Warburton tips Lions to take second Test

Former Lions captain, Sam Warburton, has tipped his old team to defeat the Springboks by 7 points in the second Test on Saturday. 

Warburton, who led the Lions on two tours (2013 and 2017), believes that the Lions’ defence will stand up to a war of attrition from the Springboks before the latter will tire and give control of the match up to their opponents. 

"It'll be almost damage control for the first 20 minutes, but then if the Lions are within five to seven points, they'll run away with it," he said, speaking to walesonline.co.uk. 

"They’ve got too much class. They’ve played too much international rugby compared to South Africa, who are really missing that firepower in the last 20 minutes. 

"The biggest difference in the two sides is the lack of international intensity that South Africa have experienced, and that's why Lions had to win first up because after the Springboks get better. 

"I know they've been playing rugby in South Africa but the Rainbow Cup, no disrespect, is nowhere near a Lions Test match. 

"I think you could see that. That's why they were giving away penalties they were poorly disciplined – that’s normally down to fatigue and poor decisions. 

"The Lions bench will be better than any bench in world rugby, given the player pool we can pick from, so if the Lions are within a score half-time I see them winning by about seven points. 

"There are only a handful of times a year you can really emotionally peak for a game when there is so much pressure and so much emotion behind it. You can't do that 30 times a year. 

"The Lions have got all the talent in the world. They know the calls by now, they know the defence settings, know the attacking system, they know the lineout calls. It's just getting yourself physically and mentally in the right place. 

"Most of the hard work is done. It’s just about making sure the players are primed and ready, tick the boxes in training, get the tactics right and then it's just trust the players and go and make sure you're physically, mentally right. It's just one more 80 minute push that they need, whether it's this weekend, whether it's next weekend. 

“I'm 99 per cent certain they'll get the job done in one of the next two games. But you’ve got to get to that emotional peak. 

"Each player gets there differently. Some guys like the hibernate in their room until match day or the Friday. Other guys like to be sociable. Whatever it takes to get you to that peak. 

"You’ve got to put yourself out into that uncomfortable place for a short moment of time, so that when you come out of the other side they'll set their names in Lions history and folklore. It's a massive effort but I’m very sure that they'll do.”