Tight first half in Hamilton

Rua Tipoki steps through the tackle of British and Irish Lions Brian O'Driscoll. Picture / Fotopress

Points were hard to come by in the first half of the Lions' tour match against the New Zealand Maori in Hamilton tonight, and at the break the score was just 6-all, two penalties apiece.

The Lions management had expressed a few niggles about the refereeing during the week, and indeed it didn't take long for the first stoush to develop.

It came at scrum time – a few harmless punches thrown – and it signalled the start of a hotly contested first half between the two front rows.

The aggression culminated in the sinbinning of Lions prop Andy Sheridan just before the interval, for throwing a punch.

For the Maori, halfback Piri Weepu was in good touch, his distribution to the backs top notch despite the bad ball he often received.

In the forwards, Marty Holah seemed to get the better of his much-vaunted counterpart, Martin Williams of Wales. Holah was frequently first to the breakdown.

In the Lions pack, lock Simon Shaw stood out, and was responsible for much of the lineout ball they gained.

The cold dewy night was responsible for a lot of dropped ball on both sides.

But in the end it was just the two penalties apiece – by David Hill for the Maori and Stephen Jones for the Lions – to put the two sides locked together at halftime.

Referee Steve Walsh will have his hands full to make sure this forward battle doesn't erupt into something ugly in the second stanza.