Lions second Test in 2009 tops the lot for sheer brutality
THERE are many contenders for the greatest Test ever played, normally headed up by France’s World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand in 1999 closely followed by the Lions 23-22 win over South Africa in the first Test in 1955 but for sheer drama and intensity I doubt if the second Lions Test at Pretoria in 2009 has been surpassed.
Certainly in terms of physicality and brutality it tops this list. Five Lions finished the day in hospital after a match of unremitting controlled violence, blood, gore and pain with neither side backing off an inch. Both saw this as their Rorke’s Drift and all this played out before a sea of red with at least 30,00 Lions fans in attendance. Loftus Versveld, one of the great stadia, has never looked better.
The clash of titans came off the back of a first Test that in itself was probably a top ten contender with the Lions just pulling up short after an extraordinary comeback from 26-9 down in Durban. As they arrived in Pretoria the Lions were still seething from that defeat and the frustration of their own poor first half performance and then having two tries disallowed during their comeback. Now the entire series was on the line.
South Africa’s 28-25 win had everything. Rugby from the gods and career-defining performances from Rob Kearney, Simon Shaw – at the age of 35 – and South Africa’s replacements Morne Steyn and Jaque Fourie. South Africa’s tries from Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen were sheer class with the Lions effort from Kearney losing little in comparison.
Stephen Jones has never played better but his magnificent late penalty to level the scores at 25-25 – which would have kept the series alive – ultimately proved to be just an historical footnote after Ronan O’Gara’s clumsy high challenge chasing his own kick ahead gifted the Boks a chance to win at the death. Steyn took aim from well over 50m and never looked like missing.
Lions skipper Paul O’Connell was still urging his team on as the ball sailed over and the final whistle blew. His mind just wouldn’t compute that the game was over and the series lost.
It was a game of huge collisions. They were everywhere but none more painful than a massive meeting of immovable object and irresistible force in midfield between middleweight
Brian O’Driscoll and super heavyweight Danie Rossouw. It was Roussow, who had only been on two minutes, who had to be helped off immediately but O’Driscoll had to reluctantly follow him a few minutes later. Their day was done.
The controversy centred on the eye gouging by Schalk Burger, and the prowling presence of Bakkies Botha one of the great ‘minders’ of world rugby. Burger clearly should have been sent off for his nasty, obvious, first minute gouging of Luke Fitzgerald but French referee Christophe Berdos bottled the biggest decision of his career and the Boks flanker escaped with a yellow card. He was later cited and banned for eight weeks, about four months less than he deserved, but that was no consolation to the Lions who should have been playing against 14 men for 79 minutes.
Botha crudely wiped out Adam Jones, enjoying the best game of his career, at one hectic breakdown and dislocated the Wales prop’s shoulder. It wasn’t pretty and although Jones and the Lions management – perhaps mindful of how the Lions were somehow presented as the bad guys after the Umaga/Mealamu assault on O’Driscoll in 2005 – played it down. But in reality it was a red all day long and Botha was subsequently cited and banned.
Then there were other fascinating skirmishes within the larger war. The new-look Lions front row taking on ‘the Beast’ and his mates and sending him into orbit. The cheer when they sent him skywards as the Boks packed down 5m out on their put in was shattering, few tries have ever warranted such a reception.
During lockdown World Rugby, Sky and BBC replayed just about every great Test imaginable and not one came close to this classic. It still made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and it was still a stab to the heart at the death when the Lions somehow managed to lose.