Win boost for Lions

Press, 11 July 1983, Page 21

Win boost for Lions

NZPA staff correspondent Pukekohe The touring British Lions heaved an audible sigh of relief after their 25-16 defeat of Counties on Saturday and congratulated themselves on a victory they say resulted from one of their best provincial performances of the tour. There were new injury worries, claims of inept refereeing, and a minor scuffle between players and spectators after the match to dull the true lustre of their success, yet the tourists shewed more optimism and confidence after their

win on Saturday than at any other stage of the tour. The mutual back-slapping may have arisen more from their fervent desire to convince themselves that some improvement in their form was possible, however, than from a true reaction to or analysis of their performance.

Though the match provided one of the best provincial spectacles of the tour and the rugby played in conditions made untenable by a gale force northerly wind was gripping in many respects, there were aspects of the game and of the Lions’ play which on this tour have become simply routine.

First, the tourists, at nearly test strength, struggled to subdue opposition of only provincial standard, though admittedly Counties are among the top echelon of New Zealand provincial sides. Second, the more enterprising and motivated performance was

produced by the Counties side — theirs was the more talented and efficient backline and theirs the more determined and regulated forward effort.

More, it was the boot of the Irish fly-half, Ollie Campbell, which produced 21 of the Lions’ 25 points — 18 when he had the gale at his back — and which assured the ultimately flattering margin. The tourists had admittedly controlled play well in the second half when the gale was in their faces and their margin was only 12 points. Yet their reluctance to include the backs in their match plan did nothing to boost back-line confidence and the manner in which Counties regularly penetrated their defence or competed for loose ball must be more worrying than the match assessments of Mr Willie John Mcßride, Ciaran Fitzgerald, and Jim Telfer suggest. One man who was not

•impressed by the tourists' performance, however, was the Counties coach, Mr Peter Goldsmith. Asked how he would rate the 1983 Lions after the performance on Saturday, he hesitated before replying: “Not very highly.” “I don’t want to be unduly critical,” he said, “but I think it’s fair to say that a touring team should be firing much more than the Lions are at this stage in their tour.

“For a first division side to get so close to the Lions, to come so close to beating them or to getting on top of them, is not really on. My major impression, though, is that they’re lacking in firepower. I thought our backline did far more with the ball than their’s did.” Scorers: British Isles 25 (John Carleton try, Ollie Campbell five penalties, two drop goals). Counties 16 (Andy Dalton two tries, Joe Harvey conversion, two penalties).