The Springboks claimed a narrow 19-16 victory over the British and Irish Lions in the third and final Test on Saturday to seal a 2-1 victory in a controversy-laden series; "We were in it until the death. I'm very proud of the bunch.....but hugely disappointed," said captain Alun Wyn Jones
Sunday 8 August 2021 12:43, UK
British and Irish Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones battled with his emotions after his side were dramatically beaten 19-16 by South Africa in the deciding Test, with the hosts clinching the series 2-1.
Morne Steyn stepped off the bench to break Lions hearts for a second time by landing a late penalty in Cape Town.
In a cruel twist of fate, the 37-year-old also sealed the fate of the 2009 Lions when he booted another late penalty which gave South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead after a 28-25 win in the second Test.
This time the Lions produced their best rugby of the series in a first half they lit up with offloads, tempo and ambition and went into the break 10-6 up, but they lost their momentum in the second half as the Springboks piled on the pressure.
"Obviously hugely disappointed with the result but I think the endeavour and the turnaround was there from last week," Jones told Sky Sports.
"We were in it until the death. I'm very proud of the bunch, very conscious of what we represent but hugely disappointed. We wanted to come out for the second half with more of the same.
"We did that probably after the early exchanges, then the to-ing and fro-ing with the penalties broke up the game.
"It was probably similar to what we have seen in patches in previous games, we wanted to kick on but we could not do that."
Jones, though, felt the Lions could still take "huge pride" from their efforts in what was a testing tour.
"To just fall short on a couple of calls is disappointing," he said.
After completing his fourth Lions tour, the Welshman, battling his emotions, did not want to be drawn on whether or not it would be his last time in the red jersey.
"This one, in particular, I had to work harder the second time to get out here," he said. "I know a lot of these guys will be out here on the next one, so I look forward to watching them."
