Lions Tour: Lions savage Reds

Queensland Reds 8 Lions 42

The Lions stormed to a crushing win over Super 12 semi-finalists Queensland Reds after a devastating first-half performance in their toughest match of their Australian tour so far.

After easy victories in their first two matches Down Under the Lions were expected to face a much stiffer test against the Reds but man-of-the-match Jonny Wilkinson inspired a comfortable win, creating three tries.

Wilkinson’s superb first-half performance had left the Reds in tatters, but he was far from finished.

Within four minutes of the restart, he sliced open Queensland’s defence and O’Driscoll sprinted through on to another precision pass for the Lions’ fifth try.

The tourists lost Howley through a suspected rib injury on 48 minutes - he was replaced by Matt Dawson - but their irresistible momentum was not disrupted one iota.

Wilkinson kicked another penalty after a spell of concerted Lions pressure, making it 42-3 and taking his personal points tally up to 17.

The Reds fans among an 18,337 Ballymore crowd - some 5,000 below capacity had long been silenced, the game having been reduced to nothing more than a question of how many more tries the Lions would score.

Queensland enjoyed a concerted spell of pressure, yet the Lions were already home and dry, passing their biggest test to date with flying colours.

Jason Robinson appeared as a 60th-minute substitute for the Lions, but he was unable to make an impact from limited opportunities, while both Colin Jarvis and Scott Murray also made late appearances off the bench.

The Lions failed to score during the final quarter, and were unable to stop a Queensland consolation try from scrum-half Sam Cordingley, but their 42-8 victory was still a record triumph over their hosts.

The tourists finished with five tries and 17 points from Wilkinson - a result that is a clear warning to the world champion Wallabies ahead of the forthcoming Test series.