Just a week out from the first Test against the All Blacks, tries from Will Greenwood, debutant Ryan Jones and the electric Shane Williams were enough to keep the Lions juggernaut rolling.

And a number of players made a telling case for inclusion in the Lions 22-man squad for the Christchurch Test - most notably the Welsh number eight Jones who only arrived on tour as a late replacement for Simon Taylor but produced an excellent all-round performance.

The Lions have been forced to work hard for their tour victories so far, and it was no different today as they were forced to hit back from 13-6 down.

Otago boast a fearsome reputation as Lion-tamers, forged through victories in 1950, 1959, 1966 and 1993, and they started fastest and sharpest.

It will be of concern to Sir Clive Woodward that under pressure his Lions conceded a raft of early penalties. Four in the opening 11 minutes allowed Otago, who dominated possession of the ball in the opening exchanges, to work a 6-0 lead as the Lions took their time to find their shape.

It was only then, a quarter of an hour into the game, that the Lions finally retained some decent possession and they built effectively through the phases to earn the penalties that allowed Charlie Hodgson to level the game at 6-6.

Otago, who had spent 10 days in camp ahead of the game, were attacking with more precision and they took full advantage of more poor Lions defence.

Neil Brew, the Maori winger, burst through Denis Hickie's tackle and then bounced off Hodgson to send scrum-half Danny Lee scampering over in the corner.

The Lions needed a score before the interval and with their creative play patchy, it took one piece of opportunism to bring them level.

Hodgson, standing over a penalty two metres in from the left touchline, spotted Greenwood in space on the opposite wing and launched a surprise cross-field kick that bounced kindly for the England centre to level matters once again.

Evans, the capped All Black fly-half, was a livewire threat for Otago and after being caught with another high tackle, this time from Martyn Williams, he opened the second half by slotting Otago ahead again.

But the Lions finally began to exert some authority up front and when Shane Williams darted across field he found Jones, enjoying an excellent debut, on a direct run to the line.

The converted score earned the Lions a lead for the first time and after Evans had reduced it to 20-19, Woodward sent on the heavy artillery with Andrew Sheridan, Steve Thompson, Danny Grewcock and Matt Dawson introduced with 20 minutes remaining.

The new heavyweight pack immediately put Otago under pressure with a surging rolling maul, Hodgson calmly slotted the penalty and the Lions then created their best score of the tour.

Jones sparked the attack with another charging run through the middle and then a sweeping back move, featuring quick hands from Greenwood and the newly-introduced Ollie Smith, sent Murphy clear before Shane Williams applied the clinical finish.