Rugby

Well the Lions go marching on. In the end they had too much height and scrummaging power in the forwards, and too much pace and skill in the backs. The play of the tight forwards was impressive but it was the loose forwards more than anything that impressed. The speed to the loose ball and the constructive manner in which they made use of this advantage bode well for the future, particularly given that Mourie and Fraser, two of New Zealand's loose forwards, were opposing the Lions. It was interesting to see Irvine overcome his problems with fielding the high ball, but I am not convinced that Irvine can reproduce this brilliance consistently. One remembers his superb displays against provincial teams when he was last out here with Scotland, but his performance in the test at Eden Park was a shocker. Still there was sufficient in the Lion's performance to give them real confidence for the test matches.