The British and Irish Lions beat New Zealand nemeses Otago 30-19 at Carisbrook yesterday, injecting a small dose of confidence into their 11-match rugby tour a week ahead of their first test against the All Blacks.
A second-string Lions side produced an inconsistent performance, taking 52 minutes to gain the lead, but eventually outscored Otago by three tries to one. The win was the Lions' fourth in five matches this tour and only their third over Otago.
The score was locked 13-13 at halftime, each team scoring a try apiece.
PHOTO: AFP
Scrumhalf Danny Lee scored the first try of the match, giving Otago a 13-6 lead, but the Lions replied on the tick of halftime with a cheeky try from a penalty to center Will Greenwood.
The Lions took the lead for the first time with a try to No. 8 Ryan Jones, a late replacement on tour but the tourists' standout performer Saturday, and sealed the match with a 68th-minute touchdown to dangerous winger Shane Williams.
Williams' try visibly lifted the Lions' spirits and they played some of the most enterprising rugby of their tour in the last quarter, partly allaying concerns about their lack of combination in the first half.
Until Jones' try, the Lions were largely kept in the match by an unbalanced performance by New Zealand referee Lyndon Bray, who ignored persistent offside play by the tourists and illegalities in rucks and mauls.
"I think they cheated," said Otago captain Craig Newby.
"They got away with it and good on them. They tied it up in the rucks and we just couldn't get them out of the way because they're big men. They slowed our ball down and Danny [Lee] had pretty average ball for a lot of the time."
The Lions scrum was a clear strength but they once again tested the limits in that area, upsetting Otago by controlling the timing of the engagement, by packing on angles and screwing defensive scrums.
Their ball from breakdowns was slow for most of the match as they refused to commit forwards to rucks or failed to hold up mauls in which their body position was frequently too high.
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