The Lions were today nursing wounds sustained during the narrow victory over a Royal XV in Rustenburg – grateful not to have to lick them after staring defeat in the face – but only the Ireland centre, Keith Earls, has been ruled out of Wednesday's clash against the Golden Lions at Coca-Cola Park.
Earls sustained a shoulder injury in the opening minutes yesterday after an opposing prop fell on him. He will be out of action for three days but, as well as repair to physical damage, the 21-year old will need mental massaging after he dropped four balls in the opening 18 minutes, spurning a try opportunity the first time and conceding the position from the last that led to the Royal XV's opening try.
"Playing for the Lions is daunting and you could see Keith was desperate to get into the game straight away," said the Lions attack coach, Rob Howley, today. "We will be talking to him and reassuring that we have all been there as players. He has so much talent that he will get over this and the measure of being a Lion is how quickly you bounce back from adversity."
As soon as the game was over, the Ireland captain, Brian O'Driscoll, spent time talking with Earls. "The injury clearly hampered Keith but he kept on going and never let his head drop," said Howley. "The same could be said for the whole team because 12 points down with 12 minutes to go, we were staring at a defeat."
Earls was the only major casualty from an opening game that did not contain any flashpoints but which was physically demanding because of the altitude and the pitch temperature of 27C. The Lions captain, Paul O'Connell, arrived back at the squad's hotel in Sandton last night with his head swathed in a bandage.
"He had an injection in his ear to prevent a cauliflower from sprouting," said the Lions doctor, James Robson. "But he also had a scratch on his cornea during the game, which proved very painful. It was not caused by an opponent and may have happened when Paul wiped sweat away from his eye and we are treating it with anaesthetic drops."
Other minor injuries were sustained: Riki Flutey strained his right knee during his 15 minutes on the field; Mike Blair rolled his left ankle; Ronan O'Gara sustained minor shoulder damage; Andrew Sheridan left the field with badly blistered feet and Mike Phillips picked up a dead leg. Stephen Ferris, who withdrew from the bench because of a calf strain, will be fit for Wednesday, along with the No8, Andy Powell, who pulled out of the game yesterday morning because of a hand injury.
"Stephen's injury will be a candidate for the most bizarre of the tour," said Robson. "He did not sustain it during training but in getting off the coach. Andy Powell's hand injury was a painful one, probably caused by his inadvertently coming into contact with someone's head, but he should be fit tomorrow."
There was speculation last week, fuelled by the player, that Powell's problem was caused by an insect bite. "Some 20 players have had bites in the first week," said Robson. "If an insect caused Andy's injury it was because he saw one on a team-mates' head and swatted it!"
At least one player who started yesterday, probably the Ireland back rower David Wallace, is likely to take the field against the Golden Lions, with the tourists fielding all their open-side flankers in Rustenburg after Powell's withdrawal.
"Wednesday will be a big step up," said Howley. "Saturday was a disjointed performance but ultimately satisfying because of the way the players came back at the end. We know we have a lot of work to do but the intent to move the ball was there and we did not get involved in aerial ping-pong.
"There were a number of despondent players in the dressing room, which showed the attitude we have. It was a valuable win but the performance was not good enough. We have to step it up and we will."
