Ian McGeechan applauded his Lions for the fortitude they showed against the Sharks in Durban.
Head coach heartened by performance against the Sharks
Ian McGeechan applauded his British and Irish Lions for the fortitude they showed in overcoming the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday night.
The Lions triumphed 39-3 to make it four wins from four in South Africa, although it took 32 unanswered second-half points to add the gloss to the scoreline that the tourists' possession and territory deserved.
Lee Mears, Mike Phillips, Luke Fitzgerald, Lee Byrne and Jamie Heaslip all crossed for tries, while Ronan O'Gara kicked 12 points and James Hook kicked a conversion at the death.
A shoulder injury for centre Jamie Roberts put somewhat of a dampener on proceedings, but McGeechan has played down the severity of that complaint and has hailed the way his team is coming together.
Positives
"I am very pleased," said McGeechan. "We showed very strong discipline and patience - it was a very strong performance.
"We didn't panic. We just kept building a performance and reaped the benefits in the second half.
"There's no problem. It is just bruising with Jamie's shoulder. He took a heavy bang on it, but Lions doctor James Robson is pretty happy.
"But you don't get carried away with things. The Test matches will be another level completely.
"We need to keep our feet on the ground. Our discipline and patience, and the fact we finished very strongly, showed the players are enjoying playing with the ball and without it."
Lions skipper Paul O'Connell saluted his team's second-half display after they were made to work hard for a 7-3 lead at the interval.
"If we didn't trust each other, it would have been very easy to get frustrated. But we stayed very patient, relaxed and stayed on the job," O'Connell said.
"It was a big step forward for us. There are a lot of successful guys on this trip who are ready to be successful again. The guys have been trying very hard, and it all contributes to a very good atmosphere."
Predictions
Sharks coach John Plumtree admitted his understrength team - shorn of several Springboks - had finished second-best meanwhile.
"The Lions had a little bit too much for us," said the former Swansea coach. "The amount of work we had to do defensively meant we couldn't do enough in attack.
"But I think the Lions might find they are a little bit underdone, so there is a flip side to the South African provinces being under-strength.
"The Springboks have got to make sure over the next 10 days they prepare really smartly.
"I think the Lions will be ready more than the Boks will be in terms of their structures."
Plumtree, who coached Wellington against the 2005 Lions, added: "I think this Lions team is much better.
"It is better organised and better managed. The players still probably don't know who is in the Test team, although I thought there were probably 10 or 11 Test players out there tonight."
