Comeback cannot hide Lions' flaws as first Test win puts Springboks in the driving seat

South Africa 26
British and Irish Lions 21

HOW WE could have arrived at the final whistle in King's Park yesterday still interested in a game that was not dead and buried, but cremated with the ashes spread on the four winds, was not the mystery it seemed at the time. And unfortunately, despite the comeback that saw the Lions put 14 points on the board in a frantic final 12 minutes, it doesn't have positive implications for the next two Saturdays.

We watched two games here: the first was surreal in how much went right for the Boks, complemented by everything the Lions touched turning to sludge; the second was one where the home team had run out of steam and referee Bryce Lawrence did what many referees do in these circumstances, and start dispensing penalties in favour of the team they have been shafting for 60 minutes.

When Tom Croft got over, for his second try, on 68 minutes it brought the score back to 26-14, but had all the appearances of window dressing. But when Mike Phillips rounded off another long period of pressure by scoring by the posts on 75 minutes, we were bracing ourselves for what would have been the greatest ever Lions comeback story.

And when the dust settles this morning, the Boks will know that they got away with Peter de Villiers's dodgy policy of taking their players out of competition against the tourists in favour of a runabout against Namibia and a whole lot of training. With his bench emptied and the big boys sitting back to reflect on a handy afternoon's work, two of them – Ruan Pienaar and John Smit – had to be pressed back into service.

At that point nobody in green looked like they had much energy left, but they will be a different proposition in Pretoria on Saturday. The Lions had come with momentum, thanks to their six out of six en route to Durban, and its value was impossible to discern from a calamitous situation. It started at the set-piece, spread to the lineout, and combined with a couple of other factors to leave them looking like club players. Nobody suffered more than Phil Vickery. The scrum was an area where the Lions had hoped to trade profitably and instead they were the subject of a fitness to practice inquiry where Mr Lawrence sat in judgement and Beast Mtawarira was the star witness for the prosecution. Vickery looked a broken man as he was done twice – for the cost of three points – at the tail end of the first half. The Lions' lineout had already coughed up two balls by that stage, and the punting of Lee Byrne was off kilter.

So the set-piece was a nightmare for them, and they couldn't resort to pick and drive either for fear of losing the ball at the tackle. Add it all up – factor in Mr Lawrence – and you had a scenario where it was easy to believe that two referrals to the video referee would come back negatively, and one other scamper over the line would be whistled for crossing. And you know what? Those three were all fair calls.

The ease with which the Lions conceded the first try was deeply unsettling: three phases of easily-identifiable runners coming around the corner and Smit had a try, which Pienaar goaled. By the tenth minute he had knocked over a penalty and the Lions were still scoreless, luckless and, well, clueless.

In time, Paul O'Connell would try to rescue it by taking on more ball but too often it was static. By half time the Boks were 19-7 in front after the boots of Pienaar and Frans Steyn had rendered almost as a token the first try by Croft. We didn't expect to see Vickery after the break but back he came and pretty soon he was done again. Adam Jones came on and did well at the scrum.

For a change of direction the Boks turned to the maul and put together a 70-metre sequence – assisted by two penalties to touch – for Heinrich Brussow to get over. At 26-7 we were reaching for the record books, and just when it looked like brightening up, with Phillips reaching for the line, he lost it at the last second. Then Brian O'Driscoll punted well for the excellent Tommy Bowe who couldn't hold it under pressure. And finally Ugo Monye, who had been a target under the high ball all day, was robbed by replacement Morne Steyn.

And still the Lions created those two tries. In both cases they had to run through the phases before they could sign off. It was another Springbok replacement, Jaque Fourie, who got a hand in to break another promising Lions move at the death, and had they been able to complete that we would be floating up the high veldt. But even that would have been misplaced. Just as the oxygen will be in short supply in Pretoria, so will be those who would back the Lions to turn this around. Winning here was no guarantee they would win the series, but losing virtually copper fastens their hold on the silver medals.

South Africa:
F Steyn; JP Pietersen, A Jacobs (R Pienaar 75), J de Villiers (J Fourie 58), B Habana; R Pienaar (M Steyn 65), F du Preez (R Januarie 70); T Mtawarira (G Steenkamp 65), B du Plessis, J Smit (1D Carstens 65/ J Smit 77),B Botha (A Bekker 58), V Matfield, H Brussow (D Rossouw 52), J Smith, P Spies

British and Irish Lions:
L Byrne (R Kearney 38), T Bowe, B O'Driscoll, J Roberts, U Monye; S Jones, M Phillips; G Jenkins, L Mears (M Rees 50), P Vickery (AJones 45), A-W Jones (D O'Callaghan 70), P O'Connell, T Croft, D Wallace (M Williams 67), J Heaslip

Scorers: South Africa – Tries: Smit, Brussow. Cons: Pienaar 2. Pens: Pienaar 3, F. Steyn. British & Irish Lions Tries: Croft 2, Phillips. Cons: S. Jones 3.

Referee: B Lawrence (NZRFU)

HOW THE TOURISTS RATED

15 LEE BYRNE 5/10
Missed part of the warm-up, and did not look right before going off after 38 minutes.

14 TOMMY BOWE 7

Had a try disallowed and offered a major midfield attacking presence for the Lions.

13 BRIAN O'DRISCOLL 7

South Africa could not take their eyes off the Ireland captain for a minute. Always threatening.

12 JAMIE ROBERTS 8

Lions' most creative and direct attacking catalyst. An impressive performance in every sense.

11 UGO MONYE 7

Unlucky not to score in the first half, and then denied a try by Morne Steyn's superb tackle.

10 STEPHEN JONES 5

Missed a couple of early kicks, and was indecisive for much of the contest.

9 MIKE PHILLIPS 7

An imposing influence, especially during final quarter. Bristled with aggression.

1 GETHIN JENKINS 7

Coped with Springboks skipper John Smit in the scrums, and strong around the field.

2 LEE MEARS 6

Lacks the physical presence of some hookers in world rugby, but still has a tireless work-rate.

3 PHIL VICKERY 5

Mangled into an unrecognisable state at the scrums by Tendai Mtawarira, and was substituted.

4 ALUN-WYN JONES 6

Competed well with Bakkies Botha in the lineouts; consistent contributor elsewhere.

5 PAUL O'CONNELL 6

Skipper could make little headway during the first hour, but then stepped up a gear.

6 TOM CROFT 7

Scored two tries and looked at home in such exalted company.

8 JAMIE HEASLIP 6

Finished game strongly, but also disappeared from it at times.

7 DAVID WALLACE 6

Had his moments at breakdown area, but it was at scrum-time where the Lions really struggled.

REPLACEMENTS

Rob Kearney 6 (for Byrne, 38min)

Adam Jones 6 (Vickery, 45)

Matthew Rees 6 (Mears, 50)

Martyn Williams 4 (Wallace, 66)

Donncha O'Callaghan 4 (Jones, 68)