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Heavy toll Henry satisifed but injuried mar Lions' win
TOWNSVILLE, Australia (Reuters) -- The British and Irish Lions' 83-6 win over the Queensland Presidents XV on Tuesday was soured by another spate of injuries. The Lions hooking problems worsened when Welshman Robin McBryde left the field in the first half with a thigh injury. Lions manager Donal Lenihan said it was too early to say how bad the injury was but McBryde will undergo tests Wednesday. The hooking position has already become a serious problem for the Lions after England's Phil Greening hurt his knee training for Friday's tour opener against Western Australia. Scotland's Gordon Bulloch had to cancel a family vacation in the United States to join the squad and found himself on the field 10 minutes into Tuesday's match when McBryde limped off. Ireland center Rob Henderson, Scottish lock Scott Murray and England's Matt Dawson were also injured Tuesday but none were considered to be serious. Murray was suffering blurred vision after getting poked in the eye, Henderson had a neck problem after scoring a hat-trick of tries and Dawson injured his calf muscle. The Lions were due to have a recovery session in Townsville on Wednesday morning before flying to Brisbane in the afternoon to prepare for Saturday's match against the full Queensland team. Henry satisfied with performance British and Irish Lions coach Graham Henry said his team's win was far better than its record 116-10 victory over Western Australia. Henry said he was delighted with the way the tourists performed in the second period after struggling to a 10-6 lead at halftime. "Make no mistake that game could have gone either way. "We were very rusty in the first half, we lacked field position, we threw 50-50 passes but we got it together in the second half," Henry said. "We talked about accuracy, we talked about field position, we talked about getting our heads up and overcoming the humidity and warmth, which we're not used to." The Lions ran away with the match after halftime to finish with 13 tries compared to the 18 they scored in Friday's game against Western Australia. The Lions have now scored 199 points in two games but Henry said they would face a tougher test this weekend when they take on the Super 12 semifinalist Queensland Reds. "The players were very good and they talked amongst themselves about playing as a team rather than individuals," Henry added. "There are very important test caps up for grabs but you can't play well as an individual unless the team plays well. "Everybody is very aware that we still have a long way to go." Australian test winger Ben Tune was Tuesday ruled out of the Queensland team to play the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane on Saturday. The World Cup player, who has been struggling with injuries all season, was hoping to press his claims for a return to the Wallabies with a strong performance against the Lions. But the 24-year-old was told Tuesday that his recovery from a shoulder injury was responding slower than expected and he would have to miss Saturday's game. Wallaby fullback Chris Latham is also doubtful after injuring his shoulder playing for Australia against New Zealand Maori on the weekend. However, Australian captain John Eales is expected to play despite an Achilles problem.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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