Lions 34 Bay of Plenty 20
A valiant Steamers performance and a major injury made difficult viewing for the Lions coaching staff in Rotorua tonight.
The tourists secured the win, but not until The Bay of Plenty had offered some stiff resistance and English veteran Lawrence Dallaglio had been stretchered off with
a dislocated ankle.
Head coach Clive Woodward confirmed after the game that Dallaglio will miss the rest of the tour. Woodward said: "It's a huge blow. We're all gutted for him and it's taken the shine off what was a great game of rugby."
A full house of more than 30,000 was at the Rotorua International Stadium for the first game of the Lions Tour, but the Bay supporters had little to cheer early on.
The Lions went off at a flying pace, going 17-0 up after 11 minutes, thanks to two tries from Josh Lewsey and one from Mark Cueto.
But tries back from Colin Bourke and Murray Williams helped the Steamers to draw level and went in at half-time pleased with a score of 17-all.
After the free-scoring first half it wasn't until the 12th minute of the second period that Welshman Tom Shanklin scored the Lions' fourth try of the game in the left corner after a period of pressure.
Ronan O'Gara missed the conversion and when Murray Williams slotted a penalty seven minutes later the score was 22-20 to the British and Irish side.
Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll squandered a great chance to stretch the lead with a forward pass when he had options either side.
Josh Lewsey had opened the scoring with a try just two minutes into the game, and touched down just inside the corner flag again four minutes later.
The fast pace the Lions went out at caused the Bay team, who shone in the NPC last year, serious problems and they struggled to achieve any early possession.
An O'Gara cross-field kick to Mark Cueto, a late call-up to the squad, was turned into the third try of the night. O'Gara slotted the ball between the posts for the first time to give a 17-0 lead after 11 minutes.
Dallaglio's injury disrupted the Lions' momentum. Fellow Englishman Martin Corry came on as his replacement.
The game was effectively wrapped up in the 71st minute when Dwayne Peel crossed the line from a scrum to take the score to 27-20. However, O'Gara missed the conversion again and soon after skewed a drop goal attempt, doing his chances of a test place little good with Jonny Wilkinson waiting in the wings.
Gordon D'Arcy took advantage of a Lewsey break to score under the posts with just two minutes left on the clock. This time O'Gara found his aim.
Lions 34 (Josh Lewsey 2, Mark Cueto, Tom Shanklin, Dwayne Peel, Gordon D'Arcy tries; Ronan O'Gara 2 con)
Bay of Plenty 20 (Colin Bourke, Murray Williams tries; Williams 2 pen, 2 con).
Halftime: 17-17.
* For a full analysis of tonight's game from the Herald on Sunday's sportsdesk, log on to nzherald.co.nz from 5am Sunday NZT (6pm Saturday BST/IST)
- Additional reporting NZPA
Lions try-scorer Tom Shanklin is held by the Bay of Plenty defence in Rotorua tonight. Picture / Fotopress
Lions 34 Bay of Plenty 20
A valiant Steamers performance and a major injury made difficult viewing for the Lions coaching staff in Rotorua tonight.
The tourists secured the win, but not until The Bay of Plenty had offered some stiff resistance and English veteran Lawrence Dallaglio had been stretchered off with
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