Hensational

Henson's selection for Clive Woodward's second string was seen by many as confirmation he would have little part to play in the upcoming Test series against the All Blacks.

Just 48 hours later his man-of-the-match showing in an otherwise drab 16-26 win over a motley crew of Super 12, provincial and part-time players might just have forced open the door once more ahead of Saturday's first test.

A Henson try in each half rescued an otherwise toothless Lions' outfit from their first defeat against a Southland side who last beat the British and Irish tourists the month before England's Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966.

Two tries and sporadic moments of class made Henson the talk of the post-match press conference - but the Lions had their work cut out from the word go.

Sadly, Henson's performance was in stark contrast to ineffectual Dragons' pairing Michael Owen and Gareth Cooper.

Owen - who stole the show in the Lions' 36-14 win over Taranaki before returning home to witness the birth of his child - was all-but anonymous in his 64-minute showing.

Cooper had already been shown the door in favour of Chris Cusiter 14 minutes earlier. By the end of the game he found himself well and truly at the bottom of the scrum-half pecking-order after another bright showing from the Scot.

The Lions found themselves facing a penalty inside just three minutes when Matt Stevens was caught offside - only to see Richard Apanui fluff his lines from the kick.

Lions' outside half Ronan O'Gara showed him how it was done just two minutes later when he opened the scoring with a penalty after a strong forward drive.

Question marks were raised over Henson's ability to raise himself for his role in the midweek Lions' squad after his apparent rejection from the Test side. It took him a matter of minutes to answer them.

The Ospreys centre - who had danced his way through the Southland defence before offloading to Welsh team-mate Martyn Williams minutes before - crossed for the game's first try after 14 minutes.

A combination of dancing hands and quick feet from Denis Hickie, Ollie Smith and Mark Cueto combined to let the 23-year-old in. Henson forged himself some space with a trademark side-step before piling over to give Sir Clive a timely nudge, O'Gara converting.

Apanui made amends for his earlier miss when he slotted home a penalty after Lewis Moody had been caught offside in a ruck - and things got worse for the Lions.

A series of turnovers, handling errors and wrong decisions kept them scoreless for the last 26 minutes of the half.

With the biggest Lions' squad in history in tow, it was about time Sir Clive narrowed down his options ahead of the Saturday's first Test. A narrow 10-3 lead at half time and 14 turnovers will have done little to change his mind.

The game was billed as a chance for the Lions' second string to bare their teeth ahead of the Test series - by three minutes after the break, all the talk was of the local pride.

The 17,000-strong crowd burst into song when Super-12 star Hale T-pole piled over from a driving line out, with Apanui levelling the scores at 10-10.

Veteran hooker Gordon Bulloch and Scottish team-mate Chris Cusiter went on for the ineffectual Andy Titterrell and Gareth Cooper - but it was Henson who once more moved into centre stage.

The Ospreys centre picked up a ball from O'Gara and brushed off the hosts' defence to pile over under the posts and give Woodward more food for thought.

Scorers. Southland: try: T-Pole; con: Apanui; pens: Apanui 3. Lions: tries: Henson (2); cons: O'Gara (2); pens: O'Gara 4.