It’s been quite a week leading into the second test. All the well-publicised and controversial behaviour by the Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus led me to believe that his team would be adversely affected, and fall short of victory for the second week running. How wrong I was.
I thought the Lions' confidence would be high and they would get an emphatic win to wrap up the series with a game to spare. Warren Gatland tinkered with his team and made three changes to the side. A little fine-tuning to finish the job.
Predictably, Elliot Daly lost his place in the starting fifteen to Chris Harris. Daly had a tough time in the first test. After being smashed early on by Lukhanyo Am, he had a poor game.
British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland's selections didn't work out in the second Test
In the second test, Daly’s replacement Harris returned the favour and showed Am that he was facing more of a physical challenge. He also showed some slick handling later in the game and may have done enough to keep his place at centre.
Replacing Rory Sutherland with Mako Vunipola appeared to pay off as well. Vunipola did well in the scrum in the first half, and made some hard yards in the loose. I thought the starting front row as a whole did all that was asked of them, and should start the third test.
For me the inclusion of Conor Murray didn’t work. He was brought back into the side for his box kicking, but the quality he provided for the chasers was low. It wasn’t all his fault - the Lions were well below par in the air and lost that battle with the Springboks.
Conor Murray's box kicks were well dealt with by South Africa as the Springboks dominated the aerial battles
I still think Ali Price should be the starting scrum half - he offers quicker service and is more of a threat around the fringes. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s recalled next week.
The back three had a game to forget. As mentioned previously, their ability to regain possession in the air wasn’t good enough. Putting the ball in the air appeared to be the Lions' primary attacking weapon and it didn’t work.
I’m surprised that Gregor Townsend opted for this. Not his style at all. It was a very limited game plan and didn’t trouble the Springboks, but the Lions persisted with it. I only recall one moment where some quick hands by the Lions threatened the Bok’s defence, but there just wasn’t enough of it.
