Lions dissatisfied with performance against Aust A

8.00 am

GOSFORD, Australia - The British and Irish Lions suffered the first setback of their Australia tour last night when they were beaten 28-25 by Australia A in a result which captain Martin Johnson labelled a "wake-up call".

The Lions, who rallied with late tries by fullback Matt Perry and former rugby league international winger Jason Robinson, outscored the Australians three tries to one.

But the tourists failed to reproduce the running rugby that helped them to 241 points in the first three games of the tour and were outplayed for periods of the match by Australia's second-string side.

"It is very disappointing. It is like a morgue in there in the dressing room," coach Graham Henry said. "It is understandable. We did not play well enough."

Tour captain Martin Johnson added: "The guys know they did not do themselves justice. The Australians played well. It was a wake-up call."

Centre Scott Staniforth scored for the Australians while first five-eighths Manuel Edmonds kicked seven penalties and a conversion to give the home side a 28-13 lead with 10 minutes remaining before the Lions fought back to narrow the gap.

Replacement fullback Mark Taylor scored the other try for the Lions while Matt Dawson landed two conversions and Neil Jenkins two penalties.

The Lions lost just two matches on their last tour in South Africa in 1997. They were beaten by Northern Transvaal at around the same stage of the tour before losing the third test once they had clinched the series.

The Lions now have two more games on the Australia tour before the three-test series against the World Cup-winning Wallabies begins on June 30. The tourists play New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.

This game was billed as the unofficial fourth test. Players from both teams were out to push their claims for selection in the tests. But the match failed to reach any great heights.

The Australians dominated the first half but had to settle for a 15-6 lead at the break after Edmonds kicked five penalties to Jenkins' two.

The home side spent most of the first 40 minutes camped inside the Lions' half but were prevented from scoring through some good defence from the Lions. But the tourist gave away penalties.

Edmonds turned down two easy shots at goal in the first five minutes but was forced to start taking the points on offer when it became apparent tries would be difficult to come by.

As it was, the Lions opened the scoring in the 10th minute when world record points scorer Jenkins landed his second attempt at goal after striking the upright with his first shot.

The Australians came close to scoring several times in the first half but were prevented by some desperate defence. Flanker David Lyons, fullback Richard Graham and centre Nathan Grey all got within sight of the line only to be tackled just short.

The Lions struggled to build up any real momentum, dropping the ball on several occasions, failing to win their own lineouts and even losing a scrum on their own feed.

The Australians also enjoyed a 15-4 penalty count in the first half but for all their advantage, they still failed to score a try and had to be content with a nine-point lead built on penalties.

The match did at least pick up in the second half with four tries.

The Australians scored the first in the 54th minute when they spun the ball wide from a scrum inside their own half.

Outside centre Graeme Bond took the ball at pace, stepped inside Lions winger Ben Cohen and drew the defence to give Staniforth a free run to the line.

Edmonds landed the sideline conversion to give the Australians a 22-6 lead before the Lions hit back with a try of their own.

The tourists worked the ball downfield to earn a penalty right on the Australian line which halfback Austin Healey quickly took and spun right for Taylor to crash over and reduce the score to 22-13.

The Lions' insistence on using hands in the rucks continued to cost them dearly as Edmonds added another two penalties and England flanker Lawrence Dallaglio was yellow-carded for repeated infringements.

The Lions brought some respectability back to the scoreline when Perry scored in the left corner five minutes from time and Robinson, who scored five tries on debut against the Queensland President's XV last week, scored next to the posts.

Teams:

Lions: 15-Matt Perry; 14-Ben Cohen, 13-Will Greenwood, 12-Mike Catt (Mark Taylor 39), 11-Jason Robinson; 10-Neil Jenkins (Matt Dawson 57), 9-Austin Healey; 8-Scott Quinnell, 7-Martyn Williams, 6-Lawrence Dallaglio, 5-Malcolm O'Kelly (Jeremy Davidson 52), 4-Scott Murray; 3-David Young (captain) (Darren Morris 64), 2-Robin McBryde (Gordon Bulloch 52), 1-Jason Leonard.

Temporary replacements used: Colin Charvis for Scott Quinnell

Australia A: 15-Richard Graham (James Holbeck 23); 14-Mark Bartholomeusz, 13-Graeme Bond, 12-Nathan Grey, 11-Scott Staniforth; 10-Manuel Edmonds, 9-Chris Whitaker (Sam Payne 56); 8-Jim Williams (Peter Ryan 66), 7-Phil Waugh (captain), 6-David Lyons, 5-Justin Harrison, 4-Tom Bowman (Jono West 62); 3-Rod Moore, 2-Brendan Cannon, 1-Cameron Blades (Patricio Noriega 60).

- REUTERS