Jenkins: Boots will do talking in shoot-out

Penalty-taking decided the first Test in favour of the British & Irish Lions and the art of bisecting the posts will again be massively influential in Saturday’s second encounter with Australia, believes Lions legend Neil Jenkins.

The former Wales fly-half, who kicked the 1997 Lions to a series victory over South Africa, is the 2013 tourists’ kicking coach and presiding over some remarkably consistent place-kicking from Leigh Halfpenny and Owen Farrell, who have sent over 27 from 29 kicks and 18 from 19 respectively on tour so far.

Halfpenny was successful with five of his six kicks off the tee last Saturday in Brisbane, contributing 13 points to the Lions’ 23-21 first Test win, while the Wallabies made only four of their nine attempts at goal by James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale, whose two penalty misses in the final minutes let Warren Gatland’s side off the hook.