Player ratings: Mtawarira smashes Lions scrum

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Ratings

Lee Byrne Was a late fitness concern after pulling out of the pre-match warm-up and he did not last until half-time, replaced by Rob Kearney. 5 Tommy Bowe Had a try disallowed and offered a major midfield attacking presence for the Lions. Conceded a first-half penalty for holding on. 7 Brian O'Driscoll Dovetailed superbly with Jamie Roberts. Suffered a scare when he went down injured in the second half but recovered well. 7 Jamie Roberts Hard to believe he is only 22. The best back on the field and was the Lions' most creative and potent attacking weapon. 8 Ugo Monye Twice denied a try in the corner, first by De Villiers and then by Morne Steyn. Should really have converted one of the two. 7 Stephen Jones His place will be under threat from Ronan O'Gara next week. Missed a couple of early kicks, and was an indecisive playmaker. 5 Mike Phillips Struggled behind a retreating pack in the first half but bristled with his usual aggression in the last quarter. 7 Gethin Jenkins Held up his side of the scrum well against John Smit and even hauled down the jet-heeled Habana in the first half. 7 Lee Mears Lacked the physical presence to make his mark in a meaty scrummaging contest. Wayward line-out throws at start of each half. 6 Phil Vickery Embarrassed at scrum time by Mtawarira. Lucky not to be binned for collapsing the scrum, replaced five minutes after half-time. 3 Paul O'Connell The Lions skipper was anonymous in the first half, but then stepped up a gear in the second period, leading from the front. 6 Alun-Wyn Jones Competed well with the giant Botha in the lineouts, and a consistent contributor around the park in the loose. 6 Tom Croft Difficult to fathom how he did not make the original 37-man squad. Excellent support play and speed yielded him two tries. 7 David Wallace Had his moments at the critical breakdown area, but Brussow was the best scavanger on the field by a distance. 6 Jamie Heaslip The Leinster No 8 finished the game strongly, but also disappeared from it at times before the Lions rallied. Rob Kearney 6. Replaced Byrne and performend solidy. Adam Jones 7. Took over from the struggling Vickery, and provided some much-needed stability. Matthew Rees 6. Replaced Mears after 50 minutes. Martyn Williams 6. Given a run instead of Wallace for last 14 minutes. Donncha O'Callaghan 6. Reunited with O'Connell, his Munster and Ireland colleague, for last 14 minutes. Francois Steyn The auxillary full-back pinned the Lions back, particularly in the first period, with a succession of huge touch finders. 7 JP Pietersen Something of a peripheral figure but combined with De Villiers to halt Monye in the corner during a crucial phase of the match. 6 Adrian Jacobs Could find himself under pressure from Jaque Fourie next week. Not as his best and was upstaged by O'Driscoll and Roberts. 5 Jean de Villiers First game in six weeks following a groin injury. Executed a brilliant try-saving tackle on Monye before understandably fading. 6 Bryan Habana Hardly seen as an attacking force but rock solid in defence, highlighted by a crucial man-and-ball tackle late on on Alun-Wyn Jones. 7 Ruan Pienaar Kicked beautifully from hand and from the floor, justifying his selection ahead of Morne Steyn. Went off briefly with a blood injury. 7 Fourie Du Preez Not at his vintage best, surprising given how dominant his pack was in the first half. Sustained heavy blow to shoulder. 6 Tendai Mtawarira Produced a masterclass in the art of scrummaging. Had Vickery in all sorts of trouble. A real crowd favourite. 9 Bismark Du Plessis Solid at the set piece and showed Lions he meant business by standing menacingly over stricken O'Driscoll in first half. 7 John Smit A captain's performance. Helped set the tone with the opening try and enjoyed a fine scrummaging battle with Jenkins. 7 Bakkies Botha The enforcer disrupted the Lions' line-out and produced a fine try-saving tackle to deny Phillips a second-half try. 7 Victor Matfield Scrummaged brilliantly behind Mtawarira and twice acted as temporary scrum-half during a dominant first half for the Boks. 7 Heinrich Brussow The breakdown specialist caused havoc in the first half and deserved his try. Boks lost momentum when he was replaced. 7 Juan Smith May come under pressure from Danie Russouw next week. A far cry from his barnstorming World Cup performances. 6 Pierre Spies Not the rampaging presence we have seen in the Super 14 but did the dirty stuff well, not least when he held up Roberts. 6 Danie Rossouw 6. Never exerted same influence as Brussow. Andries Bekker 6. The giant lock replaced Botha with a quarter of match remaining. Jaque Fourie 6. Summoned to give the flagging De Villiers a breather. Gurthro Steenkamp 6. Hard act to follow replacing Mtawarira. Deon Carstens 6. Warm reception from his home crowd after replacing Smit. Ricky Januarie 5. No platform to work from.

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