That’s all from me, thanks for your company and we’ll be back Wednesday for the next challenge vs the Sharks.
Rob Kitson’s match report is here
Four-try man Josh Adams is having a word:
“The tries were great, but what was most satisfying for me was that long defensive set at the end of the first half. Whether I get a Test jersey is about making a statement every time you play and I tried to do that today.”
Hamish Watson, who was everywhere today, is here:
“It was great to get my first cap, a lot of it was scrappy but we have lots to be happy with as well. I really enjoyed tonight, it was great to play with people I haven’t played with before but it was never going to be perfect at altitude - my lungs were certainly burning!”
Another performance that highlighted quite a bit to work on today was Owen’s dad Andy’s Ireland side having to toil vs Japan. Read all about that and a hideous day for a much hamstrung Tonga here...
Absolutely everything Gatland wanted from the game was delivered.
A win, a run-out for all those not involved last week, a look at some new combinations and, perhaps most important, some pointers to where he should focus training this week.
On today’s evidence that focus should be on working on the maul, tightening up ruck defence, discipline when scrambling and more midfield precision in attack
Full Time! Sigma Lions 14 - 56 B&I Lions
80 mins. PEEP PEEEEEEEEEP!
A knock on brings the game to a close and it’s two comfortable wins from two for the British & Irish Lions
Updated
79 mins. Lions win a penalty from a scrum in Sigma Lions territory and Lawes rises like he’s attached to the spidercam at the back of the lineout to give the tourists a great platform. But it’s wasted as Cowan-Dickie doesn’t release the ball in a ruck near the line and gives Sigma Lions the opportunity to clear from the penalty.
75 mins. With five minutes to play Sigma Lions have a few phases of possession for the first time in quite a while but it’s all for nought as Viljoen puts it out on the full from outside his 22.
TRY! Sigma Lions 14 - 56 B&I Lions (Josh Adams)
72 mins. Cowan-Dickie picks out Lawes with his first lineout throw and off first phase it’s worked simply through hands out left for Adams to claim his fourth of the day outside of a narrow and tired Sigma Lions defence.
Yet another Farrell kick bisects the posts.
70 mins. Even more Lions subs
Bundee Aki for Chris Harris
Luke Cowan-Dickie for Jamie George
Iain Henderson replaces Maro Itoje
TRY! Sigma Lions 14 - 49 B&I Lions (Josh Adams)
69 mins. Jonny Hill offloads to Adams tight on the touchline, but inches are all he needs and he breaks free of a tired covering tackle to touchdown under the posts.
Farrell does the necessary from the tee.
Updated
TRY! Sigma Lions 14 - 42 B&I Lions (Gareth Davies)
66 mins. Similar pattern to the first half developing here as the Lions lose some composure, intensity and discipline and Sigma Lions start to ease their way back in.
But that comes to a halt as the ball goes loose from a Sigma Lions hand, finds its way to Elliot Daly who offloads to the perpetual support machine Gareth Davies to gas to the line.
Farrell converts.
Updated
63 mins. The changes mean that Farrell is now at stand-off for the Lions, Harris at 12 and Elliot Daly at outside-centre.
The TMO is taking a look at clean out by Sam Simmonds that looks to have turned his opponent through the horizontal and lands him on his head. However, Ref Jacobs is satisfied it’s a penalty but nothing more.
61 mins. More subs.
Gareth Davies replaces Ali Price
Zander Fagerson for Sinckler
Elliott Daly for Finn Russell.
Updated
60 mins. Rees-Zammit does a good job mopping up in his own half, finds Hogg who gives to Russell to clear but he punts it out on the full from outside the 22.
58 mins. Lions subs
Mako Vunipola for Wyn Jones
Sam Simmonds for Taulupe Faletau
TRY! Sigma Lions 14 - 35 B&I Lions (Josh Adams)
54 mins. The Lions win a lineout in the opposition 22 and as it all becomes a bit staccato in midfield Russell demands the ball, spots Adams alone out wide and caresses a cross kick into the Welsh wing’s outstretched arms for the score.
Farrell maintains his 100% conversion record in the game.
Updated
49 mins. What a covering tackle by Hogg!
Sbusiso Sangweni intercepts in his own half and is into open pasture and galloping towards the line. As it hones within his grasp Stuart Hogg comes from a long retreating run of his own and executes a textbook iron-ring tackle on the Sigma Lions blind-side to haul him down and then get back on his feet to rip the ball.
A captain’s intervention there.
47 mins. Jamie George is this close to gathering a grubber by Josh Adams but a cruel last bounce takes the ball just away from his hopeful fingertips with the line at his mercy.
Francke Horn got away from Price and Russell very easily to make that break. Shaun Edwards is not Lions defence coach this tour, but wherever he is he’ll be incandescent with rage and probably texting Steve Tandy ALL IN CAPITALS!
