THE British and Irish Lions have defeated the Sharks 39-3 in Durban this evening.

The Lions continued their unbeaten start to the tour of South Africa with a five-try win over the Sharks. The tourists dominated the first half but only had a try from Lee Mears to show for their efforts, while Rory Kockott kicked a penalty for the hosts.

But the Lions did improve, with Mike Phillips claiming a well-worked try with Luke Fitzgerald adding another.

Lee Byrne claimed a fine sole effort while Jamie Heaslip completed the scoring right at the whistle.

The performance was an improvement from the one that saw off the Cheetahs last weekend, but head coach Ian McGeechan still has plenty of work to do before the first Test against South Africa on 20 June.