Sir Clive Woodward believes his Lions are on the brink of "something special" after victory over Otago on Saturday. "The momentum is building," he said. "I can sense something special is happening, similar to the World Cup.
"Otago were a very good team full of Super 12 players, but we stuck together and got better as the game went on.
"We blew four or five scoring chances with little forward passes and people not hitting the right lines, but it was a great win. We are very pleased."
Woodward singled out some "top individual performances" amid a strong team effort.
"Ryan Jones was just outstanding," he said. "To see him play was wonderful because he has only been here for five days; I thought he had a fantastic game.
 |  The Welsh players are starting to be the heart-throb of the team |
"Shane Williams got a bit of ball on the front foot for the first time - whereas he spent most of the Maori match on the back foot. "Simon Easterby also had a great game backing up after Wednesday, and he has been outstanding.
"A few of the players are stepping up to the mark and we came though with no injuries, which is what we want.
"The Test match is looming large now and we're getting very excited about it. We have to keep everyone's feet firmly on the floor but I think it is going to be a good couple of weeks."
Woodward paid particular tribute to the Welsh contingent in the squad.
| Ryan has performed like that all season for the Ospreys and Wales |
"These guys, to a man, are something special," he added. "The way they operate behind the scenes and the way they talk, they are just fantastic. "I understand now why Wales won the Grand Slam. They are a special group.
"There has been lots of rubbish written about Welsh players not being good tourists, but these guys are almost starting to be the heart-throb of the team.
"They've been fantastic and it's been a pleasure working with them."
One of them, Shane Williams, saluted the display of club and country colleague Jones.
"He has not been here long but he has been performing like that all season for the Ospreys and Wales, so it's not surprising really," Williams said. "He had a great game and a man-of-the-match performance. As soon as one player starts enjoying himself, the whole 15 start enjoying it.
"When we start chucking the ball around a bit it's a fun game to play. We did that in the second half and thoroughly deserved to win."
MMIX
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