The 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009.
The British & Irish Lions played a three-match Test series against South Africa, with matches in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as matches against six provincial teams, and a match against the Emerging Springboks, South Africa's second national team. The Lions won all six provincial matches and drew with the Emerging Springboks, 13–13.
South Africa won the Test series, defeating the Lions 26–21 in the first Test, and then 28–25 in the second Test. The third Test was won by the Lions 28–9. The highlight of the series was the second Test, which the Lions led until the 76th minute, when they fell 25–22 behind. Stephen Jones then scored a penalty to tie the score at 25–25 with only two minutes left, but two minutes into injury time, Morné Steyn scored a 52-metre penalty kick to win the match for South Africa, 28–25.
The tour followed the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and preceded the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.
Background The tour was confirmed by the South African Rugby Union on 21 September 2007. The Lions chief executive John Feehan stated in November 2007 that no home Test match would be played prior to departure, as had taken place in 2005, and that fewer players and personnel would go to South Africa than had gone to New Zealand in 2005.
The Lions' tour manager was Gerald Davies, the head coach was Ian McGeechan, and the captain of the squad was Munster captain and Ireland lock, Paul O'Connell.
The tour schedule was announced by the Lions and the South African Rugby Union (SARU) on 10 April 2008. The final fixture confirmed was the game in Port Elizabeth; on 22 January 2009, SARU announced that they had received permission from the South African government to hold the match on the Youth Day national holiday on 16 June. This match marked the debut of the Southern Kings, a franchise formed in the Southern and Eastern Cape region, following the failure of the Southern Spears.
Head coach Ian McGeechan had planned to take the Lions squad to the Spanish city of Granada, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains for a high-altitude training camp, but on 27 April he announced that it had been cancelled because of problems over player availability. The Lions flew to South Africa on 24 May, arriving the following day.
The format was similar to that of the Lions' 2005 tour of New Zealand. As in 2005, six games were played before the first Test, and a mid-week game between the first and second Tests; unlike 2005, there was no mid-week game between the second and third Tests. Due to its unpopularity, "The Power of Four" anthem was not used on the 2009 tour.
Schedule DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueResult30 MayRoyal XV25–37British & Irish LionsRoyal Bafokeng Stadium, RustenburgWin3 JuneGolden Lions10–74British & Irish LionsEllis Park Stadium, JohannesburgWin6 JuneFree State Cheetahs24–26British & Irish LionsFree State Stadium, BloemfonteinWin10 JuneSharks3–39British & Irish LionsKings Park Stadium, DurbanWin13 JuneWestern Province23–26British & Irish LionsNewlands Stadium, Cape TownWin16 JuneSouthern Kings8–20British & Irish LionsNelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port ElizabethWin20 JuneSouth Africa 26–21British & Irish LionsKings Park Stadium, DurbanLoss23 JuneEmerging Springboks 13–13British & Irish LionsNewlands Stadium, Cape Town27 JuneSouth Africa 28–25British & Irish LionsLoftus Versfeld Stadium, PretoriaLoss4 JulySouth Africa 9–28British & Irish LionsEllis Park Stadium, JohannesburgWin
Test series
First Test South Africa won the first Test in Durban 26–21. Leading 19–7 at half-time and 26–7 after 50 minutes, the Springboks had dominated the scrum until the Lions made several substitutions. The Lions mounted a strong comeback, scoring late tries through Tom Croft and Mike Phillips, but South Africa held on. Inside the last ten minutes of the game, the Lions had two tries disallowed by the TMO. It was later described as an "unbelievable" Test match.
Second Test The second Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria was won by South Africa 28–25 with the last kick of the game – a penalty by Morné Steyn from inside his own half. The Lions had led 19–8 after an hour, but tries from Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie allowed South Africa to tie the score before Steyn's series-winning kick. It was described as "devastation" for the Lions, with the team ending the game "looking more like a scene from [American television series] ER as opposed to a rugby team".
Controversy The week of the third Test was marked by controversy and intense media interest surrounding the suspended Springbok players Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha after a very physical second Test.
