Brilliant Byrne Salvages Lacklustre Lions
A wonderfully improvised try from man-of-the-match Lee Byrne helped spark a British and Irish Lions revival, as the tourists battled their way to an unconvincing 37- 25 win against the Royal XV in Rustenberg.
Byrne, whose performance was the only high point for the Lions, sent up a high ball, which he also managed to meet as it hit the floor. But, rather than catch it, the Welshman volleyed it further upfield, which fooled the defenders and allowed him to gather and run in to score.
It was a crucial score, as the conversion from Ronan O’Gara brought them to within five points of the hosts, and provided the platform for the Lions to take control of the match.
They finally got their noses in front with four minutes to go, with replacement Alun Wyn-Jones scoring from five metres out, after the tourists finally put some meaningful phases together.
A last minute try from O’Gara flattered the Lions, regardless of how well crafted it was, with Martyn Williams taking an arcing run that created the space for O’Gara to stroll in under the posts.
Coach Ian McGeechan will no doubt be concerned at the prospects of the remaining nine matches on this tour, because it took his team far too long to find any kind of rhythm.
Despite taking an early lead through an O’Gara penalty, the start of the Lions’ tour was a noticeably nervous one, in particular for debutant Keith Earls.
The young Irish centre made four unforced errors in the opening quarter of an hour, and his nerves seem to affect the rest of the team, as a number of silly mistakes cost them territory.
It was little surprise when, after 17 minutes, the Royals scored their first try, through flanker and captain Wilhelm Koch.
The home side worked through a number of phases, before centre Hanno Coetze showed great sleight of hand to slip the ball to Koch who crashed over from close range.
The try shook the tourists to an even more edgy state, and the Royals took advantage, gaining the territory to set up a try that would have the purists beaming in admiration.
Securing line out ball, the Royals pack kicked into an old-fashioned rolling maul – now re-admitted to the game following last season’s ELVs – with hooker Ryno Barnes finishing it off.
It was in danger of becoming an huge embarrassment, as the Royals are undoubtedly the weakest opposition that the Lions will face on this tour, but thankfully from a British perspective Paul O’Connell’s troops slowly began to get a grip in the match, in no small part thanks to the bustling runs of inside centre Jamie Roberts, who broke the Royals line with ease.
The Lions finally scored their first try of the tour two minutes before the interval, the Ospreys’ Grand Slam-winning winger, Tommy Bowe.
The Irishman timed his run from his wing to perfection, taking a clever inside pass from fellow countryman O’Gara and finishing under the posts, to send the tourists into the break with something to show for their efforts.
The Lions came out clearly looking to take the match by the scruff of the neck and show their class, but, instead of doing the basic things well and playing simple rugby, they tried to really force the issue, which only led to more mistakes.
The pressure on the tourists increased even further with 15 minutes to spare, when the Royals scored their third try of the match, with prop Bees Roux forcing his way over from close range.
At that point the shock looked like a very real, but Byrne’s try came within two minutes, and in the end it was momentum more than skill that saw the Lions home. Plenty to ponder for McGeechan and his fellow staff as the tourists move on to Johannesburg on Wednesday.
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