Gatland: Lions set for brutal showdown

WARREN Gatland prepared his Lions for a “brutal cup final” in Cape Town on Saturday after seeing the Springboks level the series.

- GARY FITZGERALD

The head coach refused to make excuses for the loss in yesterday’s second clash between the two sides as his men were eventually over-run and overpowered in the second half.

He also bit his lip over some controversial refereeing decisions by New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe, who could easily have sent off Cheslin Kolbe for a dangerous hit on Conor Murray in the first half.

Gatland remained upbeat and confident despite seeing a 9-6 halftime lead end in a heavy 27-9 defeat, meaning it is all to play for in the Third Test on Saturday.

Second-half tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am sealed victory for the hosts and wrecked the tourists’ bid to clinch the series. All the Lions could muster was three penalties from Dan Biggar’s boot, while Handre Pollard kicked 17 points.

Gatland insisted: “It’s now about not dropping heads, remaining positive and coming out fighting.

“We were very disappointed with the second-half display but we have to move on and quickly think about next weekend. That’s going to be like a cup final and we have to get up for that one and throw every emotion into that game. It’s 1-1 and pretty exciting and it is going to be a challenge for us.