul. At 26-7, the game was almost sealed for the Boks.

With 20 minutes to go, all that was left to do was close the game out, and ensure a strong psychological edge remained with the Boks. Instead the coaching staff had a moment of madness. They replaced the Beast, Smit, Bakkies and Brussow with Steenkamp, Carstens, Bekker and Roussouw. The backline saw Jean de Villiers and Fourie Du Preez off with Pienaar going to the blood bin, on came Januarie, Morne Steyn making his debut and Jacque Fourie moving to centre.

I can understand a few changes, but wholesale changes weren’t needed. Why would you sub players who were dominating the opposition. Pieter de Villiers said he wanted to inject more speed, which is fine, but don’t take off your captain, your fetcher when you don’t have another to replace him with, or your scrumhalf who is the best in the world. I think too often subs are made just because they are there on the bench. They have to be able to add value.

The Boks then lost structure, intensity and direction. It allowed the Lions into the game, and their desperation was matched with good option taking and creativity. They scored in the 67th minute as a result of sustained pressure, and almost scored straight away again but Monye lost the ball in a superb try saving tackle from Morne Steyn. However they kept on coming and eventually got a try through scrumhalf Phillips who became more and more dominant once Du Preez left the field.

Luckily there was an injury to Carstens (or was there??) which allowed John Smit back on the field and he immediately tried to calm the Boks down. The Lions were now desperate but couldn’t create a match winning try. The Boks were very relieved to hear the final whistle and sneak the win.

Ref Bryce Lawrence I thought was quite average. There are simply too many inconsistencies from all the refs I’ve seen this year. he wasn’t biased, but he did have some confusing decisions.

The Boks were the dominant team for the first 60 minutes, until the mass substitutions caused them to lose their way. To their credit, the Lions capitalised beautifully and were definitely the more creative team all game. The Springboks weren’t able to construct much running rugby all day, and didn’t take the ball through more than 5 phases all game, whilst the Lions managed to 7 times. The Boks dominated the set pieces though and the resulting penalties allowed them to control the match.

There is plenty for both teams to work on heading up to the highveld. The Boks will appreciate the run and have a lot of improvements to make. The Lions will also get better, but I can’t see them winning on the highveld against a team will only get better in all aspects of the game. Anything less than 3-0 will be disappointing.

For Springbok player ratings click here.

For British and irish Lions player ratings click here.