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Lions aim to avoid whitewash

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 03/07/2009

The series may be over but the British & Irish Lions will be desperate to salvage some pride by winning the third Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

The tourists have come close to victory in each of the first two matches against the sportsbook favourite Springboks only to ultimately come up short on both occasions.

The two defeats have also come in contrasting manners, with a poor first-half display in the first Test to blame for their 26-21 loss.

By contrast, they were unable to hold on to a 19-8 lead going into the final quarter of the second clash in Pretoria.

It has led to a frustrating tour for the Lions who have pushed the world champions all the way and given them a harder time than was expected.

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Both teams have named much-changed line-ups for Saturday's encounter where the Springboks will definitely be without flanker Schalk Burger.

He has been handed an eight-week ban after being found guilty of gouging Luke Fitzgerald inside the first 60 seconds of the second Test.

After missing the first Test through injury, Burger was lucky to stay on the pitch on Saturday, with the referee's decision to only send him to the sin-bin possibly costing the tourists the match.

Injuries and misfortune have certainly contributed to the Lions' narrow failures on the pitch, with Wales props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones the latest players to suffer problems.

Jenkins suffered a broken cheekbone in an accidental clash of heads with Bryan Habana during the 28-25 defeat in Pretoria, while Jones was the victim of a charge by Bakkies Botha which resulted in the Springbok being handed a two-week ban.

Brian O'Driscoll (concussion) and Jamie Roberts (wrist) were also injured during the loss and will not be risked in Johannesburg.

Many Lions players have seen their stock rise on the tour, particularly Adam Jones, Matthew Jones, Rob Kearney and perhaps more surprisingly Simon Shaw, who has played some of the best rugby of his long career in the last few weeks.

South Africa have shown why they are the world champions though, keeping their cool at the vital times and scoring points at crucial stages of the games.

Both Tests have been tight and could have gone either way, but the Springboks had what it took at crucial moments to step up the pace and vanquish what was a spirited but vain attempt at success by the tourists.

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