In 2009, the last time the Boks and British & Irish Lions played the second of three Tests, six players ended up in hospital as South Africa won a thriller with the last kick of the match. The stakes are as high again.
The second Test of any three-match series is not for the faint-hearted because the stakes are always stratospheric. One team is on the brink of failure and another on the brink of glory and therefore the tension and pressure are ramped up.
Erasmus’s plan though is far more prosaic and selfish. Erasmus’s expose of the myriad mistakes in the first Test has piled pressure on match officials for the second with the aim of giving the Boks a fair shake in the match, which they feel they didn’t get in the first. New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe will feel like the loneliest man in the world at times on Saturday.The Boks know that they will have to be better than last week when they went down 22-17.
One of the major issues Erasmus’s unprecedented video highlighted was the way referee Nic Berry was dismissive of Kolisi when he queried decisions. Erasmus accused officials of lacking respect for the World Cup-winning skipper. They might have fought back last week from a nine-point deficit, but Gatland has been around long enough to know that it’s unlikely to happen two weeks running against a quality team such as the Boks. It’s vital for both sides that no more than one score separates them at the break.
With players from four Test sides to choose from, the Lions’ bench is always going to be stacked with talent, experience and class.
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