Wales star Hook - a second-half substitute - struck four minutes from time, booting a 50-metre kick in blustery conditions to see the Lions thwart Western Province 26-23.

The Lions had earlier scored three tries through Tommy Bowe, Ugo Monye and Martyn Williams, but Western Province fought back from 18-9 down to set up a thrilling finish.

"Credit to James," said Vickery. "As soon as you saw the contact he made, you knew he had the distance.

"It was a great honour to captain the Lions and I am just pleased the guys pulled it through. Western Province fought to the very end. They never gave up, as you would expect.

"The only thing that bothered me was winning the game. It was about making sure of that. We had to go out and win that game. We didn't get it all our own way, and it says a huge amount.

"A week today is the reason why we are here - a Test match - and I just hope we go out and do ourselves justice."