The 2nd test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions was played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The Springboks emerged victorious 28-25, courtesy of new Springbok legend, Morne Steyn.

The game had many twists and turns, starting with the controversial Schalk Burger sinbinning after just 27 seconds. Schalk was playing his 50th test match and is not a dirty player. He plays hard, but in the spirit of the game. I have reviewed the incident and the footage is not conclusive to me, although he is alleged to have eye gouged Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald. Some of the South African commentators have suggested he will get a lengthy ban, which would indicate he is guilty.

If Schalk was guilty of eye gouging, the question must be asked, “why was he only awarded a yellow card?” If Schalk is indeed guilty, I’d agree with the Lions, and feel very aggrieved it wasn’t a red card, which would have had a marked outcome on the result of the test.

The Lions then dominated the opening 10 minutes, and scored a try through a beautiful move on the right hand flank. Habana came off his wing to help Adi Jacobs, and once the Lions got through the line it was all over. Once again Frans Steyn was moving backwards instead of coming forwards to take the ball carrier and shut down the space available. He did that in the first test, when I felt he could have stopped the Lions first try.

The Lions then seemed to want to run the ball from all over the field, and were making headway every time. The Boks weren’t making first time tackles, nor putting enough pressure on at the breakdown. However from a lineout around the Lions 22, a beautifully worked move put JP Pietersen through the gap to score. Inexplicably, Ruan Pienaar missed the conversion, setting the tone for the rest of his game.

The rest of the firs half saw the Boks making critical mistakes whenever they got field position or attacking chances. Inevitably the Lions stole ball at the breakdown, or managed to force an error. A couple more penalties for offside see the Lions setting up a handy lead, before Frans Steyn pulls one back with a long range penalty on halftime.

The halftime score of 16-8, saw the Lions in control. They seemed to be playing with the higher tempo, and had the edge in the scrums.

The second half saw the Boks start off withanother error. Suddenly both Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins were injured, and now we had to have uncontested scrums. Ruan Pienaar missed a couple of penalty attempts, but the Boks were starting to get more possession, territory and build up pressure. Their biggest downfall was their aimless kicking, not putting enough pressure with their chasing. This allowed Kearney to punish them and drive them back into their own half.

A slew of substitutions saw Danie Rousouw come and go, Jacque Fourie replace Jean de Villiers,  Morne Steyn on for Ruan Pienaar, and Heinrich Brussow on for Danie Rousouw. It worked immediately with Bryan Habana scoring off a set move beautifully. Although there was a hint of obstruction. Morne Steyn kicked his first ever points for the Boks on his home ground.

A penalty goal to Morne Steyn narrowed the gap to 1 point with 12 minutes to play, and suddenly the momentum was starting to shift to the Boks. Their accuracy was getting better, and the Lions were being forced into mistakes. I dare say the altitude factor was probably starting to kick in too. They simply seemed to be running out of energy, and the spring in their step had gone.

A penalty to Jones, took the lead out to 4, and it was inevitable that the Boks would have to score another try to win this one. A kick to the corner saw the Boks work the ball through several phases, and go from the right hand flank to the left, then they worked it back right and Jacque Fourie finished beautifully in the corner after a long TMO decision. It was interesting to hear Bryce Lawrence (the touch judge) question the decision after it was awarded. Keep out of it Bryce, the decision was made! What makes him think he can do that??

Morne Steyn goaled a crucial conversion from the sideline and suddenly the Boks were ahead by 3 and ready to close the game out with 5 minutes left. A high tackle from Bekker immediately from the restart allowed Jones to level the scores, and a draw looked inevitable.

In the 81st minute, Fourie du Preez was tackled in the air and the Boks had a 53m penalty attempt. I thought they’d give it to Frans Steyn, but Morne Steyn decisively stepped forward to take the kick. He hadn’t missed a kick in the time he was on the field. In only his second test, he nailed a long range kick that will make him a Springbok legend. What a beauty! The bitter disappointment of 12 years ago can be forgotten, as for the next 12 years we can relive this magic moment from Morne.

This was almost the opposite of the first test where the Boks dominated for 60 minutes, before the Lions came storming home. This time the Lions dominated for 60 minutes, and the Boks charged home for the last 20. The Boks simply got on the right end of the scoresheet both times. Next week at Ellis Park in the 3rd test i’m hoping for the series whitewash!

Check out the video highlights

My Springbok player ratings