Cape Town (AFP)

Staggeringly realistic, the British and Irish Lions, long dominated, ended up winning the first round of their summer tour in South Africa, Saturday in Cape Town, against the world champions (22-17).

The Springboks, who played there their second match of 2021 only, fell despite a mischievous try from scrum-half Faf de Klerk (50th) and 12 points at the foot of his friend of the hinge, the Montpellier Handré Pollard (4 on 6).

They broke down completely in the second half, with two tries refused by the video referee, while they were leading 12-3 at the break.

The Lions, for their part, have long lacked accuracy and discipline but ended up straightening their heads, carried by a test from their hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie (44th).

Better, they managed to get their heads out of the water, despite two failed penalties from Dan Biggar (35th) and Elliot Daly (39th) in the first period, taking advantage of the indiscipline of Toulouse teammates Cheslin Kolbe, who conceded 14 penalties, to which must be added 12 lost balls.

The Gallo-Irish-Anglo-Scottish "all star" team therefore continues a new victory after the success in front of Japan (28-10) before taking off for South Africa, where they strolled against the franchises of the Lions (56-14), the Sharks (54-7 and 71-31) and the Stormers (49-3).

- Arm wrestling -

If they had broken their teeth on South Africa B (17-13), where there were still eighteen world champions, it is the Lions who have, this time, taken the best.

They thus continue a third test-match without defeat, since the quadrennial selection had ended the 2017 tour, in New Zealand with a victory (24-21) and a draw (15-15).

# photo1

With 21 of the 23 sacred players in Japan, the Boks seemed armed to eat Lion.

This was the case for the first 40 minutes, when Warren Gatland's men were sorely lacking in imagination.

But the South Africans, undoubtedly for lack of automatism and freshness after a year and a half without playing, ended up losing their going, to the point of seeming amorphous vis-a-vis the dynamics of the Lions.

And to take the feet in the carpet.

As during the 2013 tour in Australia, the Gatland Lions therefore kick off their tour with a victory.

They then won the series.

The revenge takes place in a week, still in Cape Town, pandemic requires.

This time, it will be necessary to win to offer a "final", on August 7, for the third and last game of the series.

© 2021 AFP