Murphy lays down the law

Ian McGeechan hailed the performance of his all-Irish back three in the Lions’ 36-14 victory over Taranaki today.

Geordan Murphy issued the perfect response to Josh Lewsey’s stunning performance at the weekend by running in two tries from full-back.

Murphy also linked well with winger Shane Horgan, who crossed for the Lions’ second try, and Denis Hickie, who was a menacing threat on the counter-attack.

McGeechan, the Lions coach, said: “It’s what you want, players playing well and challenging so the next team up knows it has got to perform.

“When every group of players goes on the field and is challenged, that is what makes a successful Lions group.

“I though the back three had a good game and it came from the control we had in the halfbacks.

“It will have given them a lot of confidence. Geordan saw the chances well and that is what you want from back three players.”

John Hayes did not enjoy such an outstanding evening. In fact, he endured a torrid time in the scrum and was replaced in the second half by Welshman Gethin Jenkins.

The performance of the tight five will be a cause for concern and it was not until Jenkins was introduced at tight-head and Taranaki began to run out of steam that the pack gained the upper hand.

In the first half they were wheeled at the scrum, shunted off their own ball, struggled in the line-out and were second best at the breakdown.

“The Taranaki pack played well, put us under a lot of pressure in the first half and I was happy with the way we responded,” said McGeechan.

“The pleasing thing for me is that we are not just learning in training but on the pitch is well. That was a tough game up front.

“I thought our defence was outstanding. The fact there were no penalties in the second half shows a composure you can build things on. The fact we scored a try out of defence is very important. It shows we can turn one into the other.”

While Murphy responded to Lewsey’s challenge, so Charlie Hodgson issued a timely reminder to Sir Clive Woodward that the race for the fly-half Test spot is not just a two-horse race between Jonny Wilkinson and Stephen Jones.

Hodgson followed Ronan O’Gara’s mixed performance last weekend with a commanding performance to silence his many doubters. He had effectively been written off as little more than a passenger behind the leading protagonists but was determined to prove otherwise today.

Hodgson made scything runs, kicked from hand with precision, directed the defence with authority and orchestrated a second-half run of 30 unanswered points – with tries from captain Martin Corry, Horgan and Murphy’s double - which broke the back of a physical Taranaki side.

“It’s great to get off to a good start for me personally,” said Hodgson. “There’s been a lot of talk with Jonny and Steve competing for the number 10 slot and it was good to give Clive Woodward some selection problems.”

He formed an excellent half-back partnership with Chris Cusiter and, as well as directing the Lions offensively, they showed the way in defence by putting in the most tackles in the side, with 15 apiece.

Hodgson’s talent has never been in doubt, but his temperament has often been called in to question. Critics argue his confidence is fragile.

Today, though, he was in prime form. From the moment he found touch with a stunning clearance down the line Hodgson was on top of the game.

And his display earned hearty praise from both Corry, who scored the Lions’ first try from a Hodgson pass.

Corry said: “I thought he was tremendous. When things weren’t gong well for us he controlled the game, he kept us moving forward, his kicking was brilliant.

“You need your fly-half to be vocal and an orchestrator and that is what he did.

“He reads the game so well. That is his great strength he is such a natural rugby player.

“He has a great rugby brain on him. When things weren’t going well his confidence never suffered. He always has that ability to read the game. The cream always rises to the top and that is what happened today.”

The Lions said after their hard-fought win over Bay of Plenty that their performance in Rotorua would be the minimum benchmark and, for all the first-half struggles in the forwards today, Corry feels that has now been raised.

“It was always going to be tough but thankfully we kept trying to play the game fast. We weren’t successful in the first half but in the second half we were and that proved the key.

“The key for us in the early stages of the tour is generating momentum and improving on the performance before.

“I felt we moved up a notch. It was a very good victory and certainly a set-up and let’s hope we can keep momentum going.”