This morning I feel for the very sporty Lions contingent touring South Africa, and adding so much atmosphere and festivity to this tour. I have to be honest. They deserved to celebrate a win for two reasons. They deserve reward for their gusto and contribution to a fanatical atmosphere across our cities across the Republic.

But they also deserved to celebrate because the best team lost. The Lions deserved to win and should have won if you look at who was the better team for most of the game. I won’t give them our precious series win, if I could… and I am grateful for the sake of our nerves that Ellis Park will not be the series decider. For The Lions and every neutral, I suppose a series decider in the final test would have been a series climax.

The match itself, and again substitutions changed the course for the Boks. The substitutes I felt should have been in the starting line up, and the fact that they weren’t, again almost cost us.

Schalk Burger’s selection straight into the starting line up after six weeks of inactivity added to his poor form before that, was a massive selection blunder, as many of us Bok supporters said before the test. Yes, we know what Schalk can do on his better days. However this season, the only thing Burger had been living on, was his reputation.

Added to that, Springbok rugby has uncovered a new gem in a little dynamic flanker with the name of Heinrick Brussouw. In no time, I have become a massive fan of this tough, hard working little flanker. A series of events changed the tide for the Lions and one of them was the Cheetah’s loose forward who caused immense grief for the tourist the moment he came on.

Going back to Schalk Burger, I have to say that he is one of the dumbest players to grace the Bok jersey in recent years. His little eye scratching episode was absolutely appalling. Not only a horrible act of thuggery in his first act of the game, but it cost the Boks three direct points and another seven whilst he was serving one the quickest yellow cards in test rugby. A penalty in favour of the Boks was reversed at the time of his little eye gouge.

The confidence gained by the Lions by those early scores and 10-0 lead, clearly rattled the Springboks.

Now Schalk Burger could be forgiven if this was his first offence at madness. Even his second. But he has done this so many times over the years, and many of us Bok fans come to his rescue with excuses or diluting the severity of it. Ok, New Zealand do the same ala Brad Thorn on John Smit. Yes, it natural to defend our own. But Its time we blast Schalk willingly. He could very easily have a copped a red card and forced the Bok team to play an entire match with one man down. (Remember England/SA when Jannes Labuscagne was red carded midway in the first half and the dam wall burst for the Boks). The cost of his indiscretion could well have been a series defeat against the Lions.

Now that would have been a severe price to pay which would have had Bok fans across South Africa spitting mad.

Burger also gave away another three points with the match finally balanced by a blatant offside. I am not out to crucify the dynamic forward, but I just can’t help seeing red in dumb acts, particularly when rugby passion is running high in the blood during a crucial test match with everything at stake.

By contrast, Brussouw came into the field and immediately made his presence felt. He turned ball over immediately, knocked the Lions back, won us a penalty and was instrumental in Jacque Fourie’s try. The more I see of this guy, the bigger a fan of his I become.

Talking of Jacque Fourie… Why is such a talent wasted on the bench?

For the first forty minutes of the game, the Boks looked horribly disjointed. The Lions in contrast were all over them like a rash. Our Shark players seemed to carry their poor Super 14 form into this test, with Ruan Pienaar offering nothing of value to the Bok cause. His tactical kicking was poor, his goal kicking non existent and he couldn't get his backline going. Adi Jacobs was flat as a pancake, and Frans Steyn I felt did not put the Lions under any pressure with his field kicks. He gave them too much room to field his bombs. Rob Kearney and co either returned them with interest or began another attack up field.

By half time I was screaming for Morne Steyn, Brussow and Jacque Fourie. With Ruan Pienaar missing something like 3 penalties and a conversion kick, the ghosts of 1997 kept coming coming back when poor goal kicking cost us that series.

Coach Puppet began making the substitutions I was calling for and I suppose millions of other supporters too. When I saw Danie Russouw coming on instead of Brussouw, I was screaming “No…no, wrong move again”. As fate would have it, an immediate head injury to Danie Russouw would force the coach to bring on Brussow. I don’t like to see harm come to anyone, but when I saw a concussed Russouw coming off the field, it felt like a blessing in disguise.

With the Lions loosing two front rowers who had successfully reversed their ills of last week ,uncontested scrums were forced onto the match. The addition of Brussow and later the loss of Brian O Driscoll, the match began tilting the Boks way. On came Morne Steyn, Jacques Fourie and Bekker. The pendulum was slowly swinging.

From the outset, Morne Steyn was the picture of temperament and this comes from someone who has never been a great fan of his. The form he displayed for the Bulls this season and the calmest of composure’s, Steyn began getting more out of his backline. More importantly he was kicking the points that Pienaar was missing. His up and unders were perfectly timed, allowing the Bok chasers to put pressure on the Lions back three and force them into errors and turnovers.

It says a lot for the character of the Boks to come back the way they did, having to overcome their own coach’s poor selections and decision making. In the final quarter the bumbling Boks of the first half began looking like a force to be reckoned with late in the second, and I always felt they were going to take the game even when they were still playing catch up rugby.

Bryan Habana’s try started the comeback. Jacques Fourie’s score in the corner was an absolute gem and match winner. How he managed to stay in field by beating four defenders was brilliant. His presence in the midfield gives the Bok backline a steely look about it. Without him, the Bok backline has a soft look to it.

It beats me when the stakes are so high, that professional sportsmen transgress with elementary errors like high tackles as was the case with Bekker, who gave away an equalizing penalty after the Boks grabbed a narrow lead…and then for Ronan O Gara to do similar only minutes later, to offer up the Boks a shot at a series winning penalty.

Up steps Morne Steyn, cool and calm as ever. An international rookie showing BMT as if he had a half century of test’s behind his name. From inside his half, he slots the series winner and sends the whole of SA into euphoria and the B&I supporters into utter despair. Morne Steyn the picture of a man of the moment, O Gara by contrast a dejected figure carrying the horrible feeling on his shoulders as the man who cost the Lions an emphatic series.

Despair though, the Lions supporters thoroughly do not deserve. A one all draw in the series with everything to play for come Saturday might have been proper rugby justice. The travelling Lions army have brought so much to this tour and to South Africa. Last week in my home town of Durban, they filled out our pubs and bars with spectacular atmosphere. They were tons of fun and laughter, and even got our locals singing very vocally, partying, cheering along with them. Some of our pubs, they drank them dry. Their travelling numbers following their team is something to be marvelled. Loftus in part looked a sea of red yesterday and I asked the question whether this was a home game for the Lions, such was their presence.

Given all they have brought to this country and the festivity and parties to our cities, not to mention the booms to our local economies, they deserved something to cheer about. If I was not such a die hard Bok supporter, I would almost wish them a consolidation victory at Ellis Park. But I can’t. Yet a three nil whitewash would be undeserving not only to the contributions of the travelling supporters, but also of the Lions squad who have severely and nearly rattled the Boks into defeat in both tests so far.

Here’s wishing coach Puppet gets his selection right for at least one test. Here’s hoping for another cracker on Saturday, regardless of who wins.