Lions 2009 - Lions lay down marker with huge win

Eurosport - Fri, 05 Jun 08:21:00 2009

The British & Irish Lions sent out a clear message to their South African hosts as they defeated the Golden Lions 74-10 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

Tommy Bowe - 2009 Lions v Golden Lions - 0

The tourists ran in 10 tries against their Super 14 opponents, and played with a pace and precision that was missing from their tense opening win against a Royal Highveld XV last weekend.

Jamie Roberts, Ugo Monye and the hugely impressive Tommy Bowe (pictured) each crossed twice for the Lions on an evening when Ian McGeechan's squad laid down a marker for the three-Test series to come.

Skipper Brian O'Driscoll, Tom Croft, James Hook and Stephen Ferris with the last move of the match also touched down in a game that was effectively over as a contest after half an hour.

Fly-half Stephen Jones kicked superbly, landing six conversions and two penalties, before replacement Hook took over kicking duties with another two conversions.

The Golden Lions are by no means the toughest opponents the tourists will face in South Africa, but the energy and edge in the Lions' performance will have impressed McGeechan and his fellow coaches.

McGeechan will also have been pleased with the way his side defended their line for the full 80 minutes, though Shandre Frolick's try for the hosts in the 37th minute will not have impressed Shaun Edwards, their defence coach.

There were excellent performances across the field from the Lions, but in particular Roberts, Bowe and Croft will have enhanced their chances of making the Test side.

In front of a disappointing crowd at the famous Ellis Park stadium, the Lions got their first points on the board when Roberts crashed over for his first try in the seventh minute after some good work from O'Driscoll out wide.

Three minutes later Bowe came off his wing to put O'Driscoll in for his try, while Bowe was again the provider when he set up Lions debutant Monye's touch down in the 21st minute.

Just after the half-hour, Bowe was again involved in a Lions move that ended with Croft showing his renowned pace to canter over from 20 metres.

Frolick's converted try, combined with a 16th-minute penalty from former Springbok Andre Pretorius, kept the hosts just about in touch, but the Lions extended their lead when Roberts crashed over for his second to make it 39-10 at half-time.

Seven minutes after the restart, Stephen Jones looped O'Driscoll in midfield and quick hands put Bowe clear to go over in the corner.

A series of replacements saw the Lions lose their shape going into the final quarter, but the scoring spree soon continued when Bowe grabbed his second try after an interception in midfield.

Bowe, who had moved to centre, was again involved when he combined superbly with Hook in the 69th minute to put Monye through a gap which the Harlequins wing exploited with his searing pace.

After Hook had scored another interception try, the Golden Lions gamely tried to finish the game on a high.

The hosts had a try disallowed when replacement hooker Ethienne Reynecke was ruled short of the line, before huge hits from Gethin Jenkins and Alun-Wyn Jones forced a turnover for the Lions.

Ferris grabbed the loose ball and showed a decent turn of pace for a forward to sprint 70 metres and touch down in the final act of the game.

The Lions are up and running and Springboks coach Peter De Villiers, who was watching in the stands, will know his side are in for a difficult series if the tourists can maintain this form.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport

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  1. Well done Lions... after a shaky start, what a result­ against the old Transvaal. The maatjies may not be so­ smug now... Whatever, should make for a good game­ against the Boks--- always a classic.

    From Tarquinius S, on Fri 5 Jun 7:43PM

  2. How dare you Dermot MUNSTER BY THE GRACE OF GOD,­ that's me. But I can see the O' Connell should­ have John Hayes with him to be fully effective. He is­ due for a trouncing in the line outs (sad to say). He­ is a confidence player and his cockiness or self belief­ which is obvious for most to see will be deminished.­ Even Munster supporters can be objective. BOD is not a­ confidece player to the same extent that O' Connell­ is. I was delighted he was named Captain originally but­ ... the jury is still out as far as I am concerned.­ There would be very few Leinster supporters lauding­ Keith Earls. Come out of the fog.

    From hylmike, on Fri 5 Jun 12:01PM

  3. hylmike you are talking a load of rubbish ,how you can­ call o connell cocky is pure tripe,you sound like the­ typical leinster supporter that doesnt know that much­ about rugby,o connell is captain get over it,remember­ when o driscoll insulted the all blacks the last time­ and look where that got him

    From dermot, on Fri 5 Jun 8:45AM

  4. DISGUSTED that the Lions games can only be watched on­ SKY.

    Whoever is responsible for this should be­ dragged through the streets by their thumbs.

    Bring it­ back to BBC or ITV.

    From Dan J, on Thu 4 Jun 3:25PM

  5. Hi from a Sharks and Bok supporter, Well done on yr­ warm up Lions, but don't slip into the habit of­ counting your chickens before they hatch! Here's to­ a good sporting rugby series, may the best team win..­ :-D

    From Mark Julian, on Thu 4 Jun 2:09PM

  6. Lets stop the SKY monopoly on sports, they have it­ all.

    Bring sport back to the people.

    From John A, on Thu 4 Jun 11:07AM

  7. good start to the tour, this team of Lions and­ management team excite me,We all know that the tour is­ going to get harder but I am confident we will get the­ consistancy to acheve the results...there were some­ very good performances Wednesday and this will­ encourage the touring party as a whole. I beleave we­ have the right players on tour to beat the boks.Its up­ to the management team to ensure the right team is­ selected to do the job first then the commitment of the­ players to back this up...... again realy good start­ well done.

