Lions scrum-half Mike Phillips says South Africa's Schalk Burger should have been sent off in the first minute of their 28-25 defeat to the hosts.

Flanker Burger was yellow carded for an alleged eye gouge on wing Luke Fitzgerald but has since been cited.

"It's a red card," said Welshman Phillips. "I think Luke said he had to pull his hands off his eyes.

"That's not sport, that's not the way we play, that's not the gentleman thing to do, it's disgusting."

Burger will face a disciplinary hearing on Sunday along with Bakkies Botha.

Lock Botha was cited for an alleged shoulder charge on Adam Jones that led to the Ospreys prop being forced off with a dislocated shoulder.

606: DEBATE I know it was the referee's first big international, but surely if Burger's offence was seen as gouging by an official, why be so lenient with only a yellow? akaraftaff

Phillips was also left frustrated by Jaque Fourie's try in the last 10 minutes that helped put the Springboks take a 25-22 lead.

It was his last-ditch tackle that ultimately proved unsuccessful and after several minutes of deliberation, television match official Stuart Dickinson awarded the try with apparently no decisive replay that could either confirm or rule out whether he had gone into touch in the act of scoring.

"I thought it was certainly close," said Phillips. "I don't know what happened defensively.

"We had numbers but didn't match up properly. We should have had him in the corner."

But Phillips is determined to make amends in next week's final Test in Johannesburg.

"We can win next week and we've got enough in our tools to go out there and get the victory," the Ospreys star added.

"We will be gunning for it next week.

"You want to win as a professional player. You come out here, it's the Lions, it's legendary stuff, it's every four years.

"It's a great opportunity to fulfil your dreams and make them come true and it's all about winning."

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