Cheetahs 24 British and Irish Lions 26

ANDREW Sheridan was happy to shrug off personal accolades after his Herculean effort helped keep the British and Irish Lions’ unbeaten South Africa tour record intact.

The England prop won unstinting praise from Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske, who felt his scrummaging prowess will set alarm bells ringing in the Springboks camp.

‘‘Andrew Sheridan is one of, if not the most powerful loosehead prop in the world,’’ said former South African Test hooker Drotske. ‘‘We expected him to cause us a lot of problems, and he did.

‘‘I suspect the Springboks will be expecting him to give them problems as well. He is a tremendous power in the scrum.’’ With the Test series against world champions South Africa starting in less than a fortnight’s time, Sheridan could not have chosen a better time to put down his marker.

The pressure is now on Wales loosehead Gethin Jenkins to deliver against the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday night. But Sheridan looks to have stolen a march following his wrecking job on Cheetahs prop Kobus Calldo that evoked memories of similar destruction against opponents such as Australia prop Al Baxter.

Calldo spent much of the Lions’ tense 26-24 victory at Vodacom Park with no real idea how to stop Sheridan’s onslaught.

The real mystery though, was English referee Wayne Barnes’ failure to identify the illegal measures he frequently resorted to.

‘‘We didn’t get all the decisions,’’ said Sheridan, in understated fashion.

‘‘We had the ascendancy and put them under a bit of pressure, but my opposite number went down a bit.

‘‘It is not about me trying to make statements, it’s getting the opportunity to play and go out and do my very best. They were a tough, physical team.

‘‘I keep trying to improve, because you always come up against someone who tries to get one over on you. As soon as you start feeling pleased with yourself, that’s when you come unstuck.

‘‘I had one (England) cap going out to New Zealand with the Lions in 2005, and I felt I did myself justice.

‘‘I had one cap and I went out there to give it my best shot. I played five games, and I was carrying a cracked fibula the whole tour.’’ Test recognition looks set to come Sheridan’s way on his second Lions tour after he produced a high-calibre performance not many of his colleagues could match.

The Lions flattered to deceive after coasting into a 20- 0 lead inside 23 minutes - then hanging on as Cheetahs substitute Louis Strydom saw a late drop-goal attempt drift agonisingly wide.

The Cheetahs, who finished bottom in this season’s Super 14 competition, had not beaten the Lions since 1924, and they must surely assess their failure as one that got away.

Ferris admitted: ‘‘We played some good rugby in the first 20 minutes, but we were unable to keep our foot on the pedal.

‘‘The yellow card came from the Cheetahs’ first attack – it was the first penalty we gave away in our own half.

‘‘They broke the line, and I smashed the guy coming across, and about three of their players came bolting in and took me out. I didn’t think I was lying on the guy.

‘‘But you have to take them – the referee made a decision, and you have to stand by it. I tried to make up for it when I came back on.’’