The Lions man for man are not nearly as good as he Boks and had to rely on their midfield pairing to spark their attacks. They look dangerous and world class, and created plenty of chances, but poor finishing and desperation from the Boks couldn’t convert at least 5 chances.
Player ratings:
1. Gethin Jenkins - 5
Made no impact in the scrums
2. Lee Mears - 3
Performed dismally in the lineouts. Should have been subbed earlier.
3. Phi Vickery - 3
Got dominated by the Beast and couldn’t respond accordingly. Will struggle to make starting lineup next week.
4. Alun-Wyn Jones - 5
About what was expected when facing Botha and Matfield.
5. Paul O’Connell - 5
Led strongly, but lost his cool with the ref, and more composure needed.
6. Tom Croft - 7
Was the pick of the forwards and rewarded with two tries.
7. David Wallace - 5
Struggled to make an impact and needs to steal more ball at the breakdowns.
8. Jamie Heaslip - 5
Like Spies was largely anonymous for most of the game.
9. Mike Phillips - 7
Started to get more involved in the second half and excelled once Du Preez left and Januarie came on. Showed a lot of fight and determination.
10. Stephen Jones - 4
Selected for his goal kicking and will be disappointed. First penalty was tought, but the second was relatively straight forward.
11. Ugo Monye - 4
Missed two tries when he should have taken his chances. A lesson for the Boks about giving your left wing chances!
12. Jamie Roberts - 9
The dangerman for the Lions. Split the Springbok defence on more than one occasion and looks a good player. Combined well with O’Driscoll.
13. Brian O’Driscoll - 8
A world class player. Needs to be watched closely.
14. Tommy Bowe - 6
Didn’t offer much and in my view i’d have selected Shane Williams.
15. Lee Byrne - 6
Was solid and had limited chances before he got injured. Looks a good player.
16. Matthew Rees - 6
Made a difference to the lineouts as soon as he came on.
17. Adam Jones - 7
Improved the scrum straight away and should start at Loftus.
18. Donncha O’Callaghan – 6
19. Martyn Williams - 6
20. Harry Ellis
21. Ronan O’Gara
22. Rob Kearney - 8
Had a good game when he replaced Byrne. Was under pressure at times, but kicked extremely well.
