The Springboks capped a week in which we ruefully had to remind ourselves this series required a 12-year wait, by delivering a performance in which their energy and drive got their point well across.
When the actual business of rugby was restored to its proper place of combat, the Springboks at times bludgeoned the British & Irish Lions to level the three-Test series which will see the decider take place here next Saturday.
This was a nerve jangler in the opening hour but the match started turning in the hosts' favour when World Cup hero Makazole Mapimpi scored to hand the hosts the lead.For all the talk among rugby's higher ups and lawmakers of speeding the game up and making it a spectacle, this match, if it is deemed to be a benchmark, fell desperately short.
The Lions maul disruption made an early impression, while they shaved the hosts in the scraps on the deck. What would have been more frustrating for the Bok coaches however was their inability to secure reliable line-out possession.Things improved markedly in the second half as the Springboks too applied a spoiling hand at the Lions' feed.
Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende got through a mountain of unglamorous work. The captain got a few slaps on the back when he operated in concert with Am to foil Robbie Henshaw's attempt to get over the tryline in the first half.
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