South Africa 9 Australia 14

SOUTH AFRICA captain John Smit has put his personal milestone aside and vowed to concentrate only on beating New Zealand today as the world champions aim to continue their winning start to the Tri-Nations.

IRELAND full-back Rob Kearney, who realised a lifetime ambition when coming on for the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday, believes a Test series victory is still possible.

CLOSE TO tears, an emotional Phil Vickery yesterday described how much it meant to be part of the Lions Test team for the opening game of the series against South Africa at Kings Park, Durban today.

BRITISH and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan has rubbished the notion that he went for brawn over brain in plotting his strategy to lower the colours of world champions in the three-test series that kicks off here tomorrow.

Sharks 3 British and Irish Lions 39

Bulls 20 Sharks 19

NO matter what the sport, you often wonder how people who have been teammates on countless occasions are suddenly able to play against each other in a different competition.

WHEN Munster came calling in the early summer of 2005, Trevor Halstead was betwixt and between. Should he stay with the Natal Sharks or seek a new challenge in a country and with a team he didn’t know a whole lot about.

THE hailstones hammered against the windows, the players shivered in their boots. It could hardly have been further removed from Cape Town, where Shaun Payne was born and spent much of his childhood.