Stephen Jones urged the British and Irish Lions to produce one final push and end their tour of South Africa on a high with victory over the Springboks in Saturday’s third and final Test.
The challenge this week is to lift the squad’s spirits after the Springboks wrapped up the Test series with a last-gasp 28-25 victory at Loftus Versfeld.
The Lions will knuckle down this morning to begin their Test preparations after enjoying some time away from rugby on safari.
And Jones insisted the squad still have something huge to play for – the honour of winning a Test for the Lions in South Africa.
“When you give everything and you come second best it hurts,” said Jones.
“We’ve got to do our homework and make sure we pick ourselves up because we’ve got a huge opportunity to restore some pride in the Lions jersey next weekend.”
Head coach Ian McGeechan believes the credibility of the Lions, damaged so badly in 2005, has been restored after such a dramatic Test series.
The Springboks withstood a Lions fightback to win the first Test 26-21 and then snatched a 28-25 victory last weekend with the final kick of a pulsating and brutal Test match.
Lions tour manager Gerald Davies said: “I don’t think this team – with the people we have got here and the way we have played – deserves to go back having lost three Test matches. If we need a motivation that is it.
“There has been a terrific camaraderie and team spirit. The players have gelled quickly and we have had that sense of a Lions tour. We have not won but it could have been.”
The Lions will definitely be without props Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins, who required surgery on Saturday night for a dislocated shoulder and fractured cheekbone respectively.
The Lions had a total of five players in hospital and doctor James Robson is monitoring the fitness of Brian O’Driscoll (concussion), Tommy Bowe (elbow), Jamie Roberts (wrist) and Ronan O’Gara (eye).
