Fearless Lions maul Sharks to fire stern Test warning
NATAL SHARKS (3) vs. BRITISH LIONS (39)
JUBILANT captain Paul O’Connell hailed his British Lions side for their best performance of the tour so far as they ran in a comfortable five-try victory over a stubborn Sharks side.
The tourists led only 7-3 after a watertight opening half but turned on the style in the second with a rampant display to send shockwaves through the South African Test side.
Spurred on by the dominant Welsh trio of centre Jamie Roberts, full-back Lee Byrne and scrum-half Mike Phillips, the Lions looked a far more cohesive unit and earned deserved praise from captain O’Connell, who was particularly pleased at keeping the Sharks try-less as they prepare for the first Test against the world champions in nine days time.
“I think a lot of things came together,” the Irishman said. “We looked a lot more like a team than we have done in the last few weeks.
“One of the biggest things is the defence, we’ve got four defensive systems trying to come together and play under one system and it came together well. They had a lot of the ball there at the end and everyone looked very comfortable defending together.”
Coach Ian McGeechan was also satisfied with the night’s work, singling out the defence for an ‘outstanding’ display. “I’m very pleased,” he said. “Very strong discipline, patience and I am very pleased that it was right through the 80 minutes. I thought we didn’t panic, we were just building a performance and reaped the benefits in the second half. Our defence was outstanding, absolutely superb.”
England hooker Lee Mears set the ball rolling with the only try of a disappointing first half, converted by Ronan O’Gara, while the Sharks replied with a penalty from Rory Kockott.
The Lions, however, improved after the break with Phillips finishing off a well-worked try before Luke Fitzgerald added a third. Byrne then touched down for a fine solo effort before Jamie Heaslip completed the scoring with a fifth try in the dying seconds.