Free State Cheetahs 24 - 26 British and Irish Lions

After the impressive victory against toothless Golden Lions midweek in Johannesburg, the Lions were given a huge wake-up call after a brilliant fight-back by the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. After a strong start by the tourists who got themselves into a 20-0 lead in the same number of minutes, a lack of composure and intensity, particularly in the second half was evident for all to see. The Cheetahs themselves never stopped playing and the ferocity at the contact area was making life difficult for the Lions, who in the end just about managed to hold on for a 24-26 win, despite a nerve-wracking finish.

Opening tries for the Lions came from Stephen Ferris and Keith Earls. The former after a brilliant pick up and sprint for the line after collecting loose ball near a ruck. Earls' try was created after a sensationally weighted little chip over the defensive line by Hook, leaving Earls to collect, sprint and weave his way to the try line. The score will no doubt providing him with a lot more confidence after the frustration he suffered against the Royal XV.

Cheetahs scrum-half Tewis de Bruyn then made a strong darting run into Lions territory and is stopped by Stephen Ferris. But the try scorer fails to roll away at the tackle, invoking the ire of referee Barnes, who sends the flanker to the sin-bin for 10 minutes. The sin binning proves to be very costly for the Lions, who then manage to concede two tries in the next ten minutes.

From that point on the Lions completely lost their rhythm, with a nervous final twenty minutes and thanks to Shane Williams' unsubtle interception pass, allowing Corne Uys to sprint under the posts unopposed, a tense final few moments was set up, with the visitors just about holding on to win, despite a very narrow missed drop goal by the home side.

Most of the collisions going the way of the Cheetahs in the second half with the turnover count against the Lions increasing almost exponentially as the game went on.

Unless the Lions improve their intensity and competitiveness at the breakdown, they will no doubt find life very difficult against the likes of Juan Smith, Schalk Burger and Pierre Spies, in the Test matches who could have a field day if improvements aren't made. Whilst the ball was laid on a plate for Mike Phillips last week, Harry Ellis was forced to dig for it virtually at every ruck in the final half hour.

The backline looked every bit as inexperienced as it was. Without the likes of Tommy Bowe or Jamie Roberts to make the space for others, the flyers on the pitch today had very little space to work in.

In terms of positives, the scrum once against went well with Andrew Sheridan and Euan Murray giving their opposite numbers a torrid time in the tight.
Goal kicking so far this Lions tour has been almost perfect, with only a solitary missed shot at goal, in three games.

The signs are looking ominous however after taking the game to the final play against the Cheetahs who finished bottom of the Super 14 table, when you consider that next up are the Natal Sharks who finished 6th.

There was a fear that without a sufficient test, the Lions may end up undercooked by the time the Test matches arrive, however you feel the wake-up call that this match provided may ironically be a blessing in disguise, and act as a warning of things to come. The problem for the Lions is that very few of the players on show today put their hand up for possible Test selection.

Player Ratings
15. Lee Byrne 6
14. Leigh Halfpenny 5
13. Keith Earls 5
12. Luke Fitzgerald 5
11. Shane Williams 4
10. James Hook 7
9. Harry Ellis 6

8. Andy Powell 4
7. Joe Worsley 4
6. Stephen Ferris 7
5. Paul O'Connell 6
4. Donncha O'Callaghan 5
3. Euan Murray 7
2. Ross Ford 6
1. Andrew Sheridan 7

Cheetahs (14) 24
Tries: Dumas, Du Preez, Uys
Cons: Potgieter 2, Strydom
Pen: Potgieter
British and Irish Lions (23) 26
Tries: Ferris, Earls
Cons: Hook 2
Pens: Hook 3

Bonus feature:

Rugby Legends Reunite in South Africa

Two time British & Irish Lion Jason Robinson has been reunited with his friend Bryan Habana at a school in Johannesburg. Jason is heading up HSBC's community outreach programme and was in action coaching 400 township children, when a surprise visitor made the children's day even more special.

Bryan Habana, named in the South Africa squad for the British & Irish Lions Tour, popped into catch up with Jason and help coach the children at the HSBC Rugby Festival at St John's College.

Bryan and Jason have previously joined forces to launch HSBC's kit collection programme in association with SOS IRB Kit Aid back in November.

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