Wellington coach puts the boot in

The Lions, parading a near Test-strength side, bounced back from their defeat to New Zealand Maori last weekend as tries in each half by Welsh Grand Slam stars Gethin Jenkins and Gareth Thomas saw them home.

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, making his first start of the 11-match trip, weighed in with 13 points but it could, and should, have been a far more convincing scoreline.

Wilkinson and company monopolised territory and possession against a team minus their current All Blacks quartet Tana Umaga, Jerry Collins, Rodney So'oialo and Conrad Smith, yet they wasted numerous scoring chances, even allowing for the windswept conditions.

''They will be a little bit disappointed at their continuity and it will be interesting to see what happens in the first Test,'' said former Swansea coach Plumtree.

''I think they will have to play a bit more rugby if they want to beat the All Blacks.

''If we had played the All Blacks, I think they would have scored 60 points, or maybe 50 points. You are not going to get away with that sort of territory and possession factor.

''I don't think the Lions punished us tonight, which I think they will be disappointed about.

''We would have enjoyed having our guys back (from the All Blacks squad), but that's professional rugby. There are two sides to the argument but we are only ten days away from a Test. If we had fielded our strongest side I think it would have been interesting.

''From the Lions' perspective, it's hard.

" They haven't got a lot of time to work on a lot of things - there is not a lot time for correction - but Test matches are a different kettle of fish.

''Whether they can beat the All Blacks we will have to wait and see.''

With the first Test in Christchurch looming on Saturday week, Sir Clive Woodward and his coaching think-tank witnessed high-class displays by Jenkins, Thomas, 36-year-old England veteran Neil Back and Irish hooker Shane Byrne, who surely moved above Steve Thompson in the pecking order.

There was also an interesting manoeuvre for the last 13 minutes, when Wilkinson switched to inside centre instead of Gavin Henson and Stephen Jones took the reins at number ten, but it would be harsh on Henson if he missed out against New Zealand.

Wilkinson, inevitably, looks exactly what he is - short of match practice - so an outing against Otago in Dunedin on Saturday cannot be discounted for the England World Cup hero.

The Lions' coaches will meet today to assess all their selection options, although there were improvements from the Maori game, especially at breakdown and contact areas, where Back was at his bustling best.

''We are pleased with the control of the game. I thought the pack played very well and we were just one pass away from some fairly significant scores,'' said coach Ian McGeechan.

''There are still things to work on but I think there were some significant steps forward in the contact area and our support work.

''I don't think the weather or the pitch was conducive to strong back-play. Doing the same things in drier conditions and with drier hands, we would probably have got players free.

''I don't think the All Blacks would have got any more control of the game than we had.''

The Lions established a 13-6 interval lead thanks to Jenkins' 15-metre dash for glory following an incisive break from scrum-half Dwayne Peel and perfectly-timed Martin Corry pass.

But they then scored only three more points until the 78th minute, when Thomas marked his first tour start by perfectly executing a kick-and-chase try.

''I thought Neil Back played very well,'' said McGeechan's coaching colleague Gareth Jenkins.

''He's got huge experience and he brought that to the fore today.

"I thought he fronted up and he's proved to us he is ready, if he is selected, to play Test rugby.

''As for Gethin Jenkins, I thought he was man of the match.

He proved to everyone in New Zealand what type of player he is and showed the form he has been producing in the northern hemisphere.'