Sharks 3-39 Lions

Published: Wednesday, 10 June 2009, 8:06PM

The British & Irish Lions produced an assured display against the Sharks at the ABSA stadium in Durban to make it four wins from four in South Africa.
 
Tries from Lee Mears, Mike Phillips, Luke Fitzgerald, Lee Byrne and Jamie Heaslip kept the scoreboard ticking over with Ronan O'Gara adding two penalties and three conversions.
 
Ian McGeechan's side dominated the early stages but were denied several times by some brilliant Sharks defending.
 
On 23 minutes Lee Mears burrowed over for a try after fine work by scrum-half Phillips and No 8 Heaslip before O'Gara converted.
 
Scrum-half Rory Kockott got the Sharks off the mark with a penalty after 30 minutes and a half-time score of 3-7 to the Lions hardly reflected the tourist's dominance.
 
It was a different story after the break as Phillips crossed for a try in the corner after superb work clearing out a ruck by David Wallace.
 
O'Gara added two penalties and the hard yards they'd put in in the first half started to pay off as the Sharks began to tire.
 
Tom Croft, Heaslip and Byrne were all involved before Brian O'Driscoll sent Fitzgerald over in the corner for a well-worked try.
 
And soon it was Byrne's turn as he burst through the defensive line and scrambled over for the fourth five-pointer of the match.
 
England prop Phil Vickery was yellow-carded in the final moments for a reckless challenge at a ruck before Sharks No 8 Keegan Daniel was also given ten minutes for a trip on Shane Williams.
But there was still time for Heaslip to score a deserved try after a bright display, which James Hook converted.
 
Turnovers and the penalty count will be a worry for the Lions and the Sharks were understrength - but in general it was a good night for McGeechan's men ahead of their clash with Western Province on Saturday.