Lions stumble over the line

Southern Kings 8 British and Irish Lions 20:The Lions maintained their 100 per cent record in South Africa this afternoon, ahead of the first Test against the Springboks on Saturday, but few if any of those who took part in Port Elizabeth did enough to justify a late inclusion in Durban. It was the most brutal contest of the tour so far, at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with the Kings evidently on a softening-up exercise.

The tourists showed some concerning deficiencies and were dominated at the breakdown, while  injuries to prop Euan Murray and Welsh outhalf/centre James Hook will be a worry. The latter left the field dazed after a heavy tackle, while the Scot suffered a sprained ankle.

A penalty-try and a dubious opener from Ugo Monye were enough for victory in the end, but there were few positives for coach Ian McGeechan and his team to glean from this meeting, save, perhaps, for another ruthless display with the boot from Ronan O’Gara and a reliable scrum.

The Munster man was not at his best out of hand, though his crossfield kick set up Monye’s touchdown in the corner, but when the points were on offer he obliged.

It has to be remembered, however, the Kings had been together for just a week prior to this meeting, but for much of the game looked much better organised than their opponents, consistently turning over breakdown ball, with the Lions a couple of yards off the pace.

Luke Fitzgerald and Keith Earls showed some brilliant invention in broken play, but nothing like the sure-footedness required of Test starters.

Captain for the day Donncha O’Callaghan grafted as ever, but was outshone by fellow lock Simon Shaw, while Gordon D’Arcy still looks to be bedding in after a late call-up.

Both he and O'Gara, however, were singled out for some special attention. After some late hits during the game, D’Arcy appeared to refuse to shake hands with his opposite number De Wet Barry, while O’Gara and Jaco van der Westhuyzen twice engaged in a pushing match.

The Springboks will prove infinitely tougher opponents, but the Lions are unlikely to be on the receiving end of anywhere near as many late tackles.

Welsh referee Nigel Owens sin-binned two Southern Kings players - van der Westhuyzen and Ross Skeate, the lock for a technical offence - yet it could easily have been more.

The Kings were inevitably fired up, and after they took a second-minute lead through Van der Westhuyzen's 40-metre penalty, centre Frikkie Welsh took his opposite number D'Arcy out late.

It went unpunished by Owens, and there were more concerns for the Lions when Murray and Hook both went down hurt within seconds of each other.

Hook was initially able to continue, yet Scotland tighthead Murray limped away. It was an unsettling start for the tourists.

A heavily sand-based pitch appeared to be taking its toll on the players of both sides, and a dazed Hook was next to go, making a 13th-minute exit as O'Gara replaced him.

Owens had to get a grip of the contest, and there were signs that he had when he yellow-carded Van der Westhuyzen for a late tackle on Lions centre Riki Flutey.

Earls then sliced through the hosts' defence, but he threw a wild forward pass to supporting wing Fitzgerald, missing a glorious opportunity.

O'Gara booted a 27th-minute penalty to level the score, yet the game had little pattern or fluency as errors abounded on both sides.

The outhalf then pulled off a superb try-saving tackle on wing Wylie Human after the Lions defence was shredded, before Van der Westhuyzen missed a relatively straightforward penalty attempt.

The Lions had to regroup during the interval, being held 3-3 and with their unbeaten tour record in grave danger of disappearing.

O'Gara nudged the Lions ahead after 44 minutes when he booted a second penalty, but the game's feisty nature continued and Owens twice issued warnings to the rival captains.

O'Gara looked the player most likely to unlock the Southern Kings defence, and he did not disappoint with a sublime piece of skill six minutes later. He had the vision to place a crosskick behind the home side's cover, and Monye pounced for his fourth try of the tour, although it required detailed deliberation from the video referee before it was awarded.

O'Gara rifled over the touchline conversion for a 13-3 lead, suggesting the Lions could at last begin to breathe a little easier.

The Southern Kings were under scoreboard pressure for the first time, and the Lions knew one more score might do the trick.

Skeate became the second of theirs to be yellow-carded and the Lions prospered. Owens awarded a penalty try for pulling down a scrum, and O'Gara added the extras to take them out of sight at 20-3 clear.

It sparked a late revival, and Mbiyozo crashed over from close range, to cut the deficit to 12 points.

The conversion was missed, though, and time was against the hosts, allowing the Lions to escape relatively unscathed.