    From glen, on Thu 4 Jun 10:58AM

  8. PUT THE RUGBY ON BBC or ITV

    From glen, on Thu 4 Jun 9:28AM

  9. Monye wasnt responsible for there try BOD was , he­ stepped inside to early & Monye had no option but­ to follow him so as not to get isolated , looks like­ Monyes fault but if you watch a replay you ll see ,­ that aside a terrific performance & you can only­ beat whats in front of you , great to see all nations­ pulling in the same direction & as O Connell said­ these players have raised the bar now its up to the­ rest of the squad to match & surpass , these boys­ will get better & better oh & to comment 17­ dont get to carried away on there day Munster Leinster­ Leic Tigers Wasps would give the bulls a run for there­ money ,the Lions would crush them

    From firstchoicepm, on Thu 4 Jun 9:08AM

  10. Great step up in pace and intensity. BOD was­ outstanding, Wyn Jones was a better leader in the­ forwards than OConnel he was lost in the last game, he­ concerns me. Roberts like a battering ram , he and BOD­ gelled instantly. Gethin the machine had a great game­ Phillips was a real thorn in thier side loved watching­ him bully his oppasite number and annoy anyone who­ crossed his path, you cant teach that kind of thing ,­ Mears did really well till they replaced him. Croft had­ a good one, Bowe was excellent but Monye was lacking in­ defencive positioning , he was responsable for their­ try. Dont lets get carried away it was a good­ performance and a real improvement, lets keep building.­ You could see in the interviews afterwards what it­ meant to the team to lay down a dominant win. Just keep­ our feet on the ground and keep improving.

    From trufftastic, on Thu 4 Jun 8:22AM

  11. The Golden age of the British and Irish Lions???­ Maybe?­ Much better this time. Still much up for grabs.­ BOD put himself in for the Captains role again. O'­ Connell cockiness will be tested when decent line out­ merchants show up his falliabilities. He's not the­ same player without his unsung hero John Hayes. Lions­ need a man who can rule the roost in his position maybe­ we'd better trust in our BOD not man (mountain). ­ BOD will never be wanting in terms of cockiness and­ belief in his own ability. O' Connell will be out­ played in his position and how can he tell others to­ buck up when he being slaughtered. O' Connellmaybe­ at best half the player without John Hayes who is the­ master @#$% shoveller (be prepared). Keith Earls gotta­ be encouraged. One bad game on Saturday should not put­ him out of contention. His performance against Ospreys­ in H Cup quater finals was masterful. At his best he­ better than Bowe and the rest but he has gotta get game­ time to get any consistency. Ugo, Luke, Shane please­ wait your turns behind Keith. Though as a centre he­ might have to wait a bit longer. BOD got his place­ secured bar any stray spears. D'Arcy is his best­ and only logical partner.

    From hylmike, on Thu 4 Jun 7:59AM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Pity they did not play the Bulls as the Lions are not­ really Super 14 material. The Bulls would crush any­ team at the moment especially after their display­ against the Chiefs in the past final. Lions don't­ get too carried away, it won't last as the Bokke­ will put a grinding halt to you second rate victories.

    From Dean, on Thu 4 Jun 1:01AM

  13. saw some great passing from the backs. the coaches must­ be doing somthing right ,even with bad opposition they­ played like a team that has been together for more than­ a few weeks .looks like they are starting to gel­ together so lets hope they can keep it going against­ tougher opponents, roll on saturday

    From dermot, on Thu 4 Jun 12:11AM

  14. well done boys, think philips adn croft had a really­ good game,be interesting to see who will play on the­ wing with bowe,dont think monya has the in field play­ to make the test team,will have to wait n see how­ halfpenny plays and if williams can get some form­ going.GGGGGGOOOOOOO­ LLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIOOOOOOOONNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSS !

    From matthewschris55, on Wed 3 Jun 11:39PM

  15. Well done to the British and Irish lions today but when­ you play us (Springboks) on saterday its gonna be a­ whole diff level. You guys put out a side that looks­ good together but glad that it looks like its gonna be­ a good tour. All the best and may the best side win on­ Saterday

    From mannyf0077, on Wed 3 Jun 11:09PM

  16. PHENOMENAL !!!!!! Well done guys we got them worried­ now.

    From Gregg B, on Wed 3 Jun 10:58PM

  17. Well you can only beat whats in front of you, but this­ wasn't even a first string golden lions team so­ doesn't rally say much, so what happens next ??

    From king penguin, on Wed 3 Jun 10:56PM

  18. Boyd C , seem like we are the only ones with their feet­ still on the ground . Lets keep on building game by­ game .

    From kj35tfe, on Wed 3 Jun 10:51PM

  19. Great effort lads!!!

    From surfwindsnow, on Wed 3 Jun 10:48PM

  20. What a performance by the British and Irish Lions, some­ fantastic individual performances and a quite awesome­ team effort, a complete reversal from the first game­ against the Royals, a great selection issue for the­ coaching team and we still have to see play another­ load of players who are all quite capable of getting a­ test spot.
    However Bowe Byrne Phillips Monye BOD,Wyn­ Jones and O'Connell Jenkins Croft M.Williams are a­ shoe in for selection so the competition for test spots­ is still on for the other positions and it is a­ "Squad" that is required so another 12 is­ needed!

    From paulandrews14, on Wed 3 Jun 10:20PM
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