The British & Irish Lions made a huge improvement on their first tour match as they faced the Golden Lions on Wednesday evening, in this match combinations worked and they were far more dynamic at the breakdown. On this showing they could give the Boks a run for their money. Still one should not get to excited as the Golden Lions only finished 2 from the bottom of the Super 14, with just 4 wins. Though it should be said they did not get blown away by the South African franchises.
The visitors went into the break with a lead thanks to a Jamie Roberts brace and tries from Brian O’Driscoll, Ugo Monye and Tom Croft producing the 39-10 half-time lead at Ellis Park. Tommy Bowe grabbed a double after the break and Monye, James Hook and Stephen Ferris completed the 10-try rout and showed that these Lions do have claws. Both Stephen Jones and James Hook also had a fair amount of success with the boot, giving us the final score of:
Golden Lions 10-74 Lions
British Lions vs Golden Lions Video
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS1tDd43-PU]
Scorers
Golden Lions
Try: Frolick Con: Pretorius Pen: Pretorius
British and Irish Lions
Tries: Roberts 2, O’Driscoll, Monye 2, Croft, Bowe 2, Hook, Ferris
Cons: Jones 6, Hook 3 Pens: Jones 2
Teams
Golden Lions: Louis Ludik; Michael Killian, Jannie Boshoff, Doppies la Grange, Dusty Noble; Andre Pretorius, Jano Vermaak; Lawrence Sephaka, Willie Wepener, Gert Muller, Brad Mockford, Willem Stoltz, Cobus Grobbelaar, Franco van der Merwe, Willem Alberts.
Replacements: Shandre Frolick for Ludik (6), Walter Venter for Boshoff (50), Chris Jonck for Vermaak (66), Ernst Joubert for Stoltz (6 and 57), Todd Clever for Mockford (40), Ethienne Reynecke for Wepener (57), Janse van Rensburg for Sephaka (50).
British and Irish Lions: Rob Kearney; Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Roberts, Ugo Monye; Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips; Gethin Jenkins, Lee Mears, Phil Vickery, Nathan Hines, Alun-Wyn Jones, Tom Croft, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacement: Shane Williams for O’Driscoll (61), James Hook for Roberts (53), Harry Ellis for S Jones (62), Stephen Ferris for Wallace (49), Andy Powell for Croft (66), Euan Murray for Vickery (66), Ross Ford for Mears (66).
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)