It was a record win over the Golden Lions, or Transvaal as they used to called, and eclipsed the heroics of the 1955 Lions But what did the main characters think about the 74-10 victory? Read on and find out.
IAN MCGEECHAN – HEAD COACH
It was a good performance. I don’t think I would have predicted a score line like that before the game. There are still certain things we want to do better, but it has given us a sighter for what is possible if we get things right.
We know we have got to lift ourselves another level or two in the next few weeks. We wanted to feed off each performance and there was some good feedback from Saturday and that was taken into this game.
The pleasing thing is we kept playing for 80 minutes. In South Africa we are going to have to maintain that concentration and keep the focus in every game.
BRIAN O’DRISCOLL – CAPTAIN
Lets’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. It was a good performance and we will enjoy that. We will put our heads back down tomorrow and try to iron out the few creases there are still in our game, but there were plenty of positives to take out of it, particularly the performance of Jamie Roberts. But we scored 70 points against a Super 14 team and somebody has got to take some sort of notice of that.
We will keep working away. We are far from the finished article. But the more we train and play together the more cohesive a unit we will become. There is a good buzz about
One of the most pleasing things in the 80 minutes was not conceding in the second half. We could have taken our foot off the gas and maybe let them in for a couple of scores, but we were adamant at half-time talked at half-time about keeping them scoreless and it was great that we did that.
We have set the bar at a certain level and now the players on Saturday have the responsibility to take it to the next level. We are all fighting for Test spots and we all have to continue to better each others performances. Only the captain, Paul O’Connell, is guaranteed place and so that gives a great competitive edge to the team
There is a good buzz about this squad. We have a great unity and we are building on that daily. Hopefully that will tell on the pitch.
JAMIE ROBERTS – MAN OF THE MATCH
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. I’m sure we will look back at the video and see there is plenty to work on. It’s now up to the guys playing on Saturday to raise the bar again. The tight five were fantastic and freed up the space for the backs. Happy days!
It was pretty special playing with Brian. As a boy I grew up watching him. I remember watching him back in 2001 and 2005 and it is great to finally get the chance to play alongside him. Fingers crossed I will get another chance again.
COBUS GROBBELAAR – GOLDEN LIONS CAPTAIN
They played very well and capitalised on our mistakes, especially with those interception tries. The scrummed well and were verty physical and cometptive at the breakdown. Full credit to them.
