British and Irish Lions Poor Against Royal XV
Lions Avoid Embarrassing Defeat in First Game of South Africa Tour
Jun 1, 2009
This was supposed to be a gentle opener, a game where the 2009 Lions could get used to playing together, some opposed training for them to practice their patterns. Unfortunately, the cannon fodder, scratch opposition drawn from the third tier of Springbok rugby, hadn’t read the script and but for a howler from the Royals’ wing, the Lions might have been looking at defeat in the tour opener.
Super 14 Final Bigger Draw than Lions
The whole match seemed to have a low key feel to it. A very sparse crowd of 12,000 was swamped by the impressive Royal Bafokeng stadium built for next year’s football world cup. This was the Lions first game in South Africa for 12 years, but the locals stayed home to watch the Super 14 final being held down the road in Pretoria.
The Lions looked in relative control early on, but then, Keith Earls dropped a simple high ball after 15 minutes. From the scrum, the Royals took it up and then scored with a well worked move, which left Sheridan clutching the wrong man and the Lions 10-3 down. Worse was to come when the Lions forgot how to defend the rolling maul, re-introduced after a season in the wilderness. Another conversion and the Lions were 18-3 behind.
Tommy Bowe responded for the Lions just before half time and there was a sense that the Lions had weathered the storm. O’Gara, whose kicking at goal was exemplary all match knocked a penalty over after the break and at 18-13.
This should have been the cue for the Lions to blow their less illustrious opposition away, but it simply wasn’t happening. After a lucky escape which saw the Royals called back for offside when their winger was under the posts from an interception, the Lions did start to exert pressure and create chances, but their displayed some rustiness, with some scoring passes dropped and Shane Williams dropping the ball over the line at one stage.
Three Late Tries Save Lions
These errors kept the Royals in the game and when prop Roux crashed over to extend the lead to 25-13 with 15 minutes to go, all bets were off. Fortunately, virtually from the kick off, Lee Byrne hoisted the ball into the air. It came down in no-man’s land and Byrne deftly volleyed it on, one more skilful touch with the boot and it bounced dutifully into his hands. Byrne had enough strength and momentum to get over. O’Gara converted and also kicked a penalty to close the gap to two points.
The Royals might still have won the game. Byrne, who looked impressive throughout the game, unleashed a howitzer of a kick, which looked to be drifting directly into touch, giving the Royals a throw deep in Lions territory. The Royals’ winger tried to catch it and it ended up a lineout at the other end of the field with a Lions throw.
Alun-Wyn Jones scored from the resulting maul and O’Gara added insult to injury when he took an inside pass from Martyn Williams who’d broken from a ruck through a tiring Royals defence. O’Gara converted to give himself a 22 point haul and the Lions an unconvincing 37-25 win.
Poor Performance by the Lions a Disaster?
Was this near loss such a disaster for the Lions? After all, they had only arrived in South Africa on Monday, they were trying out combinations and attacking and defensive patterns were still bedding in. The answer is probably yes, at the very least, it was a significant wakeup call. Several players, Earls, Blair and Matthew Rees had poor games and given the short duration of the tour can probably forget any test aspirations they had.
On the bright side, a win is a win. Roberts at 12 looked impressive making big yards whenever he got good ball, the scrum went well although it lacked some control and Lee Byrne put in a performance that will cement his claims to be the test full back.
When the Lions sat down after the match with their isotonic recovery drinks and watched the Bulls demolition of the Chiefs, they would have been more than a little nervous. The next two games are against Super 14 opposition and they will need to improve very quickly for this tour not to turn into a nightmare.
