Top 15 Tries of the British & Irish Lions Tour

The British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa delivered moments that will stand the test of time, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

High drama and highlights aplenty made for a unique and unforgettable tour as well as an ultra-competitive Test series, with the world champions coming out on the right side of history after they dropped the first Test and battled back to win the remaining two in thrilling fashion. 

Along the way, plenty of memorable tries were scored. These are my top 15 tries from the eight matches that made up the strangest of British & Irish Lions tours:

15: In the Blink of an Eye

Former Junior Springbok star Duhan van der Merwe stole the show in the second match of the tour as he marked his British & Irish Lions debut with a hat-trick in a Man of the Match performance against the Sharks. Turning defence into attack, Adam Beard pounced on a loose ball at a ruck from where fast hands, highlighted by Elliot Daly’s flick, saw the giant George-born wing complete his treble.

14: Brains and Brawn

Showing he has brains to match his brawn, Van der Merwe made an immediate impact in the second showdown with the Sharks in Pretoria, spotting and exploiting a mismatch to surge through before offloading to fellow Scotland ace Chris Harris for the opening try.

13: Cronje’s Class

Veteran playmaker Lionel Cronje showed his class in his Sharks debut, the highlight of the pivot’s performance being this picture-perfect grubber for wing Thaakir Abrahams to collect and dot down to put the Durbanites in the lead at Loftus. 

12: Ballin’ Biggar

A third beauty from the same game. When a big gap opened up, Dan Biggar needed no second invitation to cash in, with the vastly experienced Welsh flyhalf pulling two Sharks defenders before popping a basketball-like pass to Liam Williams, who bulleted the ball to Van der Merwe to stroll in.

11: Sick Burn

England sensation Marcus Smith enjoyed a dream debut in the Red and White against the Stormers. The tourists attacked from a quick-tap on their 5m line, where a galloping Smith burned counterpart Abner van Reenan before drawing the final defender and putting replacement wing Louis Rees-Zammit in unopposed.

10: Wicked Warning

As if to foreshadow what was to come, Cheslin Kolbe produced a Man of the Match performance for South Africa ‘A’ to help hand the tourists their first loss. A poor kick gave the hot-stepping diminutive dynamo more than enough time and space to launch a lethal counter-attack and that’s exactly what he did as he sliced in between two defenders before taking contact and offloading to unmarked captain Lukhanyo Am to run-in.

9: Nightmare Fuel

Powering to the pick of his three tries against the Sharks in Johannesburg, the 1.93m and 105kg Duane van der Merwe showcased his freakish speed as he shot past Manie Libbok like a rocket in their race to Owen Farrell’s clever grubber, coolly dribbled ahead and dove onto the ball. 

8: Practice Makes Perfect

The tourists started the second half of their opening assignment with a try straight from the training paddock. Jamie George’s throw-in to Maro Itoje was on the money, with Man of the Match Hamish Watson peeling off and combining with Ali Price, who fed Josh Adams on his inside. The Welsh winger stepped a brace of Lions defenders and hurried home for the second of his four tries on the night.  

7: Rather Late Than Never

Enduring a shellacking at Ellis Park, the Sharks finally got on the board in the 50th minute and the Durbanites did it in style. Impressive captain Phepsi Buthelezi laid the platform, a red-hot Werner Kok continued the momentum and lovely offloading by Jeremy Ward and Manie Libbok offered James Venter just enough time and room to run around Sam Simmonds to score. 

6: Final Nail in the Coffin

Anthony Watson was in vintage form when he scored his second and the tourists’ 11th and final try in their 71-31 smashing of the Sharks at Loftus. Showing sublime speed, skill and stepping ability, the England winger cantered past no less than six would-be tacklers to put the final nail in the coffin of a brave young Sharks side who were down to 14 men for most of the second half due to a moment of madness by scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse. 

5: Hitting the Ground Running

It took just three-and-a-half minutes for the British & Irish Lions to open their tour tally against their Johannesburg namesakes at Ellis Park. A sweeping play to the right seeing Chris Harris chip ahead for Louis Rees-Zammit, who bolted past Sibahle Maxwane to collect and cash in under the posts. 

4: Seven Up

The Northern Hemisphere all-stars finished their final warm-up match on a high as they strung together seven passes in an end-to-end sequence that saw Sam Simmonds score their seventh try against the Stormers. 

3: Threading the Needle

Great minds think alike and two of the Springboks’ best and brightest combined to dissect the British & Irish Lions in the do-or-die second Test. In an extraordinary piece of vision and laser-like accuracy, Faf de Klerk stabbed a perfect grubber through with his weaker right foot, splitting two defenders and narrowly missing the post, with Lukhanyo Am having just enough speed to dot down in the nick of time.

2: Three Ps

Precision, pace and power. These hallmarks of Springbok rugby produced a pivotal pearler. Handre Pollard executed a pinpoint chip to Makazole Mapimpi, whose speed saw him catch the ball in the air and swerve inside before his strength allowed him to break Stuart Hogg’s tackle and go over for a stunning opening try that started the avalanche in the crunch second Test.

1: Little Lion-Tamer

The top try of the tour also happened to be the most important. Saving the best for last, the electrifying Cheslin Kolbe went from giant-killer to legendary British & Irish Lion-tamer when he pounced on his only opportunity of the entire series in vintage fashion in the decider. Lukhanyo Am rebounded from an aerial battle and offloaded to Willie le Roux who sped ahead, weighed up his options and went to Kolbe on his right. 

The tiny tornado – who went on to be named Man of the Match – seized the moment, majestically stepping Liam Williams before handing off Luke Cowan-Dickie to score a classic try. The 56th-minute touchdown was game-changing, putting the Springboks in the lead for the first time and paving the path to their epic 19-16 series-clinching triumph. 

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.