British Lions Betting: McGeechan rallies troops after "kicking game in a monsoon"

British Lions / Maxliu / 24 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Late try means tourists surrender 100% warm-up record as lucky punters land big-priced draw...

The British & Irish Lions traded at a low of [1.03] as they lost their 100% warm-up game record in an encounter described by Ian McGeechan as, "A kicking game in a monsoon."

The Lions lead 13-6 against the Emerging Springboks, with a try from Keith Earls and kicks from Ronan O'Gara and James Hook, before Boks subsitute Danwel Dewas ran in out wide and Willem de Waal converted to set up a draw which was matched at [200.00].

However, the tourists, who can be backed at [7.4] to win their test series against South Africa, have seen their series odds little affected by the result. After losing the first test, they regarded this midweek fixture as an opportunity to recover their momentum but, although the hosts celebrated as though they had won at the final whistle, McGeechan won't be overly perturbed by the result as he knows that conditions in Pretoria on Saturday are likely to make for a very different game.

He said: "It was a potential banana skin we got through. It was a game we had to get out of. I feel sorry for the players, it was very difficult for them, basically a kicking game in a monsoon. Not a lot of rugby was played there."

Despite the torrid conditions, the coach will have been impressed by the performances of prop Tim Payne and full-back Keith Earls. Payne, who was called into the squad as a replacement earlier this week, was particularly assured and may have played himself into contention for Saturday's crucial test match.

However, with the Lions needing to win on Saturday to level the series and set up an enticing decider for the following week, few changes are expected to be made to the side which lost 26-21 to the World Champions in the first test. Shane Williams, who threatened with a few jinking runs, looks lilkely to miss out again.

The Lions are currently [3.55] in the Second Test match odds market with South Africa available at [1.41]. A second draw in a week can be matched at [41.0].

See Betting.Betfair for Lions news in the build up to Saturday as well as Tom Shanklin's tips for the second test and Geoffrey Riddle's big match previews.