Almost on cue, the Lions lost their first real test last Wednesday when faced with a strong South African A team.
A step-up in physicality and speed seemed to take the Lions by surprise as the South Africans rushed to a 17-3 lead and yet it was the Lions, who had played four warm-up matches against a team just coming out of isolation, and should have been prepared for what was the biggest match of the tour so far.
The Boks management took the opportunity to field a number of potential Test players in a match that gave them their first chance of ‘testing’ players against the tourists in a m...