Burger was yellow-carded in the first minute, after he appeared to gouge Luke Fitzgerald's eye. Burger was subsequently banned for eight weeks for "making contact with the face in the eye area." He was cleared of gouging, as his action was found to be "reckless" but not intentional.
Burger was widely criticised, with many commentators believing he should have been sent off for the incident. Brian O'Driscoll was among many who criticised South Africa coach Peter de Villiers after he said Burger's actions should not even have led to a yellow card.
Bakkies Botha was banned for two weeks for a dangerous charge on prop Adam Jones, which left Jones with a dislocated shoulder. SA Rugby expressed their confusion over the reasons for Botha's ban with the coach calling it a "textbook cleanout". An appeal was lodged but the initial ruling was upheld. Coaches and players expressed concern about the impact such an interpretation might have on a core component of the game, with Lions player Phil Vickery and forwards coach Warren Gatland lending their support to Botha's case. The injured Jones himself later came out in defence of Botha, saying:
"Botha shouldn't have been banned for it, nowhere near it. I don't have any complaints. He just cleared me out of the ruck and I got caught. Everyone counter-rucks nowadays and, if anything, I was in the wrong place. He just hit me and I was unlucky. So I was surprised to see he got banned. I know we didn't cite him so I don't know why the independent commissioner did. It was just a fair ruck from a hard player. When I have met him before he seems like a tidy enough bloke so I'm not seeing it as anything malicious."
The Springboks came out for the third Test wearing white armbands with the words "Justice 4 Bakkies" on, in protest over perceived inconsistencies in the citing process. This protest was investigated by the IRB for allegedly "bringing the game in disrepute", and the team and management were fined accordingly.
Third Test The Lions won the third Test on 4 July at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, beating the Springboks 28–9, in what The Times called "one of the best and most heroic performances in the history of the Lions". Having already won the series, the Springbok squad saw 10 changes from the previous week, and the Lions also saw substantial changes. The Lions led from the start, and Shane Williams scored two tries. England lock Simon Shaw was sin-binned for striking Springboks scrum-half Fourie du Preez with his knee in this test and received a two-week ban as a result. This was the first Test victory for the Lions in eight years, their last being in Brisbane in 2001.
Jamie Roberts was voted the Lions' sponsors' 'Player of the Series' by British and Irish journalists.
Results All times are local (UTC+2)
First Test
FB 15François SteynRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Adrian Jacobs IC 12Jean de Villiers LW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10Ruan Pienaar SH 9 Fourie du Preez LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira HK 2 Bismarck du PlessisTP 3 John Smit (c) LL 4 Bakkies Botha RL 5 Victor MatfieldOF 6 Heinrich Brüssow BF 7 Juan SmithN8 8 Pierre SpiesSubstitutes:PR 16Gurthro Steenkamp PR 17Deon Carstens LK 18Andries Bekker N8 19Danie Rossouw SH 20Ricky Januarie CE 21Jaque Fourie FH 22Morné Steyn Coach: Peter de Villiers FB 15 Lee Byrne RW 14 Tommy BoweOC 13 Brian O'DriscollIC 12 Jamie RobertsLW 11 Ugo MonyeFH 10 Stephen JonesSH 9 Mike PhillipsLP 1 Gethin JenkinsHK 2 Lee Mears TP 3 Phil Vickery LL 4 Alun Wyn Jones RL 5 Paul O'Connell (c)BF 6 Tom CroftOF 7 David Wallace N8 8 Jamie HeaslipSubstitutes:HK 16 Matthew Rees PR 17 Adam Jones LK 18 Donncha O'Callaghan FL 19 Martyn Williams SH 20 Harry EllisFH 21 Ronan O'GaraFB 22 Rob Kearney Coach: Ian McGeechan
