Case for the defence as display leaves McGeechan purring

THE near smile on the face of British & Irish Lions defence coach Shaun Edwards said it all at the end of the latest win for the tourists. Edwards had given the team talk before the game and nobody dared to let him down.

They had held their line intact for the first time and showed the Springboks sitting in the stands that they are going to be a tougher nut to crack than they thought when they return to the Absa Stadium for the first Test next week.

“It was a very strong performance and the defence was absolutely superb. I was pleased we stopped the Sharks from scoring,” said Lions head coach Ian McGeechan.

“We knew we just needed to keep on working, not to panic and to keep building a performance. We reaped the benefits in the end, but the important thing is the understanding that’s coming through the team now.”

Having got so close in the first half to so many tries, the Lions must have been frustrated to have only been 7-3 in the lead at half-time.

“It was frustrating in the first-half. We got over the line, but couldn’t get the ball down,” said Brian O’Driscoll.

“We had to keep our patience and our shape and it came right for us in the end. You have to earn the right to go wide sometimes and that’s why we worked through the Sharks first.

“We couldn’t convert the territory and possession we had into points to begin with, but in the second half we got that early score and then settled into a good performance.”

Skipper Paul O’Connell was also full of praise for the defensive effort. He knows that more of the same will be needed if his side are to hold the Springboks.

“We defended superbly well and it was a very tough challenge. The fact we didn’t concede any tries was very important to us,” said O’Connell.

“We all come from different defensive systems and to only concede three points against such an established rugby franchise as The Sharks was brilliant for us.

“We had a lot of possession in the first half but didn’t convert it into points. The pressure told in the end and we got some scores in the second half.”

Forwards coach Warren Gatland echoed those thoughts, insisting the coaching staff were happy with the team at half-time.

“We were very happy at half-time with the possession we’d had against one of the top provincial sides in South Africa,” he said.

“Any group of players can last for 40 minutes and the Sharks gave it everything in those first 40 minutes. We just said to stay patient.”