How The National's Kevin Affleck rated the British and Irish Lions and the Springboks in the second Test in Pretoria. Do you agree with his selections? Tell us below.
Rob Kearney Hugely mature performance from the 23-year-old. Exceptional under high ball, superb on counter attack, handy with the boot. 8 Tommy Bowe Excellent in defence and did well to get up after being floored by Habana in the first-half. Not really seen as an attacking force. 7 Brian O'Driscoll Immensely courageous in a game of brutal intensity. Got up time and time again after a series of bone-shuddering hits. 7 Jamie Roberts Failed to reach the heady heights he scaled last week. Replaced because of injury but pride will have been hurt by Spies rampage. 6 Luke Fitzgerald At fault positionally for first try but well recovered from shock of being gouged after just 30 seconds. At 21, has a bright future. 6 Stephen Jones Nerveless match-levelling penalty. Wonderful off-load for Kearney try and immaculate with the boot. Answered his critics. 8 Mike Phillips Two brilliant takes from early restarts and at his bristling best in first-half. Faded in second period as Lions were on the back foot. 7 Gethin Jenkins Off with blood injury in first-half and off permanently on 45 minutes after sickening clash of heads with Habana. 7 Matthew Rees Rock-solid line-out throwing and tenacious in loose. Gave away 48th-minute penalty for a high tackle on Burger. 7 Adam Jones Out-scrummaged 'Beast' in first two scrums, earning huge pats on back for second one. Departed on 45 minutes with wrist injury. 8 Paul O'Connell A totem in the second row. Not much inspiration but buckets of perspiration. Won the key battle with the Boks' second row. 7 Simon Shaw Added extra muscle in scrum and excellent counter-rucking won crucial turnovers. Gave away some needless penalties. 7 Tom Croft One imperious line-out take in the first half and a nuisance for the Boks around the ruck and maul area. Stood up in the physical battle. 7 David Wallace Used as an unlikely ball carrier in first period. Out-muscled at breakdown as game wore on, eventually replaced by Martyn Williams. 6 Jamie Heaslip Highlight of his performance was a first-half charge that flattened Pietersen. Lions really needed a Dallaglio-esque figure at No 8. 6 Andrew Sheridan 8. Took the game to the Boks and finally punched his weight. Alun-Wyn Jones 6. One of three locks on the field after he replaced injured Adam Jones. Shane Williams 6. Could not make much impact after replacing O'Driscoll. Ronan O'Gara 3. Feeble tackle to try and stop Fourie, the try-scorer. Foolishly gave away the match-winning penalty. Martyn Williams 6. Claimed one trademark turnover.
Francois Steyn Off target with long-range penalty attempt at goal but provided reliable last line of defence and produced huge clearance kicks. 6 JP Pietersen Ruthlessly scored his 11th try in 26 Tests, beating Kearney with his blistering pace. Tackle on Kearney could have earned a card. 7 Adrian Jacobs What more does Fourie need to do to get into the side? Hardly made a line break and forced to kick from hand. Got marginally better. 5 Jean de Villiers Unlucky to be withdraw as was not much between him and Jacobs. Still very much finding his feet after long injury lay-off. 5 Bryan Habana Anonymous until the 36th minute when he floored Bowe with a crunching tackle. Popped up when it matter with Boks' second try. 7 Ruan Pienaar Will come under pressure from Morne Steyn after missing simple conversion and two second-half penalties. Not at his best. 5 Fourie Du Preez Back to his world-class best. Sumptuous pass to Pietersen for the first try and laid second on a plate for Habana. 8 Tendai Mtawarira Not the same explosive display he produced in first Test. Neutralised by Adam Jones at the crucial scrum battle. 6 Bismark Du Plessis Excellent at the line-out and huge ball-carrying force in the loose. Blotted with quickly-taken second-half penalty. 7 John Smit His 83rd appearance but not one of his finest. His experience was crucial, though, and helped Boks keep their nerve late on. 7 Bakkies Botha Spent most of match attempting to provoke Sheridan. Withdrawn for Bekker with a quarter of the match remaining. Disappointing. 6 Victor Matfield Out-played by both O'Connell and Shaw. Seem to benefit from calmer presence of Bekker, the second-half replacement. 6 Schalk Burger Let the occasion get to him and was guilty of gratuitous act of eye gouging inside first minute. Sin-binned and could face ban. 4 Juan Smith Warned early on by referee after his part in early scuffle. Replaced by Rossouw and will struggle to keep his place next week. 6 Pierre Spies Increasingly influential. One second-half rampage floored Roberts, the Lions midfield rock. Why didn't he play like that from the start? 7 Danie Rossouw 6. Carried off on a stretcher after clash of heads with O'Driscoll. Heinrich Brussow 8. A revelation. Produced a masterclass at the break down. Jaque Fourie 7. A magnificently taken try. Has scored against all international sides he has played against. Morne Steyn 8. What a debut on his home crowd. Nerveless winning penalty. Andries Bekker 7. Much calmer than the hot-headed Botha.
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