Lions ease to second tour victory Photos from New Plymouth All the action as it happened

The Lions failed to dominate early on but recovered from 7-6 down at the break to seal a comfortable win.

"We were composed and we did not panic when things went against us," he said. "I'm delighted with the performance.

"In the second half we stuck at it, kept hold of the ball and got the tries we worked so hard for."

The Lions struggled to impose themselves early in the match as the lively and aggressive Taranaki forwards had the best of it at the breakdown and the scrum.

But the Lions refused to buckle and after Corry crossed in the corner eight minutes into the second half, they never looked back.

Cusiter and Hodgson were outstanding all game From PJ Have your say on Scrum V

"We did not have it all our own way," he added. "All credit to Taranaki, they slowed the ball down but in the second half we cleared out the rucks a lot better.

"We're trying to play at a certain pace and I think we achieved that in the second half.

"We tried to get quick ball and get the ball out quickly, and we stuck to our task and wore them down as the game went on.

"We are not anywhere near the side we want to be yet but against Taranaki we showed progress as a team.

"It is all about momentum and hopefully against New Zealand Maori on Saturday there will be another step up."

Coach Ian McGeechan said his side learnt a lot from their hard-fought victory.

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"A lot of good things came out of the game for another group of players who have come up to speed with New Zealand opposition," he told Radio Five Live.

"Taranaki were a tough nut to crack, if we were slack we got damaged and that is what New Zealand sides do to you.

"The fact that we got on top of that and controlled the second half was a great credit to the players."

Meanwhile Taranaki captain Paul Tito blamed the amount of turnovers for his side's defeat.

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"We knew they'd come out hard and We looked to get into certain areas on the field but it was turnovers that cost us," he said.

"We expected a physical game from them and they delivered, but our scrum was outstanding and we're pretty happy with the way we played.

"Their backs played pretty well and scored some good tries."