Rugby: Highwaymen almost rob Lions

South African rugby showed its hard face at the Free State Stadium yesterday, the locals testing the Lions to the limit in a compelling game decided by the strength of the tourists' set-piece and the two or three centimetres that denied Louis Strydom a match-winning drop goal a minute into stoppage time. Strydom struck boldly from near the halfway line, but saw his kick slide to the right of the posts.

But for the Lions' scrum - and, to a lesser extent, their lineout - the Free Staters would have won. They made life horribly difficult for the tourists at the breakdown, robbing them of possession like some band of rugby-playing highwaymen. Joe Worsley, pressed into service at open-side flanker, could not reproduce his England form in the position, and found himself being replaced by a lock forward in Nathan Hines.

There were times yesterday when the Lions' strongest selection gave an uncanny impression of a midweek team in a state of late-tour depression. Something will have to change ahead of the test series with the Springboks.

Judging by the way the Cheetahs tore into the tackle area from the first whistle, with flanker Heinrich Brussow and hooker Adriaan Strauss to the fore, it seemed the home side had decided on an ultra-physical approach, and when the second scrum broke up in a flurry of two-man scraps, the suspicion was confirmed.

James Hook settled things down with an opening penalty on seven minutes. Then came a bizarre try for Stephen Ferris, who covered the 35m to the line in glorious isolation after snaffling some ruck ball from Tewis de Bruyn. Then, there was a magnificent strike from centre Keith Earls, who latched on to a midfield chip from Hook and stepped twice off his right foot to flummox the Cheetahs' defence.

Early in the second quarter, the Lions had built a 20-point lead. With Brussow working overtime at the breakdown, the Cheetahs won some front-foot possession and sent De Bruyn scuttling into the 22, supported by fullback Hennie Daniller. Ferris killed the ball on the floor and was given a 10-minute rest. In that instant, the game changed.

The Free Staters sent wing Danwel Demas over at the corner for a try converted by Jacques-Louis Potgieter. Brussow made another intervention at close quarters, enabling De Bruyn, and Du Preez smashed through Lee Byrne for another converted try. Hook's injury-time penalty gave the Lions a nine-point lead at interval.

The second half turned out to be a serious trial for the Lions. Hook's marksmanship just about kept them ahead of the game, but a late interception try from Corne Uys, who pounced on a loose pass from Shane Williams, gave them a nasty dose of the heebie-jeebies.

- INDEPENDENT