TRY! Sigma Lions 14 - 28 B&I Lions (Rabz Maxwane)
44 mins. A break in midfield from Sigma Lions Number 8 Francke Horn takes them in behind the Lions tackle line and the captain feeds Rabz Maxwane who canters in from 25 metres.
Hendrikse converts.
TRY! Sigma Lions 7 - 28 B&I Lions (Josh Adams)
42 mins. It’s two from two for Josh Adams as a first phase move off the top of the lineout find Ali Price at first receiver who pops the ball inside for the Welshman off his wing on an arcing run and he finished well under close attention from Viljoen.
Farrell makes not mistake with the conversion.
SEDOND HALF!
40 mins. No changes from either side and Finn Russell punts us back underway
Half time musings.
Sigma Lions played themselves back into the half after a rocky start, which was likely helped by the Lions dropping the intensity a bit after a decent opening fifteen minutes. Tour defence coach Steve Tandy will be pleased that his side weathered significant period of pressure, but there are worries that this is the second week in a row that Warren Gatland’s side have conceded multiple penalties under pressure in their own 22.
Elsewhere on the park, Owen Farrell and Chris Harris in the centres is not really working at all thus far and attack coach Gregor Townsend will want to get some more composure in the attacking patterns in the next forty minutes.
But it’s still very early in the tour, and some ring rust should be expected and tolerated, even if there is only three weeks to fix it.
NO TRY! HALF TIME!
40+2 mins. It’s confirmed as a penalty, and after the Sigma Lions clear the first half is brought to an end.
TMO REVIEW OF TRY!
40 mins. A late attack of the half is a Lions lineout on the Sigma Lions 22 which is cleanly won and sent left to Hogg who nearly wriggles away but can’t free himself. But on the next set Wyn Jones pushes over from short and the ball is down before the TMO chirps in with a suspicion of Courtney Lawes being high with a clearout.
Looking at it, it’s far more than a suspicion as Lawes has someone in a headlock pretty much.
TRY! Sigma Lions 7 - 21 B&I Lions (Vincent Tshituka)
36 mins. A short-side break, tight to the left touchline from the Sigma Lions catches their opponents defence off-guard and allows Burger Odendaal to rampage into the Lions 22. On the recycle Viljoen floats a long pass inside to back row Tshituka who smashes over to put his team on the board.
Hendrikse adds the extra two.
Updated
TRY! Sigma Lions 0 - 21 B&I Lions (Ali Price)
33 mins. A quick and deep throw-in finds Farrell who pops it to Ali Price on an arcing run. The Sigma Lions defence is still thinking about forming a lineout or perhaps what to watch on Netflix later and are all over the shop so the Scottish scrum-half runs under the posts unopposed.
Farrell adds the extras
Updated
31 mins. The Lions gameplan has presently degenerated into a litany of ill-executed attacking patterns featuring knock-ons and people not knowing where to run.
29 mins. Jamie George finds Taulupe Faletau in the middle of the lineout on the Sigma Lions 22, but Farrell then spills the ball in the tackle as he attempts a crash-ball carry in midfield.
“Doing a great job again, Lee.” says a generous Peter Barker, “But I don’t think you’ve told us who the ref is, or how he’s doing”
Good point, Peter. The ref is AJ Jacobs of SOuth Africa, who is not hugely experienced at this level, but he’s doing fine so far. He’s ably assisted by the hugely experienced Wayne Barnes and Jaco Peyper running the lines.
23 mins. A tap and go is taken by Sigma Lions and after multiple short carries from the forwards it’s finally a penalty to the British & Irish Lions for the home side not releasing the ball in the ruck.
A touch defensive period for the Lions there which they’ve come out of with a nil score intact.
21 mins. Sigma Lions take the scrum from the penalty call, in the shadow of the Lions post and after a number of resets the ball comes right to Viljoen who is rattled to a stop by Farrell. It’s flung all the way left but Rees-Zammit covers well to block the opportunity but it’s yet another penalty given away by the Lions after Sinckler is too high in the tackle.
The ref has given Stuart Hogg a final warning, next penalty will be a card.
Updated
17 mins. The advantage cannot be capitalised upon by Sigma Lions but they take another lineout and a huge catch and drive takes them to within two metres of the Lions line. On the 5th phase it’s yet another penalty given away by the visitors, this time for Faletau not rolling away.
Discipline the biggest work-on for the Gatland’s men so far.
14 mins. Jonny Hill is penalised for playing the man in the air in the lineout and this will give Sigma Lions their first attacking platform of note deep in the Lions half. They win the ball and are attacking on an advantage after another Lions infringement.
12 mins. Sigma Lions get the ball into the Lions 22 for the first time via a Hendrikse kick over Rees-Zammit’s head but the wing recovers to feed the ball inside to Hogg who clears.
