Springbok View - Boks by 15 in third Test.....

by Warren Gatchell

For the Springboks, the second Test got off to the "worst possible start", as John Smit put it. Schalk Burger deserved his eight week ban for his eye gouge of Luke Fitzgerald. Many in South Africa feel he should have received a longer ban and even suggest it could be a good thing for the Boks as Heinrich Brussouw will now start for the Springboks.

Bakkies Botha's shoulder charge on Adam Jones also got him a 2 week vacation but this decision is going to be appealed. I personally can't see anything at fault with the way he cleared the ruck and many others share this view: what do you think?

View the rucking incident for which Bakkies Botha has received a two-week ban

If the appeal is unsuccsesful we will see Bakkies return for the Tri-Nations while Schalk should only feature again in a green and gold jersey for the last three games of the premier southern hemisphere competition.

The Boks had an uphill battle against the Lions who seemed to continue right where they left off from the last quarter of the first test. When things go wrong, they go horribly wrong and at evey collision point and scrum the Boks weren't getting everything to go quite their way as the week before.

The Lions were clearly instructed to physically challenge the Springboks and it worked, I for one can't recall seeing Victor Matfield get as involved in off the ball stuff as he was on Saturday.

The lineouts were the only part of the game that maintained some structure and accuracy but as Francois Steyn slotted a penalty just before half time I knew the Boks were in with a chance as the points deficit shrunk to 8 points.

Boks: character and resilience

The team showed a lot of character and resilience to claw their way back from a 19 - 8 deficit in yet another game which seemed like an away fixture with so much red visible within Loftus. It was disapointing for me that Pienaar missed 6 points worth of penalties and what appeared to be a rather simple conversion of the initial Bok try. My fears of a 97 repeat were calmed when Morne Steyn came on, as were the elated home supporters, with Steyn ultimately winning the game with that enormous 54 meter penalty.

The series is now back in South African hands for the first time since 1980. The Lions didn't tour South Africa during the isolation years and then there was that famous 1997 victory.

Looking forward to the final game in Johannesburg, you have to ask yourself if the Lions will be able to motivate themselves in the same way as they did in Pretoria. With Brian O'Driscoll sent home injured, along with Adam Jones, the Lions centre pairing  and front row doesn't look as formidable or strong as it was a few days ago.

Ellis Park or as it is now rather shamefully, “Coca Cola Park”, has seen some memorable victories for the Springboks in recent years. It's been a happy hunting ground with the most notable victory against an All Blacks side that included Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup Final. The two matches played there last year were a 63 - 9 victory over Argentina, maintaining the Boks unbeaten run against the Pumas and a 53 - 8 thumping of Australia.

It would be unrealistic to expect the Boks to attain anything near these winning margins as McGeechan has the ability to raise his players for any game, as last Saturday proved. The Boks themselves are also depleted after the game with no. secondrow/8 Danie Rossouw unlikely to play due to that collission with BOD, Andries Bekker, the replacement lock injured and, of course, the bans of Burger and Botha.

South African rugby - depth a strength

Injuries or citings can make or break teams but in South Africa there is always a replacement waiting in the wings. Johan Muller has been called up to provide cover at lock. Muller captained the Springboks on their away leg of the Tri Nations 2007 and is the Natal Sharks captain.

Zane Kirchner and Dewald Potgieter of the Bulls have also received a call up. Many felt Kirchner would be a start for the series but in fairness to the coaching team Francois Steyn has excelled in his role as full back. Perhaps coach Pieter de villiers is conscious of Steyn's signing with Racing Metro in Paris and wants to introduce Kirchner as a Bok full back for the future.

Potgieter was one of the standout Bulls loose forwards throughout the Super14. He captained the Emerging Springboks in their 13 - 13 draw with the Lions in Cape Town. The Bulls' combination of Deon Stegman, Dewald Potgieter and Pierre Spies caused opposing teams many a nightmare in the Super14 and I'm sure the familiarity with Fourie du Preez at no 9 and Morne Steyn as the replacement no 10 will help Potgieter ease into the game if he is selected.

With the series now in the bag the Boks have the opportunity to offer a different style of play and build on the 3 tries they scored on Saturday. The hard grounds of Johannesburg will prove to be the perfect place for a more open running game which coach Pieter de Villiers favours, when the conditions are right. I doubt they could have as bad a start as the second test again and the replacements who have been called up will want to cement their places in the team for the 2009 Tri-Nations.

The core of the Bok team remains unchanged though and I feel the final game of the 2009 Lions series will be a game to many for the Lions. For the reasons stated above I predict a Springbok victory by 15 points or more.