Long arm of the Lawes grabs Lions first prize
THE summit is in sight thanks to a Lions second-half performance in the First Test in Cape Town that was as uplifting and authoritative as the first-half was disappointing and disjointed.
The difference in this tale of two halves was massive, with the Lions turning around a 12-3 halftime deficit to outplay South Africa 19-5 after the interval. In the process they wrenched this allimportant opener off the world champions, striking a pulverising first blow in the series.
The tourists were inspired by a command performance from Courtney Lawes in which the rangy Northampton blindside took the game to the Springbok pack in every area.
Lawes was far and away the Lions most effective ball-carrier, battering holes in the South African defensive line to lift his team-mates and put the home side on the back foot.
The England veteran is also a superb line-out forward, delivering crisp, clean ball when it mattered, and if that wasn’t enough, he led the tackle count in the finest performance of his international career.
Maro Itoje was not far behind, winning turnovers and getting his grappling hooks into the big South African bruisers so effectively that the tide
turned. It meant that rather than conceding penalties, the Lions were pressurising the Springboks into a stream of infractions, and with Dan Biggar’s outstanding goalkicking making them pay, the tourists took control.
The Lions came out with an urgency after the break that they had been unable to summon in the first-half, and they made an instant statement from the kick-off receipt when Tom Curry forced a penalty out of Kwagga Smith after chasing Ali Price’s box-kick clearance.
With Biggar kicking for the corner the Lions set up a series of pick and drives from Itoje’s catch, and when the Springboks infringed again Alun Wyn Jones experience as a captain paid dividends when he decided on a five metre lineout instead of kicking
the penalty.
No sooner had Lawes got lift-off at the front to claim Luke CowanDickie’s throw than the Lions pack combined as a well-drilled phalanx to drive through the Springboks towards the line, where the Exeter hooker rounded off what he had started by reaching out to ground the ball.
Biggar’s conversion meant that the Lions were instantly back in the game at 12-10.
However, they nearly threw their bounty away when Biggar missed a tackle on South Africa’s midfield danger man Damian de Allende. As the big centre shipped the ball on Lukhanyo Am stabbed a kick down the tramline deep into the Lions 22, allowing Willie Le Roux to win the race to the touchdown.
Luck was with the Lions when the South African TMO, Marius Jonker, who was under intense scrutiny, ruled that Le Roux “was definitely in front of the kicker”. It was a marginal call, but it only took two minutes for the Springboks to strike again.
This time the architect of the try was Pieter-Steph du Toit. The giant flanker not only got back to hoover up a wild pass by Handre Pollard, but turned it into gold for the men in green by hammering up the middle after Elliot Daly slipped over.
When Du Toit linked with Makazole Mapimpi the winger chipped into the Lions 22, and, as both of them chased, the bounce of the ball fell for Faf de Klerk, allowing the scrum-half to plant the ball over the line.
Pollard, who was celebrating his 50th cap, was unable to add the extras, and the South African lead was soon trimmed to 17-13 by Biggar after Smith was penalised for a late rip off Alun Wyn Jones.
It was only 12 minutes into the second half, but by now the Lions were getting South Africa’s measure tactically, having worked out that the longer they were able to keep the ball and go through the phases, the more fatigued the South African heavyweights would become, and the more penalties they would concede.
With Lawes leading the charge it worked a treat, and with Biggar kicking two more penalties – and the injection of energy from the bench in the form of fresh forwards Ken Owens, Mako Vunipola and Hamish Watson – the Lions took the lead for the first time at 19-17 just after the hour.
Pollard had an opportunity to restore the Springbok lead but the composure he had shown in the first-half deserted the fly-half as he pushed it wide, and with Kyle Sinckler coming on for Tadhg Furlong the Lions also screwed a scrum penalty out the vaunted South African bomb-squad front row of Steven Kitshoff,
Malcolm Marx, and Frans Malherbe.
It is said that fortune favours the brave, and the gritty Lions second-half comeback was rewarded when De Allende appeared to have scored from a desperate late attack after chasing a Mapimpi kick.
This time, however, the TMO decision was pretty clear-cut as the footage showed that Cheslin Kolbe had palmed the ball forward in the aerial contest with Liam Williams that sparked the opportunity.
No sooner had Lawes signed off this evening’s work by snapping up an aerial rebound than Owen Farrell – who had come on due to a Biggar HIA – kicked a long-range penalty with icy precision to give the Lions their winning margin with four minutes left on the clock.
The only comfort that the Springboks could take from the game was a firsthalf dominance at the breakdown, at the scrum, and in the air, which enabled them to squeeze penalties out of the Lions side in which the hype did not appear to match reality.
With Pollard kicking four of them to one in reply by Biggar the hosts appeared to have a stranglehold on the match.
That sense was heightened when Robbie Henshaw made the only Lions clean break of the half only to have what could a possible scoring pass jarred forward by Le Roux’s textbook tackle.
The 2021 Lions are on the brink of making history if they can keep their nerve and focus in what will be a ferocious Springbok backlash on the same Greenpoint ground on Saturday.
However, if Courtney Lawes post-match comment that “we’ve still got a lot more to give” proves right, and the Lions start where they left off here, it could be too stiff a climb for the world champions.