The Springboks faced the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town Stadium in the first of three tests. The B&I Lions outplayed and outsmarted their host to earn the win with (22-17).
Both teams started the match at a frenetic pace trying to establish dominance early on. The second half saw the momentum shift in favour of the B&I Lions as they turned a 3-12 score into a 19-17 lead with 18 minutes to go.
The B&I Lions won the aerial battle in the last 20 minutes with the errors the Springboks made costing them the test.
13:36 Handré Pollard converted a penalty to give the Springboks an early lead, (03-00).
17:22 The second penalty was converted by Handré Pollard, (06-00).
19:32 Dan Biggar converted a penalty for the Lions, (06-03)
20:00 The game still balanced on a knife's edge with a lot of kicks for territory by both sides. A ding dong battle at this stage.
25:49 Handré Pollard converted another "soft" penalty conceded by the B&I Lions, (09-03).
30:10 Handré Pollard converted the Springboks 4th penalty, (12-03).
40:00 The momentum at the end of the first half started to shift in favour of the Springboks. The Springboks were "winning" the physical battle at that stage. However, with a nine points margin, it is still anybody's game, although the pressure by the Springboks is yielding plenty of Convertable penalties.
43:23 Luke Cowan-Dickie going over for the first try for the B&I lions. Luke Cowan-Dickie scored from the back of a 5m line-out maul, (12-10).
49:30 Faf de Klerk scored the Springboks first try of the match, (17-10).
52:34 Dan Biggar reduced the deficit to just 4 points with his second converted penalty, (17-13).
55: 50 Dan Biggar converted his 3rd penalty as the pressure on the Springboks is giving soft convertable penalties away, (17-16).
60:00 The momentum has shifted in favour of the B&I Lions at this stage of the match. The B&I Lions dominate the territory and possession stats at this stage.
62:43 Dan Biggar put the B&I Lions in the front for the first time of the test, with his 3rd converted penalty, (17-19).
78:05 Owen Farrell converted his first penalty, (17-22).
Scorers:
Springboks: Try: Faf de Klerk. Penalties: Handré Pollard (4)
B&I Lions: Try: Luke Cowan-Dickie. Conversion: Dan Biggar. Penalties: Dan Biggar (2), Owen Farrell (3).
Springboks: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11, Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Kwagga Smith, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (C), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1, Ox Nché. Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Frans Malherbe, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Rynhardt Elstadt, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.
B&I Lions: 15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Ali Price, 8.Jack Conan, 7. Tom Curry, 6. Courtney Lawes, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 4. Maro Itoje, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 1. Wyn Jones. Replacements: 16. Ken Owens, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Tadhg Beirne, 20. Hamish Watson, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Owen Farrell, 23. Liam Williams.