Three debutants marked their British and Irish Lions bows with tries and Josh Adams added four in a dominant 56-14 win over the Lions in Johannesburg.
In their first tour match since landing in South Africa, Warren Gatland's men were comfortable from the outset thanks to the first contributions from Louis Rees-Zammit and Hamish Watson on Saturday.
Ali Price crossed for a third try before the break – the sixth first-half effort across two matches, already as many as the British and Irish Lions had in the entirety of the 2017 tour to New Zealand.
The scoring was not slowed by the interval, as a quartet of Adams finishes continued his own impressive form ahead of the South Africa Tests and Gareth Davies also got a breakthrough try from the bench.
Chris Harris, another of the four new faces in the XV, was heavily involved in a rapid start from the touring side.
His chip found Rees-Zammit, who was too quick and strong for his opponents and able to race through, and one try quickly became two as Watson barged under the posts.
The pace of the game slowed a little thereafter, but the hosts were caught dozing as Price dashed in following a long line-out throw.
A powerful run from Vincent Tshituka got the Lions on the scoresheet and they remained just about in touch at the break as a Wyn Jones try was chalked off due to foul play from Courtney Lawes.
It was only a temporary setback as Adams was through almost straight from the restart, although Francke Horn soon found space to feed Rabz Maxwane for a Lions riposte.
Finn Russell's pinpoint kick found a leaping Adams for another try and the British and Irish Lions picked off their tiring opponents.
Davies added his name to the scoresheet soon after his introduction and then Adams was twice left all alone on the left wing, completing his hat-trick and then getting a fourth.
Starting in style... again
The British and Irish Lions have now won their first game after arriving in South Africa on seven consecutive tours. The prior six victories came by an average margin of 23 points.
This triumph came as little surprise then, with the travelling side having lost only one of their past 57 tour games in South Africa – excluding Springboks Tests.
Louis looks the part
Rees-Zammit is still only 20 but has seamlessly adapted to each step in his career so far, becoming Wales' youngest try scorer in eight years against Georgia last November.
His British and Irish Lions bow was typically assured, helped by the early link-up with Gloucester team-mate Harris.
Rees-Zammit relishing Mahomes advice as former rugby star eyes spot on Chiefs roster
Louis Rees-Zammit has likened Patrick Mahomes to an extra coach as he looks to make an impact in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rees-Zammit shocked rugby union fans in January when he announced he was turning his back on the sport to enter the NFL's International Player Pathway programme.
He was signed by two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City in March and is now looking to earn a place on their roster for 2024, learning the role of running back at the Chiefs' rookie minicamp after attending another training camp alongside Mahomes.
Rees-Zammit has made sure to pick the brains of Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to six straight AFC Championship games and won three Super Bowl rings since being drafted in 2017.
"It was amazing, all the quarterbacks and receivers were there, we were running routes, we were working in the gym", Rees-Zammit said of his experience at that camp in Texas.
"It was a great two weeks, I definitely learned a lot with Pat and the other boys."
Asked if Mahomes was acting like an extra coach, he said: "100 per cent.
"I'm new to the game so I'm trying to pick everyone's brains and try and pick up the sport as quick as possible because I want to be out there playing.
"The way I can do that is picking the brains of everyone that's currently here and trying to learn the game as quickly as possible."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been impressed by Rees-Zammit's attitude, saying: "He's so diligent with everything and wants to be so good at everything. I appreciate that.
"I like the fact he's got shorter steps initially, that's a good thing as a running back. If you're a long strider in there you've got to really work on making it through those tight adjustments you have to make. He seems to have a nice feel."
Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa: Villans' top-four hopes stutter after late Pedro header
Aston Villa missed the chance to close in on a Champions League place after they were beaten 1-0 at Brighton.
Joao Pedro’s late header settled Sunday's contest at the Amex Stadium, the striker nodding in three minutes from time after Robin Olsen saved his initial penalty.
With fifth-placed Tottenham travelling to Liverpool later on Sunday, Villa could have taken a huge step towards sealing a place in Europe's top club competition with victory.
However, Unai Emery’s side remain fourth and seven points above Spurs, who have two games in hand, while Brighton climb to 11th.
The Seagulls carried the greater threat during a first half of few opportunities, with Simon Adingra stinging Olsen’s palms from distance.
Villa, who lost Morgan Rogers to injury midway through the half, also had Olsen to thank twice in first-half stoppage time. First, he kept out Adingra’s tame volley from a Pedro cross before also thwarting Pascal Gross from close range.
The hosts continued to look the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval. Olsen denied Pedro, while Julio Enciso fired narrowly over from distance.
Brighton thought they had taken the lead inside the final quarter when Gross turned in Igor’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review adjudged Gross to be offside.
The visitors also had the ball in the net at the other end, though the offside flag denied John McGinn, who tucked away after the ball ricocheted kindly for him in the six-yard box.
However, it was Brighton who got the breakthrough in the 87th minute. Olsen guessed correctly to keep out Pedro’s penalty after Ezri Konsa tripped Adingra, but the Sweden international was helpless as the striker headed home the rebound to give Brighton victory.
Pedro hits the 20 mark
Brighton arrived in this contest off the back of successive defeats, and looking to avoid three on the spin for the first time since March 2022.
The Seagulls had also lost each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Villa, who could have secured their Champions League qualification with a win and a Spurs loss at Liverpool.
Gross almost broke the deadlock on his 200th Premier League start for Brighton – his strike ruled out following a VAR review – becoming only the second player to reach that figure after Lewis Dunk.
However, Pedro turned out to be the match winner as he became the first player to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season for the Seagulls since Glenn Murray in 2016/17 (23).
Toothless Villa stumble
Villa – who were stunned by Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday – were unable to capitalise on their opportunity to potentially secure their top-four place following an uncharacteristically quiet outing in front of goal.
Ollie Watkins had scored six goals in his last four appearances against Brighton – his highest tally against a single opponent – and had been directly involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games (scoring six and assisting two).
However, the England striker was unable to build on that momentum in a game where Villa registered just two shots on goal.
That was their lowest tally in a Premier League match since May 2016 against Newcastle United (also two), while they only registered fewer on record against Manchester United in August 2005 (one).
They should still have enough to secure a top-four place, but Emery’s team need to get over their hump.
IPL: Jadeja stars as CSK move into playoff places
Chennai Super Kings moved into the Indian Premier League playoff places after beating Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Dharamshala.
The reigning champions avenged their seven-wicket defeat by the Kings in Chennai four days earlier to climb to third place in the table with three games remaining.
After a slow start, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell's partnership brought 57 runs and settled CSK into their stride. Although MS Dhoni went for a duck, Ravindra Jadeja's late surge of 43 from 26 balls saw them close at 167-9.
Tushar Deshpande claimed Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over to stem the Kings' early momentum, while Jadeja (3-20) also took a quickfire double of Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma in the 13th over as the hosts finished well short of their target at 139-9.
Data debrief
In getting back to winning ways, CSK ended their five-game losing streak against the Kings, stretching back to 2021.
Despite going for a duck, Dhoni managed to make amends in the field. When he caught out Jitesh Sharma, he became the first player in IPL history to take 150 catches.
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