It was a bad night for the Lions and a bad night for rugby. After a Test of patience which was all spills and no thrills, this spiteful series is poised for a tense climax.
Where to start? Well, the Lions tried to beat the Springboks at their own game and played right into the hands of the world champions. The plan backfired, to a spectacular extent. An urgent rethink is required or this is not going to end well for the tourists.
While the British and Irish players will be given a few days off, Warren Gatland and his assistants should be busy plotting an overhaul of their team and tactics.
The Lions' hopes of sealing a famous Test series triumph were buried under an aerial onslaught from South Africa
The head coach has made some brave selections in the past, notably dropping Brian O’Driscoll for the final Test against Australia in 2013, but this week he will need to be braver than ever before.
The momentum is with the Springboks after the 27-9 victory. The Lions now have to go for broke. They cannot die wondering. The non-performance on Saturday amounted to a betrayal of so much talent and that cannot happen again.
If they are going to fail here, as has happened so often in the past, at least fail having fired some shots. The Lions cannot just set their stall out to ‘stay in the fight’, as they did last time. That cannot be the extent of their ambition.
Major surgery is in order, firstly in personnel terms. If Wyn Jones is available, he should start at loosehead prop, as a solid scrummager who can also offer strong breakdown presence. On the latter basis, Tadhg Beirne should be considered at blindside and Jamie George would add clout and pedigree at hooker.
The British and Irish Lions came off second best against a fearsome South Africa in a fractious second Test in Cape Town
The back-three calamities cannot be overlooked. Liam Williams must start at full-back, as the supreme aerial bomb defuser and counter-attacking runner, while Josh Adams deserves to show he can transfer his early-tour scoring streak into a series where the Lions are crying out for cutting edge. He should have been in over Duhan van der Merwe in the first place.
Crucially, the Lions are crying out for a daring creative hub to negate the Boks’ blitz defence and create try-scoring chances. Harsh as it would be to demote Dan Biggar for following orders, Gatland should gamble with Finn Russell, in alliance with his Scotland half-back partner Ali Price.
The visitors need to generate tempo and threaten out wide. These are the men to make that happen. It may go wrong, there are no guarantees, but it may be a masterstroke.
It is hard to imagine that Gregor Townsend, Gatland’s senior assistant, will be content with the second Test gameplan. As attack coach, he must yearn to see the team attack. Instead, it was a case of kick and scramble, kick and hope, repeat to fade.
