A bit worrying that more than once the Lions were­ rucked off their own ball!!
Will reserve judgement on­ individual players till after they have all had a run­ out.
Still concerned about flyhalf but with a bit­ more protection from the backrow we might get away with­ the players that are out there.
Need to move up­ acouple of gears all round though.

I love how everyone is making excuses for the Lions.­ Aren't England always criticised for doing that?­ Actually, I don't think the backs played badly. I­ also thought the Lions should have had a penalty at­ virtually every scrum (the props kept standing up­ instead of going backwards). However, in the loose, I­ thought it was poor effort from the forwards. Wallace­ was at 8 wasn't he? He didn't seem to be able­ to control the ball at the back of the scrum for­ toffee. Too few men were committed to the rucks and the­ ball was turned over so many times, it's hardly­ surprising the Lions were being overambitious with­ offloads etc to avoid going to ground and losing the­ ball. These are forwards who were picked to be big and­ abrasive and compete at the breakdown. They were­ comprehensively beaten I think (bar the first 10­ minutes).

The backs didn't look too bad (Earls­ aside). Had they got some more ball, they might have­ created a more convincing scoreline. Mike Blair also­ lacked composure for much of the game and was bullied­ off the ball far too easily by his opposite number.

I­ know it's the opener and you can say all you like­ about nerves and lack of time to gel etc but it remains­ that this was a poor performance in a match they should­ have walked. Yes, certain players were very good (ie­ Byrne) but not even he can carry the team on his own­ against opponents as good as the Springboks. Time to­ stop making excuses and see it for what it was. Much­ improvement is needed if an embarrassment bigger than­ 2005 is to be avoided.

watched highlights on S4C cause i avent got Sky sports­ and it were all in welsh with no english comantary so i­ didnt ave a clue wot they were saying. has anyone go a­ sky sports pack for less than £30?

Dont know about anyone else but l enjoyed the game,­ more exciting than a romp away win, kept me shouting at­ the tv and giving the ref a bit of grief. Look it was­ what it was. The first run out in an unfamiliar­ climate, lacked a bit of atmosphere, which makes a­ differance too. Its a win , positives and negatives.­ Byrne and Roberts showed their class, O Gara didnt­ dictate or control enough . O Connel didnt raise the­ emotions enough for me l think Odriscol is still the­ better captain for me. Far more inspirational. Home­ team all to prove they had nothing to loose and they­ played the hearts out fair play to them.

I thought there were some positives in the game.
They­ kept cool during the full game and did what they needed­ to do to grind out a win, I think that shows great­ leadership! Also, they absoloutely dominated in the­ second half and but for a few teething problems would­ have ran away with it.
They were very loose around the­ fringes, again teething problems in my opinion, and­ this gave the Royals 3 of thier trys.
I think the Lions­ will go from strength to strength!

sorry guys,the alarm bells are ringing[hope i am wrong]­ We looked so far of the pace compaired to the super 14­ final,BOTH the second rows looked slow.We need to­ inject some youth and speed for the next game

James McCann is just gay and what he knows about rugby­ can be written on the back of a postage stamp. Go away­ you horrible non hard little boy!

I watched the Lions and then watched the Bulls in the­ S14 Final. I hate to say this but the Lions are gonna­ get thumped. They can't match the intensity of the­ SA teams. I reckon they'll lose 50% of their­ mid-week games too.

A win is a win. In years to come the success of this­ tour will be judged on test results. If theres bouts of­ nerves or bad days to be had then this is the ideal­ time to get them out of the system. Focus on the next­ game, dont dwell on this one. Players like Earls and­ Blair did not have the best of days, am sure the­ experience will only serve to motivate them to better­ performances in the games to follow. Good to see Lee­ Byrne continue his fantastic form, a kick like a mule­ and a running game to match. Jamie Roberts also seemed­ at home in a lions jersey and did his credentials for a­ test spot no harm at all. Lions v Lions on weds, bring­ it on!

Just got back from the pub,pissed as a fart,supprised I­ can type....Lee Byrne fantastic as usual. Not the best­ game and yes we should have beaten the Sa lads by more,­ but so called inferior teams can always beat/nearly­ beat touring 15s ...Llanelli 9 seland newydd 3 !

Shaw, Vickery, Sheridan, Flutey, Croft Worsley suddenly­ seem to be higher in the pecking order for test­ selection after today. And wouldn't we like to­ have Armitage on tour!

Not a great display from the lions today, but it can­ only get better from here. I predict that this team­ will do well on the rest of this tour. They have to­ clear today’s game from their mind and come back­ stronger in the next game on Wednesday.

As a New Zealand rugby fan i have to say the 05lions­ tour was an amazing experience. Not because the All­ Blacks won, but because i spent 4 weeks partying with­ thousands of people from the other side of the world­ who were as passionate about rugby as me and my mates­ were. Our houses became makeshift hotels/24hour bars,­ it was great! The whole of NZ was buzzing for the­ entire tour. The Lions tour is all about the fans, its­ a chance for the home country to host maybe not the­ best team in the world , but definitely the best fans­ in the world. As i watch this current tour unfold, im­ hoping for 2 things: 1) the s.a fans get out in numbers­ and support all the provincial games as well as the­ tests and 2) the lions team put in the sorts of­ performances that their fans deserve. So far niether of­ those things have happened but the tour is only 1 game­ old...heres hoping eh

Comment #13 - hey buddy, you need to get your facts­ right! Pretoria is no 30 miles down the road from­ Rustenburg. Dummy! How do I know? When I left the Lions­ game this afternoon I travelled the 106 Kms through­ Pretoria on my way to Jo'burg where I live. Take­ comfort in knowing that the Royals have now enjoyed the­ narrowest defeat to be had against the Lions for the­ rest of the tour! Talk about getting rugby facts­ straight...

missed the aggresion of powell today. not the end of­ the world but lots to work on.
well played roberts and­ bryne, some good touches by o'gara. did anyone take­ note of martin williams doing the talking not­ o'connel! the quite man needs to be vocal.

@#$%

Big worry for the lions...on the last tour there we­ were killing teams like this. Bulls were awesome,­ massive improvement needed or they'll not beat top­ provincial sides, never mind the boks.

derek harrison
hahahahaha yeah cuz that was the proper­ england side and none of the better players were­ missing in the lions tour?
yeah