THE LIONS would have lost this first tour match had it not been for Lee Byrne. In the process of saving it the Wales and Ospreys full-back laid down his credentials as overwhelming favourite to start the first Test in Durban in three weeks’ time.

While teammates were losing heads and breakdown ball in front of him, Byrne was the essence of composure. Whether it was fielding high balls under enthusiastic pressure from the Royal XV, identifying the opportune moment to launch the counterattack, or devouring vast chunks of territory with his knifing left foot, everything he did smacked of Test-match class.

If the overwhelming underdogs can find 14 players capable of reaching this level, South Africa might have more to worry about than they think after this rough-edged opening salvo.

The Lions will need a kicking game against the world champions, who are never short of confidence as punters in the Highveld. They have Fourie Du Preez, and the Lions lack any such ground-gulping equivalent at half-back.

But Byrne can lead the riposte because he is a good enough reader of the game to make it hard for Du Preez to find the open space in which he revels. He gets to the landing zone early and he makes that ball his. Without someone handling the majestic kicking game of the Springbok scrum-half, the series is halfway to being lost.

Rob Kearney is no slouch but the Welshman picks a harder running line (which, alas, we rarely saw yesterday) and probably possesses an extra 10 metres’ distance in his kicking. It was his left boot that lifted the Lions when most in need. Around the hour mark he unleashed a bewildering array of high balls which he fielded or delicate chips into areas the opposing defenders had failed to fill.

An already command kicking performance was sealed in the 67th minute when he cleverly directed what can only be called a weighted garryowen into unmarked territory; he could not reach it on the full but his boot and brain combined beautifully to volley with some delicacy over the advancing head of Sarel Pretorius. A fortunate deflection off the scrum-half’s hand and the ball stood up for him to charge over from 22 metres for the Lions’ second try.

That pulled the wobbling Lions back to 25-20. A Ronan O’Gara penalty in the 72nd minute closed the gap to a mere two points before another howitzer from Byrne finally turned the match the way of the visitors.

He stepped outside the shelter of his own 22 and fired a kick downfield, gambling on maximum distance. For once he overcooked the kick but luck again favoured him as Bjorn Basson tried to keep the ball in play when it was heading into touch on the full.

It was a huge kick Byrne misjudged by millimetres, but the hapless Royal left wing’s misjudgment was the one that mattered as the Lions threw into the lineout 20 metres out rather than defending 20 metres from their own line.

Lucky it was, but Byrne earned his luck and with it the likelihood of starting in the first Test.

There were precious few players who left positive marks on the minds of the Lions management. Jamie Roberts was one exception, as was Tommy Bowe, seemingly synchronised with Byrne.

The third member of the Osprey trinity, Shane Williams, was off-kilter, frequently making the little errors that littered the rest of the team’s efforts. He lost ground even as the other two back three Ospreys made advances.

Another who will probably settle for his final account is the other Lions kicker, O’Gara. Not only was he immaculate off the ground (under infinitely more pressure than most critics conceived possible), but his tactical kicking improved as the game wore on and the pressure and the stakes increased. That is the mark of a good player.

Neither of the two scrum-halves inside him, Mike Blair and Mike Phillips, offered a silver service but still he mainly put the ball where it had to go in the second half. O’Gara was good, but Byrne was brilliant.