Usual hopes for an early tour game @bloodandmud: some coherent play, promising combinations (especially 9/10/12 and 6/7/8), gain line impact, and more than all of that, no big injuries. Particularly interested to see how Hamish Watson gets into the action. Come on Lions!
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) July 3, 2021
Well Guy, we’ve already seen how Hamish has got himself involved!
8 mins. It’s still early but this Sigma Lions team looks very poor.
TRY! Sigma Lions 0 - 14 B&I Lions (Hamish Watson)
7 mins. Some scrappy possession for both teams in the middle of the park before a Lions lineout in the opponent’s half allows the visitors to bust into the 22 via a Harris carry. After a couple more carries Hamish Watson grabs a try on his debut with a rumbustious drive from five metres.
Farrell converts again.
Updated
TRY! Sigma Lions 0 - 7 B&I Lions (Louis Rees-Zammit)
4 mins. Finn Russell dictating play in the middle of park finds Harris with a miss-pass who fixes the fullback and chips the ball on for the rapid Rees-Zammit to chase, gather and score.
Farrell converts
Updated
3 mins. An early attempt to find Rees-Zammit with a cross-kick is given too much pasty by Russell and from the resultant lineout the Sigma Lions have some possession around halfway. There’s a few solid carries, but gains little ground or penetration
Kick off
1 min. Hendrickse sends the ball short and right and Hamish Watson has the first carry of the game.
The teams are on their way out into the empty crimson bowl of a stadium, the PA and pyrotechnics noise bouncing off every surface like shouting children in a municipal swimming pool.
Not quite sure what was wrong with the name Gauteng Lions - it had the advantage of telling us where the team was from and linked it with its predecessor Transvaal. The name Sigma Lions is meaningless to non-South Africans.
— Barney Spender (@bspender) July 3, 2021
Well, the issue with names is that rugby is the anti Jessie J, given it doesn’t particularly want to make the world dance and very much cares about the price tag.
An MBM style note..
Regarding this Lions vs Lions thing, let me set out my stall now: during commentary I will be referring to the British & Irish Lions as “the Lions” and the Sigma Lions as the Sigma Lions.
Write that down so you can refer back to it later.
Pre match reading..
Finn Russell is today paired with Owen Farrell in the 10-12 axis and here’s what Rob Kitson makes of the Scotsman’s potential impact.
Updated
Is there something on your mind? Well don’t hold it in, drop Lee an email or tweet @bloodandmud and let it all flood out.
TEAMS
Warren Gatland has made fourteen changes to the side that defeated Japan in Murrayfield with Stuart Hogg captaining the side from fullback. There are Lions debuts for Chris Harris, Hamish Watson, Louis Rees-Zammit, and the recently arrived on tour Jonny Hill.
The bench is also full of those taking their bow for the touring side with Zander Fagerson, Gareth Davies, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds all ready to join when required. Cowan-Dickie is a controversial selection after he was knocked out cold in last Saturday’s Premiership final but the Lions coaches insist he has completed all return to play protocols.
The Sigma Lions send out a young team, but there’s some talent there particularly up front and with out-half prospect Jordan Hendrikse.
Sigma Lions: EW Viljoen; Jamba Ulengo, Manuel Rass, Burger Odendaal, Rabz Maxwane; Jordan Hendrikse, Dillon Smit; Nathan McBeth, PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel, Sbusiso Sangweni, Vincent Tshituka, Francke Horn (capt).
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Ruhan Straeuli, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Dan Kriel.
British & Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg (capt); Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Owen Farrell, Josh Adams; Finn Russell, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes, Hamish Watson, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Bundee Aki, 23 Elliot Daly.
Preamble
Welcome to Johannesburg, where the British & Irish Lions open their tour proper against, er, the Lions. Or the Sigma Lions to give them their full moniker.
An MBM reporter’s worst nightmare. Lions vs Lions. Lions2. Lions, Lions everywhere and not a drop to drink.
But less of my problems and let’s instead focus on the first game with a real ambience of the opening of the British & Irish Lions Tour 2021, rather than the training hit-out mood of the Captain slaying outing vs Japan last weekend. Today the tourists are on the high veld facing a proper provincial team opponent in what we hope to be the traditional South African ding-dong welcome as part of the long softening up procedure all visiting Lions teams must endure prior to facing the end level boss Boks in twenty-one days.
There’s been a fair amount of disruption for both teams in the run-up. The British & Irish Lions have had their aforementioned injury to tour Captain, Alun-Wyn Jones, along with Wales team-mate Justin Tipuric and some long international travel in-between. The Sigma Lions are on home turf so no potential DVT for them, but they recently cancelled a Pro14 Rainbow Cup match due to Covid cases in the squad before a fully-bubbled training camp has allowed them a good recent week-or two of preparation.
Expect a sterner test than Japan, but Gatland will expect another win.
