Lions head coach Ian McGeechan reflects on his side's demoralising draw with the Emerging Springboks © Getty Images

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The Lions' tour of South Africa is on the verge of falling apart after they suffered another demoralising hammer blow at the hands of the Emerging Springboks.

The scoreboard said they escaped with a draw but in reality this result will hit them as hard as a loss. Fresh from their painful first Test defeat at the hands of South Africa in Durban the Lions were in need of a positive display to get the tour back on track ahead of their must-win clash with the Springboks in Pretoria on Saturday. But they failed to deliver a clinical display and were once again made to pay for missed opportunities.

Willem de Waal's last gasp conversion sparked joyous celebrations amongst the Springboks' second stringers while the Lions traipsed slowly from the field, struggling to lift their eyes off their boots. It was a cruel way for a lot of Lions careers to come to an end with many of these players unlikely to pull on the famous red jersey ever again.

With one sweet swing of his left boot the Western Province fly-half, who calls Newlands home, robbed the Lions of what little psychological momentum they had managed to claw back since Saturday's reverse. They worked so hard to wrestle control of this game only to let it slip away against a side who has only had four training sessions together.

The match was billed as the 'fourth Test' but never came close to that kind of intensity. To be fair, neither side was helped by the difficult conditions that dictated the tight and error-strewn contest that played out. Wet ball is never good for any side's attacking intentions and tonight was the perfect example of this fact.

The stadium announcer offered a 'warm' welcome to the bumper crowd of nearly 40,000 - was he joking? Instead of Cape Town, you could have been forgiven for thinking this was Dunedin. A bad day only deteriorated as night fell along with the temperature and heavy rain and gale-force winds lashed the pitch from every angle. As a result players struggled to keep their feet while the ball seemed to have a life of its own.

It was going to take a monumental effort for any one of the Lions to shine in this environment - and not one of them managed it. This was a last-chance saloon for those hoping to force their way into the reckoning for the remaining Tests. Fly-half Ronan O'Gara and winger Shane Williams were amongst those hoping to catch the eye of head coach Ian McGeechan but neither furthered their claims.

O'Gara, given the honour of leading the side, delivered another well-balanced performance but failed to offer that something extra that would see him usurp Stephen Jones from the Lions' No.10 jersey on Saturday. He made way for rival Eight years ago to the day, O'Gara suffered at the hands of the Waratahs' Duncan McRae in one of the more brutal incidents in recent Lions history. Today, his substitution represented a more psychological blow but it was no less severe with his remaining tour hopes called into question as a result.

Welsh speedster Williams also failed to set the sodden field alight. The reigning IRB Player of the Year's industry cannot be questioned but his decision making can with replays suggesting he perhaps should have stayed outside instead of cutting in the dying moments when Danwel Demas crossed for the Emerging Springboks' crucial try.

The most impressive Lion on the field was fullback Keith Earls whose dazzling quick feet bamboozled the Emerging Springboks' defence and also carried him over for his side's only score. His electric pace also proved a valuable weapon in defence - getting him out of trouble on more than one occasion and his kicking was also worthy of note. He is a major talent who is set for a big future.

On a positive note, the Lions' scrum looked like it had recovered from the battering dished out by the Springboks while they also appeared to remember how to defend the rolling maul. However, their use of the latter as an attacking weapon still requires plenty of work. The team's defence in general was excellent and restricted their hosts to half chances - until the final minute that is.

The Emerging Springboks did not do enough to deserve the draw but as we know too well, rugby is not always fair. The pressure now falls on McGeechan to work some magic and rescue the tour from the brink. He will meet with his management team tomorrow to finalise the Lions side for Saturday's second Test and will be frustrated that no-one from tonight's game put their hand up for selection.

The one-two combination of the loss in Durban and this result has the Lions on the ropes with the Springboks winding up what they hope will be the knock out blow in Pretoria.