THE LIONS PLAYERS and coaches know they can’t read too much into an eight-try, 42-point win over the Sigma Lions, but can certainly take confidence from elements of their performance in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Their lineout work was solid and consistent, Jamie George looking assured from touch and Maro Itoje cleaning up in the skies. They also had positive moments with ball in hand, moving the point of attack well and stretching their hosts, while Scotland out-half Finn Russell offered glimpses of flair without ever forcing the point.
Most of Gatland’s players will be reasonably happy with their lot but two men in particular stood out, with Wales wing Josh Adams adding four tries to his tour diary and Scotland flanker Hamish Watson delivering an all-action performance – which included eight tackles and seven carries alongside some really efficient work around the breakdown – to continue the fine Six Nations form which pushed him up the queue for this tour.
Stuart Hogg, the Lions captain yesterday and Watson’s Scotland team-mate, said he’s never surprised by the Edinburgh player’s impressive appetite for work.
“It’s like somebody winds him up before the game and just lets him go and he goes out there and runs a million miles an hour and makes about 20 million tackles,” Hogg said.
“But like the rest of the forward pack, that’s what we want. We want these boys working really hard, showing what it means to wear that jersey and really put their bodies on the line because that’s all we can ask for.
“If you do your job to the best of your ability and the man next to you does the exact same, we give ourselves every opportunity of winning.”
Warren Gatland was only settling into his seat for the post-match press conference when he was asked who had caught his eye in Ellis Park, with Adams’ performance an obvious highlight for the head coach.
“The guy on the left wing did OK,” Gatland smiled.
“He knows where the try-line is and you can’t ignore what he’s achieved as a player. He went to the World Cup as an U20, he was the top try-scorer at the World Cup, he played for Worcester when they were bottom of the Premiership but he was still top try-scorer in the Premiership.
“That speaks for itself and he definitely knows where the try line is. His timing with that inside ball he got where he scored, he did that a few times during the World Cup. He’s got great timing at hitting the line.
“To get four tries is pretty special for him.”
Hogg will have been satisfied with his evening’s work too, contributing well in attack – his smart footwork negotiating some space before Wyn Jones’ disallowed try – and made some important interventions in defence too, including a lung-bursting effort to get back and stop what looked a certain try for Sibusiso Sangweni.
“It was a terrific experience, I absolutely loved the 80 minutes on the field,” Hogg said.
“At times we went to dark places, we made ourselves uncomfortable in the way that we were defending, the way that we were trying to attack.
“We felt that the longer the game went on, and we got into multi-phase we were causing them some problems and that’s what we wanted.
“We wanted to win the no-talent battles – things that require no talent, and that’s getting up off the deck and getting yourself back in the game and making it as difficult as we possibly can for the opposition.
“At times we got that spot on but for me the exciting thing is we can get better, we can get better individually, we can get better collectively, and it is a really, really exciting time to be a part of this team.”
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