The Lions have suffered their first defeat so far on their Tour of Australia but a late rally ensured an dramatic end to their warm-up match against Australia A. The hosts enjoyed a comfortable 15-6 lead at the break thanks to some in-form kicking from fly-half Manuel Edmonds. After a disappointing opening half the game came alive in the second period. Australia A took a commanding 22-6 lead after 54 minutes following a try from Scott Staniforth which was converted by Manuel Edmonds. However, tries from centre Mark Taylor, full-back Matt Perry and wing Jason Robinson helped the Lions reduce the deficit and in the end it finished 28-25 as time ran out for the Graham Henry's rejuvenated team.
However, there was further bad news for the Lions when centre Mike Catt, making his first tour appearance after being sidelined by a calf muscle injury, suffered a recurrence of that injury and was forced to come off just before the interval.
Henry warned before this fixture that it would be the toughest test for his squad outside the three Test matches during their tour Down Under and so it has proven to be. The Lions were under pressure from the start and displayed some good defending to keep the match scoreless in the opening stages. It was the Lions themselves with the best opportunity to open the scoring when Neil Jenkins strode up to take a 7th minute penalty only to see his effort hit the post. However, he did make amends for that miss two minutes later with another penalty to give his team the lead.
That lead didn't last for long as Edmonds equalised with his first penalty kick. As the game wore on, the Lions found themselves under intense pressure and they were lucky not to concede a try when Lawrence Dallaglio, back from injury, missed his man. Only a late tackle from scrum-half Austin Healey saved the England international's blushes.
Australia A were unfortunate to lose Richard Graham after a crunching tackle from wing Ben Cohen but it didn't seem to affect their chances as they continued to plough away at the Lions defence, notching up several more penalty kicks to secure an impressive 9-point lead at half-time.
In the second-half, the Lions continued to struggle and Henry made a double substitution in the 54th minute, sending on hooker Gordon Bulloch for Robin McBryde and replacing Malcolm O'Kelly with Jeremy Davidson. However, a beautifully executed try from the home side soon after left the Lions with an uphill battle. After some precise passing from the Australians, centre Graeme Bond but inside and set up wing Scott Staniforth who sprinted towards the line. Edmonds conversion set up a 22-6 lead and it looked as if the Lions were down and out.
However, they struck immediately with a try of their own, courtesy of Wales centre Mark Taylor, who had replaced the injured Catt and it was converted successfully by fellow substitute Matt Dawson. Dallaglio saw yellow eight minutes from time after he attempted to clear from a ruck with his hand and Edmonds increased Australia A's advantage. But in the final few minutes, high drama ensued. Taylor raced through the Aussie defence and his pass set up Perry for a try but Dawson makes a terrible effort with his conversion kick to leave ten points between the sides.
Three minutes later, the Lions supporters were on their feet when Greenwood, Williams, and Davidson combined to set up Robinson for the touch down and Dawson made amends for his earlier effort with a successful conversion. In the end, Australia A hung on for a deserved victory but at least Graham Henry and his backroom staff can take some heart from his team's willingness to fight back in what appeared to be a futile task.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
