CORNERED LIONS ARE HUNGRY TO BITE BACK
PLACE IN PANTHEON AWAITS IF GATLAND’S TEAM CAN WRESTLE BACK THE INITIATIVE
FOR Dan Biggar and his fellow Lions, a lifetime of ambition and two months in a strict tour bubble have led to this — the day when they can ascend into British and Irish rugby’s hall of fame.
The Wales fly-half charged with orchestrating the downfall of the world champion Springboks this evening knows the equation. ‘You look at the great Lions and they’ve all been series winners,’ he said. ‘It’s about making sure we try to add our names to that list.’
It didn’t happen last weekend, but Warren Gatland’s team have another shot at immortality. The first attempt, in the second Test, saw them miss the target by a distance. South Africa’s thumping 27-9 win to square this spiteful series handed all the momentum and initiative to the hosts.
The Lions are the ones cornered now, not the Boks, but both beasts can still go for the kill.
Joining the greats is just one ingredient in the motivational mix for the visitors. A common theme of this trip has been the enforced isolation to which they have subjected themselves in order to be part of this precious event. Now they want pay-back.
‘It’s been a tough eight weeks away from home, with Covid, with no fans, and no family and friends allowed to come out,’ said Biggar. ‘So for us to come back with a series win would make it worthwhile being away in a tough situation and a tough bubble for eight weeks.’
His fellow Saint, Courtney Lawes, added: ‘It’s massive for us. We have given an awful lot to this tour and for each other. It means a great deal. We have to go out there, express ourselves and show that. Regardless of what’s happening around (Covid), winning against South Africa in South Africa is just a massive achievement. That’s what we are going for.’
Once again, there will be little noise in the empty Cape Town Stadium today, rather than the fervour and colour there would have been without the pandemic’s interference. So the teams will need to generate their own emotional intensity. The Lions will be galvanised in part by a collective desire to deliver a fitting send-off to their talismanic captain.
Alun Wyn Jones is playing in his 12th consecutive Test for this four-nation side. He has started 10 of those dozen matches, all across the southern hemisphere, from 2009 to 2021. The Ospreys and Wales lock took his place among the greats years ago, but those around him want the 35-year-old to enjoy one last momentous success as a Lion, especially after his ‘Lazarus’ recovery from a dislocated shoulder to be involved in this series at all.
‘To get that 12th cap is an amazing, unique achievement, especially in the professional era,’ said attack coach Gregor Townsend. ‘But when you add the fact that he’s been injured and had to fight back, come in and play so well, it just shows you what a human being he is, never mind a rugby player.
‘We feel so proud to have him with us and we want to win for him, but also a performance he can look back on with a lot of fond memories when he’s got a pipe and slippers in a few years’ time.’
Biggar knows Jones better than most, after so many years alongside him for the Ospreys, for Wales and for the Lions.
He paid his own tribute, saying: ‘Playing in 12 consecutive Tests is a ridiculous achievement. He deserves every accolade he gets but he is very much a team man first. He will want us to make sure that we do it for the group that we have here as opposed to any individual.’
There is another dimension for the Lions today. They are striving for respect and fulfilment, by finally becoming the sum of their parts. They swept aside feeble provincial opposition without fuss but they have not really shown the best of themselves in the big games — when they lost to South Africa A and in the first two Tests, which have left them level with the Boks at 1-1.
On the one hand, there is defiance in the face of criticism of their limited attacking approach. Biggar insisted they ‘wouldn’t have given a monkeys’ about complaints relating to the endless kicking last Saturday if they had gone on to win from a promising position at half-time. The Lions feel no need to apologise for their low-risk, direct tactics, but they hope to expand their horizons this time, to an extent.
‘We need to make sure we chance our arm a little bit more in the right areas, at the right times,’ said Biggar. ‘We’d like to think we can fire a few more shots, with the balance of winning a cup final.
‘When you get to big games like this, very rarely do you see lots of champagne rugby. It’s about coming out on the right side of the scoreboard, however you do it.’
He has a point. Entry to the hall of fame is judged on the end, not the means; the outcome, not the process. Back at home, the Lions’ die-hard followers will just about tolerate tedium if they have a victory to savour at the end of it.
The odds are against it, but this tour has been full of unexpected twists, so don’t rule out one last one today.