Jonathan Davies moved joint top of the British & Irish Lions try scorers with his third try of the tour against the HSBC Waratahs and then picked up the plaudits in the dressing room after the game.
The Scarlets and Wales centre did his chances of earning a Test spot no harm at all with a wonder display at the Allianz Stadium that included his side’s fifth and final try and two major assists for two other scores.
"I thought Jonathan Davies was fantastic. Given the quality of our midfield and the pressure he was under to respond, I thought it was one of the best games I've seen him play, and the same goes for Alun-Wyn Jones – I thought both of them really stood up,” said Lions head coach Warren Gatland.
"It is quite nice to come in the changing room afterwards and find someone like Brian O'Driscoll say 'Man, how good was Jonathan Davies today?' I thought he was very, very good.”
Gatland was also full of praise for record breaking full back Leigh Halfpenny, who took his tour tally to 65 points with a match haul of 30 points. His two tries, four conversions and four penalties enabled him to surpass Ronan O’Gara’s previous best points total for a Lion in Australia of 26.
That was achieved in the opening game of the 2001 tour against a Western Australian XV in Perth. The most points scored in a game for the Lions is Alan Old’s 37 against the South West Districts in South Africa in 1974, with Halfpenny’s 30 now second on the list.
"Lions tours and World Cups are often won on goal-kicking. Apart from his (Halfpenny's) goal-kicking, some of his lines of running, his kicking out of hand, his positional play defensively were excellent.
“He is playing at the top of his game and he is the ultimate professional. He prepares and does everything you would expect of him.”
