The odds on Alun Wyn Jones kicking off the Test series for the British & Irish Lions looked impossibly long three weeks ago but the returning tour captain is back in the game. Twenty six minutes on the field in a lop-sided victory over another mediocre South African provincial side may not sound much but as far as the Lions management are concerned it could well be enough to see Jones parachuted straight into the starting XV for Saturday’s first Test. It was hard not to wince every time the Wales captain took any contact but his previously dislocated left shoulder is still intact and he has survived to fight another day. While Jones did nothing overly spectacular, he looked in no apparent discomfort and the chances of him slotting into the starting second-row alongside Maro Itoje must now be high. Other clear plusses were the energetic performances of man of the match Luke Cowan-Dickie and scrum-half Ali Price, both of whom did as much as they possibly could to convince Warren Gatland to start them next week. In some cases, though, Gatland’s task has not been made appreciably easier. Robbie Henshaw was withdrawn after 58 minutes without having looked entirely back at full throttle following hamstring trouble and his Ireland colleague Tadhg Beirne did not absolutely settle the debate as to who should wear the no 6 jersey next Saturday. Jonny Hill, Adam Beard and the fleet-footed replacement Sam Simmonds also showed up well and Marcus Smith made a favourable first impression, converting all seven of the Lions’ tries and showing some lovely touches with ball in hand in the final quarter but ultimately Gatland will know that a very different challenge awaits against the Boks. The head coach, meanwhile, has politely queried the decision of Rassie Erasmus, the Boks’ director of rugby, to post about Owen Farrell’s tackle technique on social media “a bit surprising going to Twitter but you’ve got to accept things. It adds to the occasion, atmosphere and tension building up the Test series. It’s all a bit of fun, a game within a game.” It is meant to be the height of winter in the Cape but, give or take Table Mountain, this could have been a lovely May day in Cardiff. On the political and pandemic fronts these remain uncertain days in southern Africa but, on a more mundane level, the sky was a flawless blue and there was nothing much on view to ruffle the Lions’ composure a week out from the Test series. At the latest count there are reckoned to be as many as 600 South African rugby players plying their trade in Europe and Japan at various levels and the gaps they leave behind are ruthlessly exposed on days like these. Fans of Wasps and Harlequins will be familiar with Juan de Jongh and Tim Swiel but there is a flip side. Too many gnarled stalwarts have headed off shore rather than sticking around to assist the next generation. Local pre-game expectations, consequently, were not terribly high but the Lions took time to get going themselves. One or two individuals looked slightly too eager to impress, making it harder for the team to click collectively, and it was almost half an hour before the touring team opened their account. It was worth the wait, though. The strong-running Duhan Van der Merwe and Tadhg Furlong both made decent ground before Price found an unmarked Adam Beard who galloped over from 10 metres out. Six minutes later they had a second try on the board, Cowan-Dickie surging off the side of a maul to underline the scoring threat he poses for Exeter with his first Lions try. The third score just before half-time also had a touch of the Sandy Parks about it, a lovely tip pass from Stuart Hogg allowing Hill to touch down in the left corner. Again, though, the extra tempo that Price brought to the move was impressive as was the drilled angled conversion from Smith. Would the floodgates open in the second-half? Yes was the answer, nice-build-up work from Smith and Daly creating a fourth try by fashioning a midfield hole from which Jack Conan finished enthusiastically. A possible score by Beirne from a Smith cross-kick was called back for a forward pass earlier in the build up but further tries for Zander Fagerson, Louis Rees-Zammit and Sam Simmonds ensured another fat win for the visitors. It rounded off a double-header which had earlier seen South Africa A beaten 17-14 by the Bulls, the domestic Currie Cup champions, which was not quite what the Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber had in mind in terms of ideal preparation for next week’s opening Test. How the Lions would love a similar outcome when the series proper kicks off this Saturday.
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