I feel pretty emotional after that. This was my last tour and it hurts as you know you won’t get another chance.
These opportunities don’t come around often and we’re so disappointed to have gone 1-0 up, then lost. The changing room was very quiet after the match.
You couldn’t write it, could you? Morne Steyn kicking the goal to win it again. The boys joked that he’ll kick the winner when he’s 49.
Dan Biggar had to come off with injury early as the Lions were beaten 19-16 by South Africa
The Welshman had made an impressive start and is still proud of his first and last Lions Tour
Alun Wyn Jones spoke really well and told the guys on the next tour to go and smash it. I will be watching on the TV come 2025, so I’m heart-broken we didn’t finish it off.
Irrespective of the result, for me to become a Test Lion and start all three games is pretty special. It’s obviously better if you win it, but I’ll look back on it all with pride. This was a big career goal of mine and now I want to kick on to win 100 Wales caps and some trophies with Northampton.
Warren Gatland told us to be p****d off and disappointed for a couple of hours but get together, pick each other up and have a beer. This group is never going to be together again, so we have got to rally round each other.
My final Lions experience only lasted 11 minutes, as I took a hefty whack to the shin when colliding with Damian de Allende. I couldn’t put much weight through my leg so had to go off, which was hugely disappointing.
Lions boss Warren Gatland knew his players will be frustrated after the game was a close affair
Finn Russell came on and did really well. It wasn’t the most free- flowing spectacle but we were in control, up again at half time and probably should have been ahead by more. We were up 10-6 and it could easily have been 17-6.
The coaches challenged us in our pre-match meetings. They told us we were soft. That laid down a challenge. Physicality became a big theme because as rugby players, especially forwards, you don’t want to hear your coaches telling you that you’re a bit soft in contact.
That didn’t go down too well with Alun Wyn. By flagging that up, they got a reaction. It’s a macho thing. We knew the contact area was going to be a big issue if we were going to win.
We didn’t feel too threatened but South Africa stuck to it and took their chance when it came.
We just didn’t nail a couple of key moments — like the aerial battle — and didn’t start the second half well enough. We didn’t clean up the high ball before Cheslin Kolbe’s try, which proved vital.
We’ll probably count ourselves a bit unlucky that some calls didn’t go our way — like the scrum penalty right on their line where Kyle Sinckler was punished.
The likes of Alun Wyn Jones wanted to be rock solid after the coaches challenged the Lions
It will be tough to get over, but I guess at least we have the consolation of going home to see families.
I’ve had a lot of chats with my sister who has said mum will be very proud looking down on me. There is a tinge of sadness that she wasn’t here but I’m glad that I’ve done her proud. This tour has probably helped me take my mind off what’s going on at home. It’s not really normal life out here.
My sister has had the tougher end of it and I’m incredibly proud of her. It’s funny because she’s pretended to have a little bit of interest in what’s going on with the rugby, almost filling the role that mum had.
I’ve had a picture of my mum and my son James as the screensaver on my phone while I’ve been out here. I can’t wait to see my family again.
We’re flying to Dublin to drop off the Irish lads, then heading on to Jersey for quarantine. My family are due to fly out but we’re looking at a last-minute switch to
