McGeechan gets it wrong as Lions left battered up front by Boks
Bad selection decisions in crucial areas and poor finishing leaves tourists with a high veldt to climb
Brian O'Driscoll of the Lions is tackled by Ruan Pienaar. Photo: David Rogers, Getty Images
Related Articles
THEY can dress it up any way they want but the Lions threw away the first Test in Durban and with it, in all likelihood, the series.
When you are confronted with the considerable challenge of moulding a team from four nations (well, three and a bit) to beat the world champions on their own patch, you cannot afford to leave anything behind you but the Lions spurned five scoring opportunities which, potentially, could have yielded 27 points.
They lost by five.
But if the players can be accused of not taking their scoring opportunities, there were notable coaching deficiencies also, before, and during, what turned out to be an engrossing encounter.
We had questioned the decision to go with Stephen Jones in the key out-half position (based on Ronan O'Gara's markedly superior form) and the Welshman failed to provide a satisfactory answer.
He missed two penalty kicks in the first quarter, frequently found a South African jersey with his kicks from hand and, though his link play contributed to the second-half fightback, O'Gara is a noted passer and his kicking is far superior.
There will be changes for the second Test in Pretoria next weekend and, based on form, O'Gara deserves to be joined by two other Irishmen in Rob Kearney and Donncha O'Callaghan. The peas-in-a-pod second-row combination did not work -- Alun Wyn Jones is not a grappler and Bakkies Botha will have been chuckling into his sponsors lager on Saturday night at the ease with which he countered his direct opposite.
There will be calls from predictable sources for Simon Shaw or Nathan Hines to come in but O'Callaghan has been going very well on this tour and made an impact when introduced -- if he is leapfrogged for the spot alongside O'Connell it will represent another selection where Ian McGeechan has ignored the primary requirement of form.
We could have two changes in the front row. Gethin Jenkins did well at loose-head but Phil Vickery had a torrid 45 minutes.
frustrated
'Beast' Mtawarira absolutely 'mullered' the experienced Englishman in the scrum and, although the Lions were obviously frustrated by the referee's interpretation which led to a spate of penalties, it ignored the fact that 'Beast' did not need Bryce Lawrence to do him any favours and that Adam Jones locked out the right-hand side when he was belatedly sent on.
Adam Jones should be brought in, as should his countryman Matthew Rees at hooker. Lee Mears did well in the warm-up matches but his lack of bulk was brutally exposed by Bismark du Plessis and when he struggled to find his customary accuracy at line-out time, the justification for retaining him evaporated. Rees brought a physical presence and hit his jumpers consistently -- something he had not managed previously -- it could be enough for a call-up.
The other change will be in the back three. Ugo Monye is likely to pay the price for spurning two try-scoring opportunities where his desire was not matched by technique.
Schoolboy wingers know that you always carry the ball in your outside hand but, on both occasions, the left wing held the ball under his right arm allowing brilliant cover defence from Jean De Villiers and Morne Steyn to deny the Lions crucial touchdowns.
If Lee Byrne is passed fit to play, Kearney could be brought in on the wing after a superb display off the bench (and deserves to start at full-back in any case) but Luke Fitzgerald will also be trying extra hard to impress in training this week.
When the Lions went 26-7 behind shortly after half-time, you wondered at what point would it become embarrassing. The impressive Heinrich Brussow had added to an early try from captain John Smit and impressive place-kicking from Ruan Pienaar while the Lions had only a converted score from Tom Croft -- against the run of play -- to cling to.
The only area where they looked to have an edge was in midfield where Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll looked extremely sharp but the Lions' set-piece woes and high turnover rate meant the centres were starved of quality possession to run onto.
However, the Springboks management were then guilty of premature smugness. Off came Botha, Brussouw, and Smith, high-fiving their way to the sideline and, with Adam Jones and Rees tightening up the scrum and line-out, the Lions began to fire.
Mike Phillips, who had a decent day despite some dithering on possession, spilled under the posts but the phases started to come and with six minutes left, O'Driscoll sent Croft over for his second try, having effected a similar assist for his first.
It was the Lions who had the 'big mo' at this point and when Phillips scooted over with five minutes to go it was a five-point game. The Boks were rattled as was evidenced by Smit's reintroduction as a blood sub to steady the ship -- apparently, it was because of shoulder injury to Deon Carstens but it reeked of a tactical call by Peter De Villiers who by then was regretting his earlier decision to 'give fellahs a run'.
However, when O'Connell opted for line-out possession from a penalty, Stephen Jones fluffed his lines again and the Lions' last drive for what would have been a remarkable victory was stymied by having to start 15 metres further out than expected.
Roberts nearly set Tommy Bowe clear but the Boks held out and left the Lions to reflect on Monye's mishaps, Phillips' fumble and Jones' jitters.
There are changes to be made but, even if McGeechan makes the correct calls and the Lions hit the ground running in Pretoria, it may not be enough.
South Africa, even when amassing that 19-point lead, never got out of third gear -- mainly because they were not required to. There were signs of rustiness there but they will be gone next weekend when we will be back on the high veldt -- where the Springbok is at his most dangerous.
This was the one the Lions had to win to give themselves a realistic shot at the series. They blew it.
SCORERS: South Africa: Tries: John Smit, Heinrich Brussow; Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2); Penalties: Pienaar (3), Francois Steyn
Lions: Tries: Tom Croft (2), Mike Phillips; Conversions: Stephen Jones (3)
SOUTH AFRICA -- F Steyn; JP Pietersen, A Jacobs (M Steyn 75) J de Villiers (J Fourie 78), B Habana; R Pienaar (M Steyn 65-75), F du Preez (R Januarie 70); T Mtawarira (G Steenkamp 65), B du Plessis, J Smit (capt, D Carstens 65-76); B Botha (A Becker 58), V Matfield, H Brussow (D Rossouw 52), P Spies, J Smith.
LIONS -- L Byrne (R Kearney 38); T Bowe, B O'Driscoll, J Roberts, U Monye; S Jones, M Phillips; G Jenkins, L Mears (M Rees 50), P Vickery (A Jones 45); AW Jones (D O'Callaghan 70), P O'Connell (capt); T Croft, J Heaslip, D Wallace (M Williams 66).
REF -- B Lawrence (New Zealand)
- Hugh Farrelly
