Golden Night For The British & Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions put down the marker assistant coach Shaun Edwards demanded to give their South Africa tour lift-off.
The Lions mauled their Super 14 opponents with a display light years ahead of the stuttering opening win against the Royal XV in Rustenburg. Centre Jamie Roberts and wing Tommy Bowe were stars of the show, each claiming try doubles with performances that had Test class stamped all over them. England wing Ugo Monye also crossed twice, while captain Brian O'Driscoll, flanker Tom Croft, fly-half James Hook and flanker Stephen Ferris added to the 10-try rout.
Fly-half Stephen Jones chipped in with 18 points from the boot, while Hook slotted three late conversions. And such was the Lions' overwhelming degree of control that head coach Ian McGeechan was able to use all his replacements just past the second-half midway point.
The Golden Lions, whose build-up had been marred by the sacking of their coach and media speculation about player unrest, were blown away. They had no answer up-front to a dominant Lions pack, and with a regular supply of ball, the visiting backs cut loose.
The 10 - 74 win was a record success against the Golden Lions or their predecessors Gauteng and Transvaal, opponents the Lions first faced in 1891. It was also the Lions' highest points total in South Africa since they beat South-West Districts 97-3 35 years ago. And it put the visitors in great heart for Saturday's encounter against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
More to the point though, McGeechan would have been thrilled with the contributions of players like man-of-the-match Roberts, Bowe and Croft as he begins formulating a Test team to tackle world champions South Africa later this month.
