A good night under the snow-peaked top of Mount Taranaki for the Lions. Early days yet, and at least seven harder nights probably await, but this was a definite step forward in the context of the tour.

After regrouping at their Auckland base for phase one of the tour they move on to Hamilton and a crunch game against the Maoris on Saturday in a more positive mindset.

Certain themes were a reprise of the opener against Bay of Plenty and, among other things, most of the squad now have had a good hit out and have a tangible knowledge of what to expect henceforth. These tough opening games have been far more beneficial than racking up a 100-points total against a Western Australia-type opposition. Good players have flourished, those with question marks about their games have struggled.

Level at half-time on Saturday, the Lions trailed Taranaki 7-6 after an equalling searching and at times ropey first period in New Plymouth.

However, as expected, Taranaki were not as useful nor durable as Bay of Plenty while the Lions again showed that once they steadied their set-pieces, and fought fire with fire in clearing out ruck ball quickly, then with the polished and sharp half-back combination of Chris Cusiter and Charlie Hodgson running the show, they have the cutting edge out wide to dispose of this kind of opposition. As they should do, all the more so in this professional age.

In that regard it was a good night for the Irish outside three, who scored three of the Lions' four tries, and especially the classy Geordan Murphy.

Running great lines, surviving two bruising knocks, reading the plays and coming on to the ball with unerring timing, he glided in for two tries; the deftest of transfers set up another for Shane Horgan - full of athletic physicality throughout - and he ought to have had another in the first period but for one of another batch of needless calls by touchjudge Steve Walsh.

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, the sheer scale of the collisions and the contest for ball at the breakdown was unrelentingly fierce.

If the Lions didn't commit enough to the breakdown or with enough intensity, they turned over the ball. In the first half, in contact, Taranaki seemed to extract more inches out of their ball carriers, and hence cleared the ball away more cleanly at ruck time.

When the Lions study the video they will deduce that too often their ball carriers went too straight and high at the opposing body. When three times this happened, once strikingly by the slow-burning Will Greenwood, and the ball didn't reappear referee Kelvin Deaker gave turnover scrums.

By comparison, Taranaki ball carriers such as their dynamic backrows Tomasi Soqeta and Chris Masoe and centre Kifeimi Mafi, often took steps at the last second to beat the man or at least attack the shoulder, making it easier for them to drive on in the tackle.

There were some missed tackles too, Lewis Moody missing three in one of Taranaki's lengthy passages, but Taranaki didn't have anything like Murphy's class out wide and generally the defence regrouped and kept their shape quickly, leaving little in the way of gaps.

This enabled them to weather the Taranaki storms, most notably in the first eight minutes of the second half, before a break-out try against the run of play, inspired by Murphy and Denis Hickie and finished off by Martin Corry, knocked the stuffing out of the home side.

The Lions had their set-piece difficulties too and a huge turning point appeared to be the introduction of Gethin Jenkins for John Hayes. Suddenly the scrum, which had struggled all night, was locked like a rock.

Undoubtedly, the Taranaki pack were wilting around the park by then. They were even reduced to seven men up front soon after for 10 minutes and Jenkins was scrummaging against a fading force but it wasn't a good night for The Bull.

His work around the park, in the lineouts and his strength around the fringes of the contact area were as unstinting as ever, and he perhaps drew the short straw in packing down beside Andy Titterall also.

Titterall's lineout throwing wobbled a bit as well.

But Corry led brilliantly from the front, Michael Owen showed his range of skills and as you sensed he might, Donncha O'Callaghan had a big first start in a Lions' jersey. No Lion threw his body into contact and the rucks, driving hard and low, and even forcing turnovers, more than the Munster lock.

He also showed some of his dynamism and rangy skills, an athletic one-handed snaffling of loose ball leading to one of the Lions' first-half three-pointers. The Lions are going to need plenty of the kind of fearless physicality which O'Callaghan brings to the party.

Even though often on the back foot, the Lions had played with more flair, Hickie combining thrillingly with Shane Horgan from a Taranaki turnover to switch play from touchline to the other inside their own 22 and break upfield.

Aside from Walsh's questionable call from well behind the play after Horgan had gathered a pinpoint cross kick from Hodgson to put Murphy over, Kelvin Deaker might have awarded a penalty try and/or a yellow card when Scott Breman nearly beheaded the livewire Cusiter after tapping a penalty close to the line.

Once Murphy and Hickie led the chase to the former's huge punt from another deep turnover, and Cusiter and Hodgson combined to put Corry over, confidence began to ooze through the Lions. Hodgson turned the screw with his lengthy touchfinders and place-kicking, as did the pack with a lineout maul and some hard yards by Corry and Greenwood before Murphy put Horgan over.

A fantastic long transfer by Owen enabled Murphy to slide in for his second before Hodgson worked his crosskick routine with Horgan for the winger to return the compliment to Murphy. Brendon Watt beating Grewcock, Hickie and Jenkins for a consolation try was a minor irritant.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 19 mins: Hodgson pen 0-3; 32: Masoe try, Young con 7-3; 35: Hodgson pen 7-6; (half-time 7-6); 48: Corry try 7-11; 55: Hodgson pen 7-14; 59: Hodgson pen 7-17; 67: Hodgson try and con 7-24; 72: Murphy try, Hodgson con 7-31; 75: Murphy try 7-36; 80: Watt try, Young con 14-36.

TARANAKI: S Ireland; S Tagicakibau, M Stewart, C Woods, L Mafi; S Young, C Fevre; T Penn, A Hoare, G Slater, S Breman, P Tito (capt), J Willis, C Masoe, T Soqueta. Replacements: B Watt for Ireland (16 mins), M Harvey for Tagicakibau (half-time), P Mitchell for Soqueta (56-64 mins) for Hore (65-70 mins), J Eaton for Breman (65 mins), R Bryant for Fevre (67 mins), H Mitchell for Penn (69 mins). Sinbinned: Hore (54-64 mins).

LIONS: G Murphy (Ireland); S Horgan (Ireland), W Greenwood (England), O Smith (England), D Hickie (Ireland); C Hodgson (England), C Cusiter (Scotland); G Rowntree (England), A Titterall (England), J Hayes (Ireland), D O'Callaghan (Ireland), D Grewcock (England), M Corry (England, capt), L Moody (England), M Owen (Wales). Replacements: G Jenkins (Wales) for Hayes (49 mins), G Cooper (Wales) for Cusiter (77 mins), S Byrne (Ireland) for Titterall (78 mins). Not used: B Kay (England), M Williams (Wales).

Referee: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand).