Lions relief after Cheetahs fright

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The tourists were given a major fright by Super 14 strugglers the Cheetahs, before escaping from Vodacom Park with a 26-24 success. First-half tries by Stephen Ferris and Keith Earls helped establish a 20-0 lead, yet the Cheetahs hit back with touchdowns from Danwel Demas, Wian du Preez and Corne Uys.

"We got ourselves into a good position and didn't develop it as we could have done," admitted Lions head coach Ian McGeechan.

"The breakdowns became a bit of a lottery and took a lot of momentum out of the game.

"We knew the games were going to get increasingly tougher, and I think it was a good challenge.

"You can never under-estimate how important a win is to the squad.

"The start was very good, but it became stop-start after that, which disappointed us. I don't think the ball in play time was very high."

The first two scores came while Ferris was in the sin-bin, with Uys' 80-metre interception effort setting up a thrilling finish.

Substitute Louis Strydom sent a late drop-goal attempt agonisingly wide before the Lions could celebrate their escape. They now tackle the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday night.