Lions in SA
Lions crush Sharks
2009-06-10 21:17
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Durban - The British and Irish Lions capitalised on their territorial domination in the second half to crush the Sharks 39-3 on Wednesday.
The touring side enjoyed 79 percent of possession in the first half but the hosts held them at bay with a tremendous defensive effort and trailed just 7-3 at the interval.
The Sharks forwards tore into the rucks and mauls and defended with all their might, tackling themselves to a standstill as the Lions bombarded their line for most of the first half.
Scrumhalf Mike Phillips sparked the breakthrough when he threw a dummy and evaded the defence close to a ruck, finding No. 8 Jamie Heaslip in support before hooker Lee Mears crashed over for a try in the 23rd minute.
Flyhalf Ronan O'Gara added the conversion but Sharks scrumhalf Rory Kockott cut the lead to four points with a penalty.
Phillips ensured the Lions made a flying start to the second half, scoring just two minutes after the restart when he dashed through a gaping hole, showed the ball twice and went on a diagonal run to the tryline.
The courageous Sharks defence faded away in the second half and winger Luke Fitzgerald, fullback Lee Byrne and Heaslip added their names to the try-scorers' list.
O'Gara finished with three conversions and two penalties, while replacement flyhalf James Hook converted the last try.
The victory was the Lions' fourth straight on tour and they have now won 10 of 11 matches against Natal dating back to 1910.
Comments from key people:
"This is a very, very good Lions side, and the Springboks will have to make sure they prepare smartly over the next ten days," Sharks captain Johann Muller told Sapa.
"It's going to be a real dogfight out there," he added.
Muller added he still thought the Springboks would be up to it when the first Test is played in Durban on June 20. "But the first Test will be really huge," he predicted.
The Lions, who have been smarting after conceding three tries to the Free State Cheetahs last weekend, were very good on defence, Muller thought - and he also had great respect for their physicality at the breakdowns, something the tourists have emphasised and concentrated on from the word go.
Sharks coach John Plumtree was also impressed with the tourists, and rated them a much better side than the one that toured New Zealand in 2005. His observation was that the Lions need to do some work in the scrums, where they were penalised a number of times for bringing the scrum down.
"Clearly in the first half they tried to give our pack a good working over," he said about a first half which saw the Sharks limit the tourists to a single try.
Lions coach Ian McGeechan said he thought his side gave "a very strong performance throughout the 80 minutes.
"The most important thing," he said, "was the effort from everybody towards what the side was trying to do and achieve. Our defence was outstanding, absolutely superb," he felt, and was also happy with the breakdowns.