No one was entitled to expect what the Lions offered at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday. A record-equalling win - the 1974 Invincibles beat the Springboks by the same scoreline - was much more than a face-saving exercise against a much-changed opponent and also a statement of how far the 2009 Lions have come in six short weeks.

Does it mean they should have won the series? No, because had they won or drawn the second international in Pretoria a week earlier, this would have been a completely different South Africa and, in consequence, a different game. But the mere fact that they could have won the series gives rugby in Britain and Ireland much more credibility and the manner in which they played gives the lie to perceptions in the southern hemisphere of how rugby is played up north.

Take the testimony of John Smit, a much-admired opponent who, when he plays his next two internationals, will have been a national captain more than any other player in the world. “This has been an amazing experience, from the day the Lions arrived,” Smit, who hinted at playing on to 2011 to defend the World Cup, said. “There is not much out there to beat what the Lions provide.”

When the touring party was named, expectations of a series win over the world champions were not high. Yet they outscored the Springboks by seven tries to five in three matches, they played better, more exciting rugby and they have reignited the brand. Lions administrators, who would love to add two more games, including a fourth international, to the 2013 programme in Australia are unlikely to get their way - they have more chance of adding an extra week to help preparations for the international series - but the old-style tour is back on the map.

“A Lions tour has to be different, it has to be a bit amateurish,” Phil Vickery said, meaning that it has to hark back to amateur days, whereas the organisation of this trip could not have been more professional. “We have to have a bit of fun, get on with people, but this tour has been the most unbelievable experience. I don't even want to think about a Lions tour not continuing.”

It is very easy to become wrapped up in the emotion of the Lions. Warren Gatland, the forwards coach, played on that by pointing out how the likes of Vickery, Simon Shaw, Martyn and Shane Williams would never grace the jersey again. The response was magnificent, but not just from those senior individuals: Jamie Heaslip hit heights at No 8 that he has never known for Ireland and Riki Flutey and Tommy Bowe revelled in the midfield opportunity they received in the absence of the injured Brian O'Driscoll and Jamie Roberts.

Within 80 minutes they erased memories of the tensions of the previous week, the foul play of Pretoria, the ill-conceived comments of Peter de Villiers, the South Africa coach.

“We have a new template for preparing for a Test match; it includes quite a lot of alcohol,” Ian McGeechan, head coach for the last time, said yesterday. He gave his players three days off after the disappointment of the last-minute defeat in Pretoria and they responded with one of the great days in Lions history.

They did not do South Africa's hopes of a successful Tri-Nations much good either. De Villiers was entitled to make changes after winning the series, above the three forced by suspension or injury, but ten was too many, a misjudgment by the coach, just as his tactical replacements were in the first international in Durban. His second-tier Springboks played as individuals, not as a team: François Steyn and Wynand Olivier were the main offenders while Heinrich Brüssow became the latest in a long line of open-side flankers to be taught a rugby lesson by Martyn Williams.

The cloud above Shane Williams's head lifted when he scored his first try from Heaslip's powerful run, he added another after a sublime piece of skill by Flutey and even the dispatch of Shaw to the sin-bin around half-time did not give South Africa the chance to regather. They were unlucky not to create a try for Odwa Ndungane, ruled by the video official to have put a foot in touch, but the game was won by then thanks to Ugo Monye's interception of Olivier's pass and 80-metre run.

“I wanted to break down and cry, it was an amazing feeling,” Monye said, a feeling shared by more than 30,000 Lions supporters who turned Johannesburg red for the day.

Scorers: South Africa: Penalty goals: M Steyn 3 (12min, 40+1, 68). Lions: Tries: S Williams 2 (25, 33), Monye (54). Conversions: S Jones 2. Penalty goals: S Jones 3 (9, 72, 73).
Scoring sequence (South Africa first): 0-3, 3-3, 3-8, 3-15, 6-15 (half-time), 6-22, 9-22, 9-25, 9-28.
South Africa: Z Kirchner (Bulls; rep: F Steyn, Sharks, 57); O Ndungane (Sharks), J Fourie (Golden Lions; rep: F Steyn, 24-28), W Olivier (Bulls), J Nokwe (Cheetahs; rep: P Spies, Bulls, 65); M Steyn (Bulls), F du Preez (Bulls; rep: R Pienaar, Sharks, 41); T Mtawarira (Sharks; rep: G Steenkamp, Bulls, 71), M Ralepelle (Bulls; rep: B du Plessis, Sharks, 41), J Smit (Sharks; rep: D Carstens, Sharks, 71-73), J Muller (Sharks), V Matfield (Bulls), H Brüssow (Cheetahs), J Smith (Cheetahs), R Kankowski (Sharks).
Lions: R Kearney (Leinster); U Monye (Harlequins), T Bowe (Ospreys), R Flutey (London Wasps; rep: H Ellis, Leicester, 55), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), M Phillips (Ospreys); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Rees (Scarlets; rep: R Ford, Edinburgh, 37), P Vickery (London Wasps; rep: J Hayes, Munster, 55), S Shaw (London Wasps; sin-bin 37-47; rep: A W Jones, Ospreys, 68), P O'Connell (Munster), J Worsley (London Wasps; rep: T Croft, Leicester, 31-35, 67), M Williams (Cardiff Blues; rep: D Wallace, Munster, 76), J Heaslip (Leinster).
Referee: S Dickinson (Australia)
Attendance: 58,318.