Not convincing by any stretch of the imagination – but the British and Irish Lions came away 13-7 winners over the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians, in their opening tour match.
Nearly 20,000 fans packed into Toll Stadium in Whangarei tonight. The majority of which were Lions fans but their moment to ‘roar loudly’ came a lot later than expected. The match went right down to the wire, and the Barbarians had a chance to win it late. Under a somewhat unpredictted amount of pressure, the Lions held on. ……Just.
British and Irish Lions Survive Tour Opener With Scrappy Win
During the week, the Lions had just a couple of training runs with any real intensity. The lack of time on the grass certainly showed, as the Lions took a long time to get going in the opening match on tour. In fact, it took 51-minutes for the Lions to break through the Barbarians defense – Anthony Watson scoring the first try of the 2017 tour.
The Provincial Barbarians played with an attitude typical of their heritage – outlandish and with no fear. There were also a few surprises thrown in, including a high bomb inside the Lions 22-metre line from Bryn Gatland, that had great affect.
TRY!
NZ Barbarians captain Sam Anderson-Heather scores and @LionsRugbyUnion trail 7-3 after 23 minutes: https://t.co/zF2BB6fgC0 pic.twitter.com/ouVqr0Lzu4
— Fox Sports Rugby (@FOXRugbyLive) June 3, 2017
Captain Sam Anderson-Heather scored to put the Barbarians in front just after the 23rd-minute. The Lions improved as the half went on; but the elusive try to retake the lead went begging before the break.
Ben Te’o was making holes in the Barbarians defense and the Lions went to him as their main play maker for a lot of the game. Watson scored, and even when Owen Farrell replaced Jonny Sexton, the tourists could not break the valiant defense of the home side.
British and Irish Lions 13 – Tries: Anthony Watson, Penalties: Sexton (1) Laidlaw (1), Conversions: Farrell (1)
New Zealand Provincial Barbarians 7 – Tries: Sam Anderson-Heather, Conversions: Gatland (1)
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Bryn Gatland Stars For Impressive Provincial Barbarians
Players for the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians were selected from 14 provincial unions. This one game saw their greatest step up in intensity, for some playing in front of a worldwide audience for what will be the only time in their respective careers.
But for one man – the future lights most certainly appear to be shining brightly.
With all the attention on him during the week, you could’ve forgiven 22-year old Bryn Gatland (see main picture) for being overawed by the occasion. The son of Lions coach Warren Gatland, the Barbarians’ first five played with brilliant variety, but it was his execution all-round that impressed the most.
Bryn Gatland winning the battle of the Gatland's so far.
Baabaas 7-3 Lions#LionsNZ2017 #BARvBIL
LIVE: https://t.co/V7zmqOaHFQ pic.twitter.com/efElkhhKhQ— ESPN Scrum (@espnscrum) June 3, 2017
No Major Injury Concerns For Warren Gatland
One game down – another nine to go!
While injuries will be next to impossible for the British and Irish Lions to avoid over the next six weeks; they’ve survived game one with no real concerns. Over the ten game schedule, there is plenty more to come from the tourists – and plenty to improve on, from tonight’s scrappy effort.
“Main photo credit”
