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British & Irish Lions captain Paul O'Connell - Source: Reuters -
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Flyhalf Ronan O'Gara scored 22 points as the British & Irish
Lions fought back from 18-3 down to beat Royal Highveld XV 37-25 in
their opening tour match on Sunday.
The South African side, drawn from five provinces that do not play
in the Super 14, surprised the Lions as they ran in two tries to
lead 18-3 after 27 minutes.
The Lions showed their experience and stamina by regaining the lead
with just four minutes remaining then adding a fourth try on the
final whistle to extend their winning margin to a flattering 12
points.
O'Gara succeeded with all seven of his kicks at goal, four
conversions and three penalties, and scored the last try in a fine
all-round personal display.
Wing Tommy Bowe, Lee Byrne, who enjoyed an impressively solid
display at fullback, and replacement lock Alun-Wyn Jones scored the
other Lions tries.
The Highveld XV's tries were all scored by forwards, flanker
Wilhelm Koch, hooker Rayno Barnes and tighthead prop Bees
Roux.
"A lot of people thought we might fade at altitude, but we actually
got stronger in the last 15 minutes," Lions coach Ian McGeechan
said.
"In the first half, the Highveld XV stopped our fluency, but in the
second half we played some good rugby, we controlled the ball
better and that allowed us to do things better," he told
reporters.
Lions Errors
"We had a good platform from the set-pieces, but I was disappointed
that we made a lot of unforced errors in possession."
Highveld XV coach Chaka Willemse praised lock Paul O'Connell,
saying: "I can see why he was chosen as captain. He led from the
front and he created many chances when he took the ball up."
The home side scored the first try when they sucked in the Lions
forwards with a rolling maul from a lineout and centre Hanno
Coetzee created a gap for Koch with a pop-pass in the tackle, the
loose forward dotting down despite being tackled by Byrne.
Fly Naas Olivier, who kicked eight points, converted then added a
penalty and it was turning into an embarrassing afternoon for the
Lions when hooker Barnes burst from a rolling maul and scored with
hardly a hand placed on him.
The Lions dominated the final minutes of the first half and Bowe
came steaming through on O'Gara's shoulder to take an inside pass
and cross for their first try in the 38th minute with the flyhalf's
conversion making the halftime score 18-10.
O'Gara's boot became a dominant factor in the second half but the
Highveld XV extended their lead to 25-13 when Roux burst through a
pair of tackles to score his try.
The Lions struck back when Byrne launched an up-and-under,
grubbered it ahead and re-gathered to score, then Jones crashed
over from a ruck and O'Gara touched down after O'Connell's charge
had created chaos in the defence.
