Lions romp to record win

Will Greenwood controlled the midfield

Western Australia 10-116 Lions

The Lions have begun their tour Down Under with a convincing win over Western Australia.

The tourists overwhelmed their amateur opponents with 18 tries as they racked up over a century of points at the WACA.

Scott Quinnell and Dan Luger both scored hat-tricks as the tourists broke records for the overall score, the margin of victory and the number of tries scored by the Lions in a match.

But some of the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for two less heralded players on show.

  WA 10-116 Lions

Lions scorers
Tries: Scott Quinnell (3), Dan Luger (3), Neil Back (2), Rob Howley (2), Iain Balshaw (2), Will Greenwood, Danny Grewcock, Mark Taylor, Simon Taylor, Austin Healey, Brian O'Driscoll
Cons: Ronan O'Gara (13)

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Lions landmarks

2 mins: Quinnell scores the opening try of the tour.
29 mins: Back scores the second of two tries in three minutes.
38 mins: O'Gara converts Quinnell's second try to bring up 50 points.
Half-time: 0-57
45 mins: Howley scores his second and a 10th try for the Lions
57 mins: O'Gara converts Simon Taylor's try as the Lions pass 75 points.
61 mins: Luger completes his hat-trick.
74 mins: Quinnell completes his hat-trick.
75 mins: Healey scores as the Lions record a new match record and pass 100 points.
Full time: 10-116

After 52 minutes WA's left wing, Brent Becroft, crossed to break the host's duck and 15 minutes later substitute scrum half Robbie Barugh also crossed in the same corner.

The shine was slightly taken off the victory when Iain Balshaw suffered an injury in scoring the penultimate try of the match.

The Bath full back, a second half replacement, had just crossed for the pick of four tries in the closing minutes only to pull up after touching down with an apparent recurrence of his shoulder injury.

However captain Keith Wood dismissed the injury as a slight knock after the match.

Scoring rout

Scoring apart, Graham Henry will leave Perth content with the fluency his team showed on the pitch as they continue to build partnerships and develop communication ahead of the greater tests that follow.

Backs combined with forwards and the Lions played at great pace throughout and they maintained their momentum when Henry made a host of second half substitutions.

However by then the match was already beyond doubt.

Quinnell and Rob Howley gave the Lions the perfect start with tries in the opening 10 minutes and in so doing exorcised the pain of their last outings in a Lions jersey.

The Welshmen had both had to leave the Lions tour of South Africa through injury four years earlier.

Quinnell crossed in the corner on the blindside from close range after only two minutes before Howley made a typical darting run from the base of a scrum through WA's paper thin defence.

The Lions rarely slipped from the high standards they set themselves in the opening skirmishes and made the most of what effectively was a contact training session.

Quinnell crosses for the first of his three tries

Will Greenwood was a first half lynchpin and the majority of the best attacking moves stemmed from the peroxide blonde's control of the midfield.

The Harlequin centre got on the score sheet himself after 24 minutes making the most of a searing Brian O'Driscoll burst from full back.

If Henry had one gripe it would be that his experiment with O'Driscoll at full back was never really tested by WA who failed to push the Lions at any stage of the match.

Neil Back scored a brace of tries from close range lineouts before Wood and Greenwood combined to send their Quins team-mate Luger over for his second.

The hosts were unable to stem the tide in the second half as the Lions ran in another nine tries, the pick of the bunch being Balshaw's second when he was sent through by a flicked scissors pass by the impressive Scottish flanker Simon Taylor.

As well as Taylor, and his namesake, the Welsh centre Mark, Greenwood, Luger and Quinnell all emerged with great credit but despite their efforts they still could not match the cheer that welcomed the tries from Becroft and Barugh.

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Lions: B O'Driscoll (Ireland), B Cohen (England), W Greenwood (England), M Taylor (Wales), D Luger (England), R O'Gara (Ireland), R Howley (Wales), D Morris (Wales), K Wood (Ireland, capt), P Vickery (England), D Grewcock (England), M O'Kelly (Ireland), R Hill (England), N Back (England), S Quinnell (Wales).
Replacements: I Balshaw (England), R Henderson (Ireland), A Healey (England), S Taylor (Scotland), J Davidson (Ireland), J Leonard (England), R McBryde (Wales).

Western Australia: S Apaapa; M Gardiner, A Broughton, H Waldin, B Becroft; T Feather, M Fleet; T Stevens, C Duff, A New, N Hollis, T Thomas (capt), H Grace, R Coney, A Brain.
Replacements: D McRae, R Barugh, M Harrington, P Noriega, T Cameron, G Plimmer, R Kellam.

Referee: Wayne Erickson (Aus).