Remembering Morne's magical moment against the Lions and Bakkies' sweet pearlers

The British and Irish Lions are poised to tour Australia, and as part of the build-up, the media have been asking former the Lions which Test match stands out for them.

Several of the Lions' old boys have singled out the second Test between the Springboks and the Lions at Loftus Versfeld in 2009 because of the staggering brutality and the jaw-dropping drama of the final minutes.

Ireland’s Luke Fitzgerald said he played the game with double vision after Schalk Burger accidentally eye-gouged him just 30 seconds into the match.

Burger was making his comeback from injury, it was his 50th Test cap, and at the kick-off he was over exuberant in clearing out Fitzgerald. He was yellow-carded for making contact with the wing’s face.

Fitzgerald said: “It was unusual. Wingers try to stay out of rucks, but I somehow found myself in one next to Schalk Burger. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

“It was mad! I was wrestling with him, which is never a good idea, and he made mincemeat out of me.

“I had double-vision for the rest of the game. He got a yellow card, and I am glad it wasn’t red. It would have been a disaster for a guy who is an all-time great to have cost the Boks a Test match on his 50th cap.”

The conciliatory words I have heard from Fitzgerald are the first I have heard from the Lions.

They went on that tour with the express intention of goading and riling the best rugby team on the planet.

John Smit’s Boks had won the World Cup in 2007 and later that year would beat the All Blacks in three consecutive games to clinch the Rugby Championship.

The Boks won the ill-tempered first match of the three-Test series in Durban, 26-21. The Lions had to win in Pretoria to level the series while the Boks were fiercely determined to win and not have to play a decider at Ellis Park.

A vicious battle was brewing but nobody could have predicted just how violent this game would turn out.

Fitzgerald said he vividly recalled the Lions’ dressing room at half-time.

“Adam Jones had been cleared out by Bakkies Botha and his shoulder was dislocated. The doctor was trying to put his shoulder back in its socket.

“I'll never forget the scenes. You could hear people in agony. We were just putting ourselves back together. Some guys had been knocked out and stuff. It was a brutal Test match.”

Fitzgerald’s words got me thinking about Smit’s description of the match in his autobiography, Captain in the Cauldron, which I penned.

I will cut to the chase and go to the match’s heart-stopping ending, which Smit wonderfully captures.

The Boks had been losing 16-8 at half time, and after 40 minutes of bloody battle, it was 25-25. But as the hooter was about to sound, the Boks were awarded a penalty and up stepped Morne Steyn… He was 24 and had substituted Ruan Pienaar early in the second half to make his debut.

Smit said: “What added to the drama was that the penalty arose from bizarre circumstances. Ronan O’Gara, who was on the injured Jamie Roberts, had fielded a deep kick, and the Lions players were screaming, “Kick it out, kick it out,” while pointing to the touchline.

But the rugby gods were wearing green and gold that day and he had a complete brain fart, hoisting it up towards the centre spot and in chasing up, he crashed clumsily into Fourie du Preez.

“If he had kicked it out, the final whistle would have gone and the match would have been drawn (and the series kept alive for the third Test).

“When the referee raised his arm for the penalty, I looked to the poles and gauged the distance (about 55m) and wondered whether Frans Steyn — who can be a bit of a spray gun at times — should take the kick or his namesake, Morne.

“I wasn’t too sure how far Morne could kick. I grabbed the ball and walked slowly so that I could mull it over.

“However, Morne strode towards me, completely calm and took the ball (and the decision) out of my hands. I grinned and said, 'Welcome to Test rugby.'

“He gave me a little smile. He was totally relaxed. He put the ball down as he had done a thousand times for the Bulls at Loftus and struck it as sweetly as Ernie Els does off the tee.

“As he lined it up, I said a prayer, asking the Big Man upstairs what he had in store for us… and the kick just sailed and sailed and sailed. The first thing I look out for in this situation is the crowd reaction behind the posts, and when the Springbok fans rose as one, long before assistant referees’ flags, I had that giddy is-this-really-happening feeling that I imagine you must get when you see your numbers come up in the lotto.

“The scale of relief that I experienced was similar to what I felt at the final whistle of the World Cup final. A sense of achievement mixed with utter relief engulfs you. You know that it is done, it can’t be taken away…”

Smit also recalls some unexpected lighter moments during the savage trench warfare, and they were ironically provided by the toughest Springbok warrior, Bakkies Botha.

“The Lions scrumhalf Mike Phillips was a right pain in the backside, so it was fitting that a hilarious put-down came from an exchange between Bakkies and Phillips. Bakkies and Pierre Spies had smashed into Phillips at a ruck. He screamed, “You f..king steroid monkeys, what the f..k’s wrong with you?

“Bakkies grabbed him by the collar and, while giving the impression that he was about to knock Phillip’s head off, smiled sweetly and cooed, ‘My, you have sexy blue eyes!’”

But Bakkies was not finished with Phillips and later came up with another pearler.

“Phillips was letting rip with his foul mouth and Bakkies grabbed him by the collar, wound up his right arm for a sledgehammer blow, but then said softly, ‘How about dinner on Tuesday?’ It was priceless!”