Sheridan shines on dour day for Lions

Cheetahs 24 British & Irish Lions 26

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Traditionally, Lions parties are split between the elite players, who turn out on a Saturday for all the matches that matter, and the others, who find themselves being kicked around by malcontents and ne'er-do-wells somewhere up-country on dark midweek evenings and quickly find the novelty wearing off.

There are exceptions to the rule – here in South Africa in 1997, there could have been two Lions Test teams – but as these current tourists switch perplexingly from the sub-standard to the sublime and back again, it seems things are happening the wrong way round.

For the second weekend in succession, Paul O'Connell presided over a display so far below par, it ended up down around the earth's core. There was a fair bit of Sod's Law flying about, too. The most impressive contributors at the Free State Stadium – the forwards Andrew Sheridan and Stephen Ferris – were playing in positions in which the Lions are so strong, there was no urgent need for them to perform quite so well. (Sheridan is now right up there with Gethin Jenkins in the race for the loose-head prop role, while Ferris is neck-and-neck with Tom Croft in the blind-side flanker stakes).

Unfortunately for Ian McGeechan and his back-room staff, precious little light was shed on the positions of comparative weakness. Ross Ford, the big Scottish hooker, had every opportunity to push his way to the front of the queue, but fluffed some of his throws to the line-out and joined in the Lions' mass retreat, which saw them squander a 20-point lead and almost lose the game. Donncha O'Callaghan made no sort of case for Test inclusion at lock and while Andy Powell saw plenty of the ball at No 8, it was often in the wrong areas: indeed, he spent much of the contest feeling like the Count of Monte Cristo, so isolated was he from his fellow man.

As for the bantamweight back division, operating behind one of the more substantial packs in Lions history, the least said the better. McGeechan professed himself satisfied with the "gain-line efficiency" of the two centres, Luke Fitzgerald and Keith Earls, but added, with just a hint of darkness: "The thing we have to look at is what happened after they crossed the gain-line." In other words, what should have been the easy yards after the hard ones were far more difficult than they ought to have been. The Lions created their share of opportunities, even during the trials and tribulations of the final hour, but capitalised on precisely none of them.

Worryingly, the tourists fell back on the old banker excuse of slagging the referee. "The breakdown was a lottery and it took the momentum out of our game," McGeechan complained when quizzed on the havoc wreaked by the brilliant Free State flanker Heinrich Brussow, whose turnover technique on the floor was massively in advance of the Lions'. Ferris, the Irish flanker, also aimed some darts in the direction of Wayne Barnes, the official in question. "I thought the breakdown was badly refereed," he muttered. "They played him very well and got away with murder. It was completely different for us."

The Free Staters saw it very differently. Certainly, the tackle area was no lottery to the likes of Brussow, who knew precisely what he was doing from start to finish. Even when the Lions were rampant in the opening quarter – a breakaway try from Ferris and a Phil Bennett-like stepping finish from Keith Earls off James Hook's intelligent little midfield chip laid the foundations for a 20-point lead – the form back-row forward in South Africa was in among the opposition, making a nuisance of himself. If the Springboks really feel able to ignore him for the Test series, as they apparently do, more fool them.

From the moment Ferris was sent to the sin bin for laying all over the ball at a ruck set by the extremely useful full-back Hennie Daniller, the home-town Cheetahs bossed proceedings to an alarming extent.

There were tries for Danwel Demas and Wian du Preez in the first half, and an interception job from Corne Uys in the second. Had Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Louis Strydom kicked their goals with the same punishing accuracy as Hook, the Lions might well have lost. They would certainly have tasted defeat had Strydom's 50-metre drop goal not drifted inches wide of the right post a minute into stoppage time.

At least there was Sheridan, who made an unholy mess of his opposite number, Kobus Calldo, and propelled himself into the Test reckoning as a consequence. God knows, the Boks have few weaknesses, but one of them is surely the plan to move John Smit, their magnificent captain, out of the hooking position and into the tight-head prop slot. If Sheridan can reduce specialist No 3s to their component parts, what chance might a mere part-timer stand?

This issue definitely concerns Naka Drotske, the Free State coach who played in the front row against the Lions a dozen years ago. "It's a lot to ask a player to operate out of position when every South African expects the Boks to win the series," he said after describing Sheridan as "one of the strongest loose-heads in the world, without a doubt".

Drotske acknowledged that if he had his way, a career tight-head would start the first Test in Durban on 20 June. "When Sheridan is good," he admitted, "he's very good. He can destroy people. Is this a possible fault-line for us? That would be the way I see it."

Back in 1997, the Lions pulled a fast one on the Springbok scrum and went on to win the series. The South Africans know all about the props on this tour and are therefore unsurprisable. But some of their most experienced hands clearly fear Sheridan. That should count for something.

Scorers: Cheetahs: Tries Demas, Du Preez, Uys; Conversions Potgieter (2), Strydom; Penalty Potgieter. British & Irish Lions: Tries Ferris, Earls; Conversions Hook (2); Penalties Hook (4).

Cheetahs: H Daniller; J W Jonker, C Uys, M Bosman, D Demas; J-L Potgieter (L Strydom, 60), T De Bruyn (G Odendaal, 45); W Du Preez, A Strauss (R Strauss, 51), K Calldo (W P Nel, 47), N Breedt (F Viljoen, 47), D De Villiers, H Brussow, F Uys, H Scholtz (capt, K Floors, 65).

British & Irish Lions: L Byrne (Wales); L Halfpenny (Wales), K Earls (Ireland), L Fitzgerald (Ireland), S Williams (Wales); J Hook (Wales), H Ellis (England); A Sheridan (England), R Ford (Scotland), E Murray (Scotland), D O'Callaghan (Ireland), P O'Connell (Ireland, capt), S Ferris (Ireland), J Worsley (England), A Powell (Wales).

Replacements: M Rees (Wales) for Ford 64; A Jones (Wales) for Murray 64; N Hines (Scotland) for Worsley 69; G D'Arcy (Ireland) for Fitzgerald 77.

Referee: W Barnes (England).

Two up, two down: Four Lions with reasons to remember Bloemfontein

*High pair

Andrew Sheridan Having rid himself of his unusually large blisters, the prop enjoyed one of his all-consuming afternoons. Outstanding.

James Hook Perfect goal-kicking and a sharp appreciation of attacking possibilities, the late addition raised his profile.

*Double trouble

Luke Fitzgerald Hardly a natural inside centre, he failed to improve on his disappointing Heineken Cup final wing display.

Donncha O'Callaghan This was the lock's big audition for a Test role. Sadly, he was barely visible for much of the game.