Guscott: Boks are best one-trick pony side in world
I’M always going to be positive about the Lions at the end of a series, win or lose, because they are such a wonderful entity and I know how much work goes in before, during and in between tours. Everyone has seen the behind the scenes footage from the 1997 tour of South Africa. Winning that series made it an amazing tour – but the brutal honesty is that if we had not won that series I would have a different reflection.
It wouldn’t have been as great as I think it is now. We play this game hard and as fair as we can, but mainly it’s to win. I’ve been on the losing end with the guys in 1993 in New Zealand so I know how it feels.
This group haven’t experienced the Lions tour as completely as they would normally and I just hope that the players that will be available for the Australia tour in 2025 won’t be off.
Hopefully this has made them want it more, so they can experience a Lions tour in its totality.
There always going to be what ifs and maybes, and small regrets. The players won’t be thinking about that now, it’s about getting home as quickly as they can via ten days quarantine, which isn’t the greatest thing to look forward to after losing such a close match, and series.
In all three Tests there were big momentum swingers and when it comes to the analysis later down the line, the Lions will likely look at those kicks to touch before halftime when three points were on offer.
Was it the right call? That will be one of the questions asked, but it can never be answered. The Lions had the game in the palm of their hands and had they scored a try then it would put South African heads down and they could have gone on to victory.
I was pleased with the Lions performances.
When Finn Russell came on the balls that were going inside him and the balls that were going outside him were well judged and they managed to play with tempo and accuracy that really pushed and stretched the South African side and really made game of it.
We finally got to watch a game of rugby, and it was a game of two pretty equal halves.
Going into half-time they rolled the dice and it didn’t work. It was a bit like England in the World Cup final when they pushed and pushed going into half-time looking for a try but had to settle for three points. The Lions came up against that defensive wall and also conceded a scrum penalty, as they did at the end of the game.
But overall it is not a question of what went wrong for the Lions, more what went right for the Springboks.
They are world champions and although I along with others might say they are a one-trick pony, my goodness there is no better onetrick pony in world rugby at the moment doing what they do.
It’s risk averse, there’s nothing wrong with that, and they play within their capabilities. I still think there is more of a game of rugby in them, and by that I mean they can go through more phases of rugby before they kick the ball, and that’s something they will look to develop over the next couple of years because there is no doubt that South Africa can win another World Cup in 2023 and that will be what they are striving towards.
Cheslin Kolbe again showed his mastery, quick feet and speed of thought. It was a left and right and goodbye Liam Williams.
He’s just magical to watch. And with Makazole Mapimpi on the other wing, who was man of the match last week, a half-back pairing of Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard and the best centre pairing in the world in Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am behind their brutal pack, it’s a tough side.
Not everything went their way but their lineout is as good as any in the world and they have a solid, hard scrum who are prepared to fight. And that’s without PieterSteph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen.
Not many people knew what the Lions Test side would look like before they flew out.
Six months ago most people would have had only six or seven of that XV which shows how many players didn’t put their hands up for automatic selection.
The best result for the Lions was that they were right in that match with two minutes to go.
To lose is emotionally draining but in this Third Test at least they played some rugby they can be proud of and know they did as much as they could to win that game but couldn’t.
If it had been another Test match like the first two there would be a number of players who wouldn’t want to play like that.
The good thing is that wasn’t the case and they only just came up short.
There are lots of positives for the Lions to take. They had all the possession but just couldn’t dominate the territory and when you fire a bullet it has to hit – the Lions fired a few that missed whereas the Boks hit the target with theirs.
“There is no doubt South Africa can win another World Cup in 2023 and they are striving for it”