The sound of roaring Lions could finally be heard in downtown Johannesburg. Far stiffer challenges await them than their pedestrian namesakes could muster here but amid the carnage there were encouraging flashes of a competitive Test team taking shape. If the touring side can maintain this momentum against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, there really will be grounds for optimism.
Gone was the leaden-footed puffing of the opening game, replaced by an altogether more vibrant study in scarlet. No team featuring Brian O'Driscoll seems to lose these days and the Irish captain, until his second-half departure to protect a jarred right shoulder, was as influential as ever alongside his fellow centre Jamie Roberts, forging one of those midfield pairings that feel right from minute one. Roberts scored two of the Lions' 10 tries and had a potential hat-trick ruled out by a fractional video-refereeing decision.
There was also no doubting the most eye-catching performance up front where Tom Croft had the kind of game that makes even Springbok coaches sit up and take note. Whether he was soaring repeatedly in the lineout, winning ball on the floor or burning off the defensive cover, he looked a class apart and his exclusion from the original party now looks odder still. The Leicester man can offer such an extravagant range of skills that Alan Quinlan's intense personal disappointment may yet prove to have been for the greater good.
Croft's first-half try, one of five scored by the Lions prior to the interval, was a spectacular case in point, the flanker storming around the replacement full‑back Shandre Frolick as if he was nailed to the ground. As Lions debuts go, it was right up there and the try-scoring wingers Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye also did enough to stake claims to places in the upcoming Tests. When Shane Williams, the international player of the year, is under threat for a place, it bodes well for the management.
It was not such a good night, sadly, for those who enjoy competitive provincial games on tours like this. The old Transvaal had a distinguished record against British and Irish opposition but in recent years their modern equivalent have conspicuously failed to set the Super 14 alight.
They also ditched their coach last week and were without their Springbok centre Jaque Fourie and the versatile up-and-coming back Earl Rose. After their Emerging Springbok full-back Louis Ludik was carried off on a stretcher inside six minutes with a nasty-looking knee injury after a collision with the onrushing David Wallace, it quickly became apparent they had only a limited appetite for the fray.
In such circumstances, talented opponents will make hay. O'Driscoll swiftly opened the floodgates, cutting inside down the right to deliver a scoring pass to the supporting Roberts, and the same pair soon combined neatly to send the skipper over. On a calm evening perfect for rugby it was inevitable there would be more and a fine long pass from Bowe soon gave Monye the chance to sprint 30 metres and join the party.
Roberts's second try and Croft's fast-forward effort helped to send the visitors in 39–10 ahead at the interval and two sharp tries from Bowe left the Golden Lions looking horribly tarnished. Jones also kicked 18 points, missing only one of his nine shots at goal. The tourists could even afford to finish the game with 14 men following the loss of Monye and still managed to extend the margin through an interception try from the replacement stand-off James Hook and a 50-metre injury-time gallop from Ireland's Stephen Ferris. With Mike Phillips also deployed on the wing for a large chunk of the second-half, it is fair to say the Lions had plenty to spare in every sense.
The biggest disappointment was once again the meagre attendance. The stadium, a cauldron during the 1995 World Cup, was barely a third full despite pre-match claims to the contrary. The locals, as things stand, do not seem to agree with the Lions tour manager Gerald Davies's description of the tour as "amongst the most popular events in world sport".
There are several factors, ranging from ticket prices, the disappointing recent form of the home side and the delayed arrival of the bulk of the Lions' support, but a perceived lack of star quality in the touring side may be another. Ticket sales are also said to be slow for the Natal Sharks next Wednesday, although the games against Western Province and the Emerging Springboks are attracting more interest. "I'm sure the rest of the country will have taken notice of the stunning way in which our visitors from Britain and Ireland fought back to beat the Royal XV on Saturday," wrote Oregan Hoskins, the South African Rugby Union's president, in the programme. On tonight's off-field evidence that sounds like wishful thinking.
Golden Lions Ludik (Frolick, 5); Killian, Boshoff, La Grange, Noble; Pretorius, Vermaak (Jonck, 66); Sephaka, Wepener (Reynecke, 57), Muller, Mockford, Stoltz (Joubert, 57), Grobbelaar, Van der Merwe, Alberts.
Try Frolick. Con Pretorius. Pen Pretorius.
British and Irish Lions Kearney; Bowe, O'Driscoll (S Williams, 61), Roberts (Hook, 53), Monye; S Jones (Ellis, 62), Phillips; Jenkins, Mears (Ford, 65), Vickery (Murray, 65), Hines, A-W Jones, Croft (Powell, 65), Wallace (Ferris, 55), Heaslip.
Tries Roberts 2, O'Driscoll, Monye 2, Croft, Bowe 2, Hook, Ferris.
Cons S Jones 6, Hook 3. Pens S Jones 2.
Referee: C Joubert (SA). Att 22,218.
