Boks infringed too … but Lions' shadowy stuff deserves scrutiny

Saturday’s emotion-charged, foul-tempered second Test between the Springboks and British and Irish Lions brought significant doses of dishonour, I felt, to both camps.

You don’t want to overstate it ... occasional, acrimonious Test matches are part of the rugby fabric, through the ages, and there’s no reason to expect they’ll suddenly dry up.

But this clash at Cape Town Stadium, while pleasingly for the neutral setting up an electric series decider, was no great advertisement for the ethos of rugby union - especially as it included all too frequent accusatory finger-pointing by players, and one or two of those “Oscar-seeking dives” moments that are more traditionally the dubious preserve of football.