Lions prop Phil Vickery can often be found at the bottom of a scrum off the field © Getty Images

Lions prop Phil Vickery is an incredibly popular player. One look into today's press conference at the soul-less Sandton Convention Centre here in Johannesburg would have told you that. The journalists flock to his side whenever he is offered up to the media machine mainly because they know he is good value.

The 33-year-old, a veteran of 77 caps for England and four - soon to be five - Test appearances for the Lions, has seen most things in the game and has experienced both triumph and disaster. And in the words of Kipling he has managed to, "treat those two imposters just the same." Vickery, who led the Lions in their tour clash against Western Province, is honest, rarely ducks the issue and often raises a laugh or two. He knows the power of a good sound bite but is also experienced enough to know not to go too far.

This weekend sees him lock horns with South Africa's Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira once again after coming out very much second best in the first Test clash in Durban. When asked how he had coped with the disappointment of their encounter we got one of the quotes of the tour.

"You know you've had a **** game when you get text messages from your mum, your sister and your Mrs saying that they still love you," said Vickery.

He also offered an amusing behind-the-scenes insight into the battle that was last weekend's second Test at Loftus Versfeld and the humour within the exclusive front row club.

As 23rd man for the match, Vickery found himself in the treatment room doing his best to help fellow props Adam Jones (dislocated shoulder - thanks to a dangerous charge from Boks lock Bakkies Botha) and Gethin Jenkins (clash of heads with Boks winger Bryan Habana). Fearing he was neglecting Jenkins in favour of Jones, he crossed to speak to the Welshman whose "face was caved in" and was covered in blood and stitches. Struggling to speak, Jenkins joked, "Is Nugget [Martyn Williams] playing tight-head?"

Vickery was also confident of a stronger showing against The Beast this weekend where he hopes to exorcise some demones and settle some scores. The weight of hooker Matthew Rees alongside him and lock Simon Shaw behind him should be a huge help this time around.

Lions assistant coach Warren Gatland was also up in front of the media today and revealed that he and head coach Ian McGeechan had engaged in a positive meeting with their South African counterparts - Peter de Villiers and Gary Gold - and Saturday's referee, Stuart Dickinson, the previous night. Interestingly, Gatland had sympathy for the Springboks on the issue of Bakkies Botha's two-week suspension for his dangerous charge on Adam Jones that ended his tour. Gatland and co did not see anything wrong with that specific incident. His actions may well have been questionable but apparently no different to what is usually allowed according to the Kiwi.

Some mixed feedback regarding Naas Botha's comments on Ronan O'Gara that we ran with earlier this week. Whether you agree with him or not, the former Springboks fly-half is a charismatic figure who is not short of an opinion or two. I was lucky enough to spend some time with him after an invite from my Total Rugby colleague Martin Cross. At his home on the outskirts of Pretoria he entertained us with many stories including how he would regularly play for Northern Transvaal on a Saturday afternoon before jumping on a plane to Italy where he would turn out for Rovigo the following day - he would sometimes be forced to get changed in the taxi from the airport but more often than not would play a starring role in both games.

So here we are on the eve of the final game of the tour. Many predicted that we would reach this point with the Springboks already victorious but not one of those expected it to be so close. A total of eight points have separated the team in the last fortnight. Can the Lions rescue something from the series at Ellis Park? I hope so because they deserve something. The Springboks have been the better side but not by much and even they would find it hard to begrudge the visitors a consolation win. Time will tell how focused or generous the hosts are feeling.