Erasmus hasn’t done the game any favours with the pre-match shenanigans. The Boks would probably have won anyway as the Lions offered so little in attack, but he definitely bought them the overly cautious refereeing and the disruption to the flow of the game their big units need.
Kolbe’s offence was more red than yellow, even more so when it looked like a bit of retribution on his part.
De Klerk was very lucky too. You can see him looking around thinking “oh shit” in the immediate aftermath of his head on head ‘tackle’ of Murray.
It doesn’t help that Gatland is also a big fan of referee ‘influencing’. See also Steve Hansen. Rugby is less easy to cock up as a spectacle – I.e. the interruptions etc – than football. But it is still very possible.
No one covered themselves in glory in this match. On the field and in the build-up.