South Africa’s backs Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am scored second half tries as the Springboks beat the British & Irish Lions 27-9 to win Saturday’s second test at the Cape Town Stadium and level the series.
Handre Pollard added five penalties and a conversion for a 17-point contribution while the Lions points all came off the boot of Dan Biggar in a niggly and ill-tempered contest that again was one for the purists rather than the enthusiast.
The result sets up a decider next Saturday after the Lions had won an attritional first test 22-17.
The Lions were 9-6 up at halftime but the Springboks bounced back with a dominant second half performance that turned the tide of the game.
“Momentum swings both ways,” Robbie Henshaw said on Sky Sports. “South Africa came out in the second half and got a bit of an edge on us in an arm-wrestle game. But a positive is that in the final Test next week, it is all to play for, which makes it exciting.
“We have to pick ourselves up next week and come back stronger. It is all to play for next week. It is finals rugby and at the top level. Everyone is going to be up for it, so it is going to be an exciting week.”
Lions vs South Africa: On to the Third Test!
Plenty to talk about from Warren Gatland, there – it could be a busy week as the two sides trade barbs, much as Gatland stressed he was not keen to engage in a “war of words”.
One apiece, then, with the series perfectly poised for a deciding game this time next week. Cape Town Stadium has a week to ready itself for the final encounter of a spiky, spicey series with everything on the line.
We’ll be back here for that, and we’ll have everything covered in the build-up to the Third Test across The Independent. Until then, thank you very much for joining us, and do stay safe and well.
Lions vs South Africa result: Warren Gatland reacts
“I said selection had been tough and there are a lot of players for whom it was a toss of a coin in terms of who we selected. The non-23 did a great job this week helping the players prepare. We’ll spend the next couple of days reviewing the game and then looking at the best 23 we think to put out. We have got lots of options in terms of bringing in guys to give us some more energy and momentum.
“Sometimes games go like that. We knew a lot of aerial stuff was coming and we worked on it a lot during the week. Obviously, Liam Williams was disappointed and he is one that could come into contention. We could put the same team out and give them another chance.”
