AN invaluable 18-point contribution by Tim Stimpson at Newlands served notice that be is well on the way to making the grade as an international goal-kicker. The England full back's four penalty goals and three conversions will reassure the Lions management that they now have a highly reliable marksman in addition to Neil Jenkins and Mike Catt (who joins the tour tomorrow) as they begin to crystalise their ideas about a Test line-up.
Stimpson was also a catalyst in the back division, coming into the line with impeccable timing and getting within a whisker of a second-half try with a bold chip and charge that was frustrated only by an unkind bounce. Clearly the 24-year-old Newcastle player has the pace, strength and vision to make the No. 15 shirt his own when the Lions return here for the first Test on June 21st.
Nevertheless Stimpson refused to attach too much weight to an exhilarating all-round performance that showed just how dangerous the Lions can be when they move the ball swiftly into wide open spaces. His goal-kicks in the opening quarter and final half-hour provided vital insurance against a never-say-die Western Province side that scored three clinically executed tries including two by their ubiquitous captain Dick Muir.
The relief among the coaching staff was summed up by Ian McGeechan: "It was very pleasing to see the goal kicks going over and the backs showing plenty of confidence on the ball."
In fact, for the third game in succession, the Lions fell behind early in the second half before raising their game with sufficient poise and vigour to claim a four-try victory. Western Province's third try, created by Muir and scored by the flanker Robbie Brink at the posts, had pushed the hosts into a 21-18 lead which they held for only four minutes until Stimpson kicked his third penalty goal from the edge of the box.
It was the high standard of the Lions' distribution, imaginatively organised by Gregor Townsend, that left Western Province trailing in their slipstream. Some of the scissors and loop movements worked by Robert Howley, John Bentley, Jeremy Guscott, Alan Tait and Stimpson were breath-taking in their audacity, frequently sending wrong-footed opponents in pursuit of illusory bares.
"It was important that we won and won well," said Howley. "This game was a greater challenge than any we get back home. Lots of big hits were going in from both sides - it was very physical and in the tackle area you were often hit backwards and even knocked off the ball. It is vital that we play under such pressure and learn to cope with it the challenges can only get bigger in Transvaal."
However, anxieties persisted over the performance of the scrum which was nudged back sharply on a couple of occasions and looked ordinary. The captain Martin Johnson said: "We need to tighten up in that department - there were a few scrums in which we didn't concentrate. The game was as tough as anything I have encountered in the Five Nations championship."
The Lions made shrewd use of tactical substitutes, recognising that the introduction of fresh legs can unhinge the opposition in the closing stages. After 62 minutes Tim Rodber, powerful in the loose, was replaced by Scott Quinnell whose mauling strength set Western Province problems they never resolved. Will Greenwood, who replaced Tait for the last 10 minutes, cleverly acted as a decoy, drawing tired defenders away from unmarked Lions.
It was encouraging to see the Lions score an early try for the third game running. When Rodber won a line-out on the right the ball was swiftly transferred through the hands of Townsend, Howley and Guscott who pat Bentley over in stylish fashion in the left corner. Stimpson's touch line conversion, followed by an angled 30-metre penalty goal put the Lions 13-0 ahead within 17 minutes.
Midway through the half Muir, the former Natal centre, scored a predatory try on the right thanks to Stephen Hatly who smartly whipped the ball away from a ruck. Tait responded with a 27th-minute try after good work by Guscott and Bentley. Ten minutes later Muir plundered a second try in the right corner after the full-back Just in Swart lost the ball a metre from the line. Western Province, who were enjoying their best spell, then forged ahead through Blink.
At that critical stage the Lions showed they had the capacity to move up several gears. Nerves steadied by a couple of short-range penalty goals by Stimpson which pushed them back into a 24-21 lead, the tourists unleashed a sweeping counter-attack from left to right which culminated in Howley flinging out a long pass to Evans who scored at the right flag. In the last minute Bentley grabbed his second try in the left corner after Hill had twice hacked on: it was the icing on a cake that required prodigious effort in the baking.
