The Lions have beaten the Barbarians by 59 points to 8 in a one sided opening tour game, in Hong Kong. Mike Phillips gave a man of the match performance, while Paul O’Connell scored the opening try of the tour as he captained the side in place of the injured Sam Warburton. It was a game heavily influenced by conditions, as exhaustion and handling errors were all on display amid the thick humidity of the Hong Kong evening.

The game began with electricity in the air, before the damp suffocation of the atmosphere, and one sided blowout, sucked potency from the fixture. The opening electricity was most clearly on show as Barbarians and Saracens man Schalk Brits landed a powerful left hook on the side of his club mate Owen Farrell’s head, after just a few minutes. The blow seemed to shake the young out half and he will come out of this game feeling further than ever from the starting spot for test matches. Unfortunately for spectators that heavy blow from Brits was to prove the most resistance the Barbarians could muster for much of the evening.

Mike Phillips followed O’Connell’s opening try with two of his own, before Kahn Fotuali’I struck back with one over the line for the Baa Baas, shortly after half time.

The Lions made a host of changes early in the second half, with Jonny Sexton, Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Jamie Heaslip all entering the action at various points. By this stage, however, the contest had descended into procession as exhausted bodies battled against the elements and increasingly lopsided scoreline.

The Lions ran in five more tries before the final whistle, with Jonathan Davies, Alex Cuthbert (with two), Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Lydiate all breaching the sieve like last line of Barbarian defence.

Image: British & Irish Lions vs Barbarians
Lions' Jonathan Davies scores a try
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan