Lions: Baa Baa’s Mauled

by

Graham Boville in Australia

Lions 59-8 Barbarians

The British and Irish Lions enjoyed a straightforward victory over the Barbarians in the stifling heat of Hong Kong, outscoring their opponents eight tries to one.

Converted tries from captain Paul O’Connell and scrum half Mike Phillips, along with three Farrell penalties gave the Lions a 23-3 half-time lead.

Man of the match Phillips scored his second try of the game mere moments after the restart, before a loose Farrell pass paved the way the Barbarians to hit back with a well-executed counter-attacking try by Kahn Fotuali’i

However, this proved the only minor flaw in a dominant Lions performance in which the rampant victory was sealed with five further tries from the Welsh contingent of Jonathan Davies, Alex Cuthbert (2), Dan Lydiate and Alun Wyn Jones.

The extreme summertime temperatures of Hong King understandably featured heavily in the news cycle leading up to kick off, with Baa Baas captain Sergio Parisse allegedly losing four kilograms in sweat during a one-hour training session.

But fears that the heat and humidity would lead to a cagey and lethargic affair were quickly dispelled when the . . .

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