The British and Irish Lions kept their unbeaten record alive, when they edged a willing Western Province team 26-23 at a cold and wet Newlands on Saturday.

But for a few late penalties, the cause of a substitution by the home team, the tourists may well have lost their unbeaten run on their South African safari.

Replacement James Hook landed the match-winner in the 76th minute, the second of two penalties WP conceded at scrum time after bringing JD Moller on for Wicus Blaauw.

While the Province coaching staff will ponder what could have been, the game gave the tourists plenty of food for though - with the first Test against South Africa just a week away.

In a buzzing atmosphere, with the vocal Lions supporters making their presence heard, the tourists produced an exciting mix of kick and run - often taking it wide when it looked on.

However, their defensive lines are what was most impressive about this game, as it has often been on tour.

They also showed that they are very good at playing the referee, getting away with a lot of obstruction.

Then there is the Lions' impressive pick-'n-drive game, which not only sapped the defenders' energy, but created most of their opportunities.

Province will rue a host of blunders by fullback Joe Pietersen - three early knock-ons and under huge mistake in the second half. It was certainly a game he would want to forget.

WP also didn't use the wind effectively in the first half, but Willem de Waal was far more clinical after the break when in fact the wind had died down.

The other big concern for the home team will be the scrumming disaster that ensued once JD Moller came on for a very effective Wicus Blaauw. Moller gave away two crucial scrum penalties, including the one that won the game for the Lions.

It rained quite heavily for an hour leading up the game, but it stopped just prior to kick-off - but not before ensuring the underfoot would be rather damp. Luckily the semi-artificial surface of Newlands made for good draining and not much water remained on the surface.

The thousands of Lions supporters that had by now found their way to South Africa gave their team a boisterous welcome. But there was still plenty of vocal support for the locals.

Western Province had the first scoring opportunity, after an early exchange of kicks, and from 45 metres out Willem de Waal slotted the penalty for a 3-0 lead.

But moments later Stephen Jones had a shot of his own, from 38 metres out, when WP players went offside. He also had no trouble an it was 3-all.

Apart from having trouble controlling the ball in the testing conditions, WP were also under pressure in the scrums - conceding a rash of early free kicks and penalties. One of these Stephen Jones aimed at the uprights, and had no trouble to find the target.

He did struggle for distance from about 40 metres out with another shot at goal about 15 minutes into the game - a clear indication just how strong the wind was.

WP drew level through a De Waal drop-goal, as the first quarter came to an end, after the referee was playing advantage for the Lions having sacked a maul illegally. De Waal saw the opportunity for a quick snap at the posts, while the advantage was still on and his sweetly-struck drop sailed handsomely through.

And about eight minutes later Province hit the lead for the second time, Pietersen making amends for some earlier blunders with a second drop-goal.

However, the lead was short-lived, as the Lions hit back with a well-worked try by Tommy Bowe - Andy Powell creating the initial momentum with a strong run and Bowe bursting through a half-hearted attempt at a tackle to go over in the right corner. Jones's conversion attempt was blown wide of the uprights, but the visitors had the lead at 11-9.

The second try, by left wing Ugo Monye, wasn't long in coming - but unlike the first this was created when Tommy Bowe waltzed through a gap created by a clever bit of obstructing from Joe Worsley. Jones landed the conversion and at 18-9, with four minutes of the first half remaining, it started to look ominous.

But when WP won a penalty, just on the half-time hoot, after the Lions again illegally sacked a maul, De Waal made it 12-18 at the break to keep his team's hopes alive.

WP also had the first shot at goal in the second half, with the Lions going off their feet at a ruck for the umpteenth time, but De Waal's effort from 55 metres out dropped short.

But he did land one a few minutes later as the Lions went offside just inside their half and at 15-18 there was hope.

However, the comeback was snuffed through a well-worked try by flank Martyn Williams - coming through a series of very effective pick-'n-drive moves. The conversion wasn't on target, but at 23-15 there was plenty of work left for a tiring Province tea that was beginning to fall off the tackles.

With the game entering the final quarter De Waal managed to narrow the gap to 18-23 with his fourth penalty of the afternoon - keeping his team's faint hopes alive.

And they had the local crowd in raptures in the 64th minute, when they launched a long range attack - first down the right and then, after a quick couple of rucks, Peter Grant let rip with a long overhead pass that put Joe Pietersen over for his team's first try and the tying score. The conversion was wide, but at 23-all it was game on.

Two minutes later replacement James Hook had a shot from just inside the WP half, but he was well short.

With the Province tails now up, Willem de Waal had a glory shot - a drop-goal attempt from 55 metres out, but he was also well short and the stalemate remained as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

With just over four minutes left on the clock Hook had another shot at goal - with a collapsed scrum ruled as being a deliberate WP action. This time, again from just under 50 metres, Hook slotted it to give the visitors the lead - 26-23.

While Province launched a few late raids in a desperate bid to win the game, Pietersen capped a nightmare evening by kicking away possession when his team was searching for the winning try after the final hooter had sounded.

Man of the match: For Western Province there was Willem de Waal, who had a very influential second half, and the WP pack deserve some plaudits for standing up to Lions bruisers. Many will give this to Lions wing Tommy Bowe, and the strong-running flyer did indeed have a splendid afternoon. Flyhalf Stephen Jones also dictated terms. But our award goes to Lions flank Martyn Williams - his workrate was exceptional and his mastery around the ground, interplay with some clever interplay, is what impressed us most.

Moment of the match: There were some splendid tries - with Tommy Bowe's early score and JP Pietersen's effort deserving of some honour. But the most crucial moment was James Hook's 76th minute match-winning penalty.

Villain of the match: There wasn't much untoward and you can even forgive the referee for overlooking some blatant obstruction by the Lions. But whoever decided to put JD Moller on the park gets our award - as he cost WP at least a draw.

Scorers:

For Western Province:
Try: Pietersen
Pens: De Waal 4
DGs: De Waal, Pietersen

For the British and Irish Lions:
Tries: Bowe, Monye, Williams
Con: Jones
Pens: S Jones 2, Hook

Teams:

Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Morgan Newman, 12 Peter Grant, 11 Gcobani Bobo, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Anton Van Zyl, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 JD Moller, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Zandre Jordaan, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 JJ Engelbrecht, 22 Gio Aplon.

B&I Lions: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Phil Vickery (captain), 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Andrew Sheridan
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Euan Murray, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Shane Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Gordon D'Arcy.

365

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