Irish duo pushing for places in Test side

Geordan Murphy and Simon Easterby did their chances of featuring for the Lions’ in next weekend’s first Test against New Zealand no harm at all in the hard-fought victory over Otago.

Tries from Will Greenwood, debutant Ryan Jones and the electric Shane Williams were enough to keep the Lions’ juggernaut rolling.

And a number of players made a telling case for inclusion in the Lions’ 22-man squad for the Christchurch Test – most notably the Welsh number eight Jones who only arrived on tour as a late replacement for Simon Taylor but produced an excellent all-round performance.

Easterby, Lawrence Dallaglio’s replacement on tour, also turned in a powerful loose-forward display in his second start this week while Murphy was the Lions most potent attacking threat for much of the game.

They will now be waiting on tenterhooks for the announcement of the Lions side to play Southland on Tuesday and hoping against hope they are not involved.

Denis Hickie enjoyed a lively game but is unlikely to break into the Test 22 while Gordon D’Arcy again struggled to impose his attacking flair on a game that was tight and lacked cohesion for the first hour.

Ronan O'Gara also impressed when he made a late appearance in the game.