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The Lions kicked off their Australasia tour in fine style with a 29-0 win over the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
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The Lions, who only arrived in Sydney on Wednesday, showed no signs of fatigue as they ran in four tries for an impressive bonus-point win.
The Lions were clinical in registering their largest winning margin over the Waratahs, keeping the Sydneysiders scoreless for the first time in Super Rugby.
Playing without injured skipper Warren Whiteley and fellow Springbok forward Jaco Kriel, the Lions forward pack dominated the Waratahs with two of their four tries coming off driving mauls.
Madosh Tambwe, Albertus Smith, Harold Voster and Marnus Schoeman got their names on the scoreboard. While Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies added three conversions and a penalty to the side’s tally.
“The boys wanted it more, we worked hard through the week and it paid off,” skipper Franco Mostert said.
“Any team would love to have a start like this to a long tour and we’re grateful to have had the chance.”
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The Lions consolidated their lead at the top of the South Africa conference, while the Waratahs’ loss opens the door for the Melbourne Rebels to return to the top of the Australian conference.
The Waratahs went into the match on the back of four straight wins against their Australian rivals, but they found the Lions a much tougher proposition.
Spearheaded by outstanding Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx, the Lions were superior up front and out wide.
It was the biggest loss for the Waratahs at home since 2002 and comes ahead of four matches against New Zealand teams.
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The Waratahs’ failure to score any points at home truly sums up the Australians’ performance in Super Rugby.
LIONS 29 (Tambwe, Smith, Vorster, Schoeman tries; Jantjies 3 cons, pen) WARATAHS 0
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