The Lions could have, should have, won that game and I’ve got nothing but praise for Finn Russell and the part he played when coming on as an early replacement. He was outstanding.
But the fact remains that the Lions scored just two tries — both lineout rumbles — in three Test matches. You are almost certainly not going to win a series off the back of a statistic like that.
You could argue about a few decisions on Saturday — I have never understood why somebody looking to take advantage from a quick-tapped penalty gets a second go when they take it yards away from the mark.
The British and Irish Lions fell short in their final South Africa Tour game on Saturday night
That’s a scrum to the defending team every time. You should never get two goes — that’s the risk you run from trying to outfox the defence. It only counts if you have taken it from the mark. Everything that happened after that is irrelevant, surely?
The officials also took an age to agree that winger Cheslin Kolbe’s try could stand, as well they might given the scrutiny they have come under in recent weeks from some quarters and enthusiastic amateur video makers.
But was a great injustice done? No, the Lions should have taken a grip of the game in the first half when they had the opportunity. That was their window and they will know that. It will hurt horribly.
Russell gave us a tantalising glimpse of what could have been and kept the Lions in it despite operating on limited possession, but ultimately the Springboks just about deserved it for me. They have a very limited game plan but they do execute it well and this has been a strange series for them.
Ultimately the Springboks deserved the victory and no great injustice was done to the Lions
Finn Russell was forced to come into the contest early as a replacement for Dan Biggar
Usually, South Africa are the favourites with all the advantages of playing at home but these three Tests have been played in a vacuum and they went into the back of them off the back of almost no Test rugby in 20 months.
The country is at a standstill with Covid lockdown, and there’s widespread unrest. Life has been very difficult for them as well and they sometimes felt like the underdogs, which is bizarre being in their own country.
Not for the first time we are left reflecting how big games turn on small moments and quick decisions made on the hoof, but that’s always been the case in elite Test rugby.
The Lions looked sharper
