It was a really tough contest for the British & Irish Lions againsrt the Southern Kings and nobody was mincing their words afterwards. Read what the key players had to say about the game.
IAN MCGEECHAN, LIONS COACH
“I am really proud of the discipline we showed today. They wanted to make a game of it and it was pretty full on.
“We had to control that and keep enough composure to win the game. That shows the focus of the players and they got their just rewards in the second half.
“A try and a penalty try showed that technically we had kept our heads and, in rugby terms, that hurt them the most.
“We knew we had to control the contact areas and we came out of it pretty well in those areas. It was a very fragmented game and the ball seemed to take a long time to come back into play.
“I thought we were very professional. They wanted to produce a tough game for us and they did that.
“You have to remember that we had eight players fronting up with two games in four days. Andrew Sheridan said the last time he did that was when he was 13.”
“We’ve got the win and we will move on from here.”
DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN, LIONS CAPTAIN
“We were a bit disappointed about the try we conceded. It was a hugely physical game, but there was n ill-feeling. We are at a level where we can’t sink to that.
“Things go on in games, but you have to respect the other players. They came into our dressing room after the game and swapped jerseys.
“We gave a few silly penalties away, but we stayed very composed when they was a lot going on off the ball. We rose above some of the stuff that was happening.”
ALAN SOLOMONS, SOUTHERN KINGS COACH
“I thought the guys played terrifically well – it was a fantastic performance, especially when you think we played for 20 minutes with only 14 men. The scoreline was a lot closer than 20-8 and I think there was very little between the two teams..
“Early on they realised they were in for a hell of a game when Frikkie Welsh put in that big tackle. When touring teams came here in the past we used to climb into them and we did that today.
“The Lions are a very physical side and they were intent on coming her to beat South Africa physically. We were determined not to give them an easy ride.
”They have made it clear they wanted a physical confrontation in South Africa and we didn’t want to disappoint them.”
MARCO WENTZEL, SOUTHERN KINGS LOCK
“We all wanted to play this game. We only had 10 days together, but we came together and enjoyed it. The Lions come over here and expect teams to be physical and we wanted to show them that.”
JACO VAN DER WESTHUYZEN, SOUTHERN KINGS OUTSIDE HALF
“I really enjoyed it out there. Nobody really gave us a chance, but the names in our team got the crowd to turn up and it was as close to a Test match atmosphere as you can get.
“South African players are always physical and we just wanted to go out there and give them a good club.”
DERICK KUUN, SOUTHERN KINGS CAPTAIN
“Super 14 rugby tends to be a lot quicker. They slowed it down a lot, which makes we think that if the Springboks shift the game a bit more the Lions will be in trouble.
“I think the Tests will be more of a kicking game, but physically the Boks will definitely be up for it.
“I think we gave Eastern Province rugby a big stepping stone to building their new franchise here.”
