South Africa 9 - 28 British & Irish Lions

The British & Irish Lions finished the tour off on a high with a stunning consolation win at Ellis Park in front of fifty eight thousand. Shane Williams' two tries and a second-half interception score by his fellow wing Ugo Monye - plus 13 points from fly-half Stephen Jones – gave the Lions their first Test match win since 2001 at the site of South Africa’s world cup triumph back in 1995.

The tourists had been widely-tipped to be steamrollered into submission in the third match, a dead rubber at the end of a long tour and a side decimated by injuries. The reality couldn’t have been more different. All the energy and pride associated with the proud red jersey was on display for the full eighty minutes, while the Boks floundered under the weight of changes and occasional lack of experience at key moments.

The Springboks took to the field shorn of lock Bakkies Botha, harshly banned for a challenge that left Lions prop Adam Jones with a dislocated shoulder, an issue that his team mates protested perhaps unwisely by wearing white armbands with "Justice 4" emblazoned on them. It was this foolish act of defiance that will end up being reviewed by the IRB in the near future. The Lions themselves were short of props Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, and centres Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll, but in the end, even with sweeping changes to both sides, the Lions totally dominated the home side in terms of points, tries, the set-piece, possession and territory.

A first-half brace from Shane Williams, his first tries of the tour, saw the Lions take a commanding 15-6 half-time lead. The winger was on hand twice to finish off tries created by number 8 Jamie Heaslip and centre Riki Flutey, both of whom putting in superb performances throughout the match.

The tourists suffered a big blow when Shaw was sent to the sin-bin after he collided with a prone du Preez, his knees clattering the scrum-half as he chased back from a scrum.

Ugo Monye's 70m interception effort after 54 minutes extended the tourists' advantage. The Lions winger, who admitted to being devastated with his lack of finishing two weeks prior, made amends for those missed chances in the first Test with his interception that virtually sealed the match for the tourists.

The Boks eventually worked Ndungane over in the right corner with four minutes left, but after several minutes of deliberation by television match official Bryce Lawrence, the try was ruled out for a foot in touch.

Although Morne Steyn managed to land three penalty kicks at the posts, two late penalties from Stephen Jones put the seal on the Lions' first Test win since Brisbane eight years ago, and South Africa's first defeat at Ellis Park for eight years.



British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan hailed his players as "outstanding" as they hit back to win the final Test against South Africa.

"It was massive. They picked themselves up well," said McGeechan, "It's a satisfaction but a secondary satisfaction because we came here to win the series. It will be my last Lions involvement. I'd like to thank the players, they've been outstanding to a man."

“I was worried that we wouldn't play or might go into our shells a bit but we didn't and we scored some very good tries. There is disappointment still in that we could have been coming into this one 1-0 or 2-0 up.”

"We tried to play in all three games and had the better of four of the six halves in the series. To come back and play like that - they are an outstanding set of players. Maybe it is something to do with the Lions jersey. You do things sometimes you have never been asked to do in any other context."

The Lions have outscored their hosts by seven tries to five, and by 74 points to 63 over the three games. The key stat is obviously the 2-1 series defeat, but small wonder that the tourists did a lap of honour at the end. The Lions brand is alive and strong and whatever the result, credit has to be lavished upon the touring party for the way they have gone about their business.

2013 can’t come quick enough.

Player Ratings:

Rob Kearney - 8 – Backed up his superb performance in the second Test with another this week, showing great footwork, blistering pace and an eye for the gap. As well as being predictably safe under the high ball.

Ugo Monye - 7 – Although memories of his missed chances in Duban will remain, the Harlequins winger somewhat made amends with his stunning interception score and finished top of the try scoring table with five.  Some big hits in defense and grew in confidence as the match went on.

Tommy Bowe - 7 – Looked at home at outside centre and put in a confident display that didn’t disappoint. Some wonderful running lines caused the Springbok defense problems all game.

Riki Flutey - 8 – Has had to be patient with injury and therefore was always in the shadow of Jamie Roberts but when given his chance, the England centre put in a superb performance showing pace, good awareness, sidestepping ability and a stunning flick back to create Williams’ first try.

Shane Williams - 7 – Improved performance from the Welsh winger. Although his two tries were created from great work by others, he finished them well running good support lines. Still gets turned over in the tackle more than he would like.

Stephen Jones - 7 – Another commanding presence at fly half. Kicked 13 points and marshaled the backline well.

Mike Phillips – 8 – Another who has progressed as the tour has gone on. Always a threat around the fringes, although distribution still remains iffy. Excellent in defense which no doubt dictated the decision to move him into the centre due to the injury to Flutey.


Andy Sheridan - 7 – Just as fired up as he was in Pretoria. The English prop carried the ball at pace with powerful effect, was part of a solid front row effort at the scrum and put in a few important tackles throughout.  

Matthew Rees - 6 – Didn’t have a huge amount of time on the field, but during the time he was on, provided a solid performance throwing into the lineout and played his part in a solid scrummaging effort.

Phil Vickery - 7 – Was clearly desperate for his shot at redemption and whilst he didn’t dominate his opposite number, he without a doubt held his own. A fully-commited workhorse, he showed up very well in the loose throughout the match showing good hands, and powerful bursts through the Springbok defense.

Simon Shaw - 7 – Fully committed as ever and once again never took a step back, and offered a physical presence all across the field. Good lineout takes, under the high ball and a couple of rumbles with ball in hand. Yellow card was clumsy though.

Paul O'Connell - 7 – Led by example from the first minute till the final whistle. Good in the air and secured a couple of important turnovers for his side. Ball carrying seemed a bit laboured at times.

Joe Worsley - 7 – Picked to do a job and didn’t disappoint. The Wasps blindside tackled his heart out all game before being forced off with an injury in the second half.

Martyn Williams - 7 – Had a big battle against the outstanding openside of the whole tour but emerged with credit. Quick to the breakdown, offered himself in attack and secured a couple of vital turnovers.

Jamie Heaslip - 9 – After stuttering first and second test performances, the Irish number 8 played the game of his life. Immense performance with dynamic runs, powerful charges, monstrous tackles and good work at the breakdown. Mystifyingly not awarded man of the match for his colossal efforts.

South Africa:
Pens: Steyn 3

British & Irish Lions:
Tries: S.Williams 2, Monye
Cons: Jones 2
Pens: Jones 3

Yellow card: Shaw (Lions, 38, knee)

South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Johann Muller, 3 John Smit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Guthro Steenkamp, 18 Dean Carstens, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Pierre Spies, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Frans Steyn.

British & Irish Lions: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Andrew Sheridan.

Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 John Hayes, 18 Alun-Wyn Jones, 19 David Wallace, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 James Hook.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referee: Christophe Berdos (France), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)