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Hat-tricks for Adams, Van der Merwe as Lions power past Sharks
The visitors, hit by a Covid case hours before the match, were forced to make several changes to the side before kick-off.
South Africa-born wing Duhan van der Merwe of the British and Irish Lions scored a hat trick of tries against the Sharks on Wednesday at Ellis Park. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images
Serviced by a steady flow of quick ball, British and Irish Lions wings Josh Adams and Duhan van der Merwe both scored hat-tricks as the tourists hammered the Sharks 54-7 at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.
The Covid crisis surrounding this series meant the Lions had to make eight late changes to their originally announced team and they had just one backline reserve on the bench. It only seemed to fuel them to higher levels of excellence.
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Playing with tremendous skill and tempo, the Lions were ruthless and clinical in scoring eight tries. Their aggressive defence took away much of the time and space the Sharks are used to normally and the tourists only conceded a single try.
The prolific Adams, who has now scored eight tries in three appearances for the Lions, and Van der Merwe both scored in the opening 10 minutes to immediately settle the tourists and banish all thoughts from their minds of the tremendous disruption they have suffered over the last 24 hours.
With Owen Farrell, one of the late changes at flyhalf, producing a tactical masterclass, the Lions scored two more tries before halftime to lead 26-0 at the break.
The Sharks scored first in the second half, flank James Venter rounding off a lovely try that featured slick work down the right touchline by Jeremy Ward, Werner Kok and Manie Libbok.
But then they ruined their promising moments with basic errors and soft moments, succumbing to the pressure exerted on them by a top-quality international side. The Lions scored four more tries, the last when they deliberately played with just 14 men. From a powerful scrum, Adams had space aplenty to complete is hat-trick.
It is highly unlikely that Sharks coach Sean Everitt sleeps well tonight. With their first foray into Europe a couple of months away, the Sharks were way off the pace. Clearly, playing against sluggish South African teams has got them into bad habits and a false sense of security.
Scorers
Sharks – Try: James Venter. Conversion: Curwin Bosch.
British & Irish Lions – Tries: Josh Adams (3), Duhan van der Merwe (3), Bundee Aki, Louis Rees-Zammit. Conversions – Owen Farrell (3), Finn Russell (4).
