Gatland’s Lions get ready for Bok-lash
WARREN Gatland warned his Lions of a major Bok-lash after the tourists savoured first blood in a bruising and brutal Cape Town battle.
The coach firmly expects the hosts to be “hurt” by their 22-17 First Test loss, and will come at his side even harder next Saturday.
However, the Kiwi also predicted his men in red will be more than ready and able to serve up more pain and despair for them.
He claimed: “This win is very special. Every one is for me personally. We have beaten the world champions in their own backyard and that is very, very special.
“But they will be hurt by this. They are world champions and a very proud nation. You know they will be determined to get back at us next time but we will be ready and looking forward to it.
“There is a lot more in us and we can get better. We have the chance to win the series and that’s the biggest thing. We have got better as the tour has gone on so there’s no reason why we won’t be even stronger next weekend.
“It wasn’t a great first half as we gave away some soft penalties and allowed them to build a lead.
“But I said to the boys at half-time we are still in the arm wrestle and let’s stay in it and start scoring some points.
“We didn’t have to panic, just apply some pressure and it paid off. We had a few bounces of the ball go
our way and got some good ball carries to get us on the front foot.
“We were happy with the way we defended because they didn’t make many real clear opportunities. I was very proud and pleased with the way the guys finished the job.”
Gatland also had to eat his words after TMO Marius Jonker ruled out two crucial second half South Africa tries.
Gatland said: “All the officials did a good job. Referee Nic Berry was very calm and considered in his decision making at important times. I was very pleased with the officials.”
Led superbly by Alun Wyn Jones, the tourists battled back from a 12-3 half-time deficit.
Jones, was outstanding again playing in a Test just a month after dislocating his shoulder. He buried any doubts over his fitness, and admitted: “It’s very special.
“It was very tasty out there. South Africa didn’t disappoint us because we knew what they would throw at us.
“We extended our kicking game and the set piece was a vast improvement in the second half. We spoke about tempo and making sure we played the game the way we wanted to.”
Maro Itoje savoured a “rare and special” triumph over the world champions in their own back yard but then admitted he wished thousands of Lions fans had been present to create “an earthquake!” with their noise and support.
The giant lock was Man of the Match for his monumental performance in Cape Town. Covid restrictions meant the First Test was played out in an empty stadium and Itoje said: “I’m quite sad that there were no Lions fans in the stadium. If there were it would have felt like an earthquake with them jumping up and down and shouting us on. The atmosphere was different because of it but it was still a very special feeling to do this here.
“Winning a Test for the Lions is rare. I’m proud of this win but we know we have to go out and do a job on them again to really enjoy it. It means nothing unless we go out there and win next week.
“The second half was a great come back. We tidied up our discipline after giving away silly penalties.”
Itoje praised Alun Wyn Jones. He said: “Alun Wyn was excellent. He is a high energy senior citizen! He does and says the right things at the right time.”
Flanker Courtney Lawes insisted: “It’s a great start to the series but we know we have a lot more to give.
It was a bit of an armwrestle and they made it tough for us in the first half. But we said at halftime we had to keep the ball, sort out the discipline and control things. It wasn’t perfect but it was enough.”
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi admitted: “We are very disappointed because we did not play as well as we can.
“We were second best in the second half. The discipline killed us and we will need to be better than that in the next game.
“We were dominant early on but the Lions managed to slowly turn the game in their favour and we could not respond.”