TeamKick %Line breaksDefenders beatenPasses in contactMauls wonPossession lostTackles madeTackles missedScrumsLineoutsPenalties concededSouth Africa75%02228/321010187/79/109British & Irish Lions60%481578/821142411/159/1212
Second Test
FB 15François SteynRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Adrian JacobsIC 12Jean de Villiers LW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10Ruan Pienaar SH 9 Fourie du PreezLP 1 Tendai MtawariraHK 2 Bismarck du PlessisTP 3 John Smit (c)LL 4 Bakkies Botha RL 5 Victor MatfieldOF 6 Schalk Burger BF 7 Juan Smith N8 8 Pierre SpiesSubstitutes:HK 16Chiliboy RalepellePR 17Deon CarstensLK 18Andries Bekker N8 19Danie Rossouw FL 20Heinrich Brüssow CE 21Jaque Fourie FH 22Morné Steyn Coach: Peter de Villiers FB 15 Rob KearneyRW 14 Tommy BoweOC 13 Brian O'Driscoll IC 12 Jamie Roberts LW 11 Luke FitzgeraldFH 10 Stephen JonesSH 9 Mike PhillipsLP 1 Gethin Jenkins HK 2 Matthew ReesTP 3 Adam Jones LL 4 Simon ShawRL 5 Paul O'Connell (c)BF 6 Tom CroftOF 7 David Wallace N8 8 Jamie HeaslipSubstitutes:HK 16 Ross FordPR 17 Andrew Sheridan LK 18 Alun Wyn Jones FL 19 Martyn Williams SH 20 Harry EllisFH 21 Ronan O'Gara WG 22 Shane Williams Coach: Ian McGeechan
TeamKick %Line breaksDefenders beatenPasses in contactMauls wonPossession lostTackles madeTackles missedScrumsLineoutsPenalties concededSouth Africa55.6%414356/63169785/78/911British & Irish Lions100%38583/871184146/612/1512
Third Test
FB 15Zane Kirchner RW 14Odwa NdunganeOC 13Jaque Fourie IC 12Wynand OlivierLW 11Jongi Nokwe FH 10Morné SteynSH 9 Fourie du Preez LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira HK 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle TP 3 John Smit (c)LL 4 Johann MullerRL 5 Victor MatfieldOF 6 Heinrich BrüssowBF 7 Juan SmithN8 8 Ryan KankowskiSubstitutes:HK 16Bismarck du Plessis PR 17Gurthro Steenkamp PR 18Deon CarstensLK 19Steven SykesN8 20Pierre Spies FH 21Ruan Pienaar FB 22François Steyn Coach: Peter de Villiers FB 15 Rob KearneyRW 14 Ugo MonyeOC 13 Tommy BoweIC 12 Riki Flutey LW 11 Shane WilliamsFH 10 Stephen JonesSH 9 Mike PhillipsLP 1 Andrew SheridanHK 2 Matthew Rees TP 3 Phil Vickery LL 4 Simon Shaw RL 5 Paul O'Connell (c)BF 6 Joe Worsley OF 7 Martyn Williams N8 8 Jamie HeaslipSubstitutes:HK 16 Ross Ford PR 17 John Hayes LK 18 Alun Wyn Jones FL 19 David Wallace FL 20 Tom Croft SH 21 Harry Ellis FH 22 James HookCoach: Ian McGeechan
TeamKick %Line breaksDefenders beatenPasses in contactMauls wonPossession lostTackles madeTackles missedScrumsLineoutsPenalties concededSouth Africa100%351264/69169355/615/189British & Irish Lions62.5%751566/771010256/79/1016
Attendances AttendancesMatches10Total attendance347,929Average attendance34,793Highest attendancealign= Lowest attendancealign=
Lions squad The Lions announced a 37-man squad on 21 April 2009. Before the start of the tour Tomás O'Leary, Tom Shanklin and Jerry Flannery all withdrew because of injuries and Alan Quinlan was suspended. During the tour, Leigh Halfpenny, Stephen Ferris, Euan Murray, Lee Byrne, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll, as well as Ferris' replacement Ryan Jones, were forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury. Nathan Hines was suspended for one week because of a dangerous tackle against the Emerging Springboks.
Notes: Ages listed are as of the first tour match on 30 May. Bold denotes that the player was selected for a previous Lions squad.