The British and Irish Lions ran in 10 tries to record a 74-10 win over Golden Lions at Ellis Park on Wednesday and claim another success in the second match of a South Africa tour.
The visitors, who struggled to subdue a Royal XV by 12 points last Saturday at Rustenburg in the first of 10 matches, had a 39-10 half-time advantage.
Victorious coach Ian McGeechan called the success a "satisfying one" and praised his team?s accuracy throughout the 80 minutes.
"The guys? tactical decision making was good tonight and I thought they finished off the chances they created," the Scot said.
"The scoreline certainly exceeded my expectations, but that sort of thing can happen when good players play well off each other.
"The thinking on the field was top class so overall it was a good performance. It?s given us a good insight into what is possible with this team."
Lions skipper Brian O?Driscoll said his players would not get ahead of themselves, but admitted scoring 70 points against a Super 14 team was satisfying.
"There?s a lot of positivity for us to take out of the game, but there are also a few creases we need to iron out. We?ll be working hard in training in the coming days."
Led by Ireland Grand Slam-winning skipper O'Driscoll, the tourists took full advantage of a Golden Lions team who just a week ago axed coach Eugene Eloff and replaced him with inexperienced Hans Coetzee.
There were impressive performances throughout the British Lions team, but the midfield pairing of Jamie Roberts, who got two tries, and O'Driscoll, who also touched down, would have pleased McGeechan.
Inside them, fly-half Stephen Jones varied his game well, while scrum-half Mike Phillips delivered quick service to the backs.
Wingers Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye, who scored two tries each, thrived in the space afforded them by a very lax Golden Lions defence while fullback Rob Kearney did not put a foot wrong.
While the backs cut their opponents to pieces, the forwards laid a solid platform, dominating the set pieces, and loose forwards Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace and Tom Croft secured plenty of possession.
And the trio were not only a handful at contact points, but also shone in the loose.
Croft, not picked in the original squad, was especially good and his hard work was rewarded when he went over for a try in the first half.
The British Lions also impressed with their slick handling in stark contrast to the showing in Rustenburg when numerous balls were knocked on or lost in tackle.
Defensively, they upped their performance, hardly giving the hosts a sniff of the tryline with the Golden Lions' only try coming late in the first half when captain and flanker Cobus Grobbelaar powered his way through a hole in the defensive line to set up fullback Shandre Frolick, who replaced injured Louis Ludik early in the game.
The visitors dominated proceedings from start to finish with man of the match Roberts the star of the show. Besides his two first half tries, O'Driscoll, Monye and Croft crossed before the interval.
Bowe grabbed his two tries in the second half before Monye got his second and replacements James Hook and Stephen Ferris added to the Golden Lions' woes.
Jones kicked six conversions and two penalties and Hook three conversions.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
