British and Irish Lions

The Sharks and the Golden Lions gave Ian McGeechan another reminder of the size of the challenge that awaits his tourists in South Africa as they recorded impressive away victories in last weekend's Currie Cup action.

The Golden Lions upset the Blue Bulls with a bonus-point 30-27 win in Pretoria, while the Sharks were 32-10 winners at Western Province.

McGeechan's squad face the Golden Lions and the Sharks on successive Wednesdays, with these most-recent Currie Cup results suggesting that the midweek side will have to be on top-form if they are to build momentum in the lead up to the first Test.

The Sharks' convincing victory at Newlands, another venue for the 2009 Lions, saw former Swansea coach John Plumtree's side return to the top of the table, while the Golden Lions' surprise win moved them up from fourth to third in the standings.

The Golden Lions held on against the Blue Bulls at their Loftus Versfeld stronghold, with hooker Willie Wepener scoring two tries (including the bonus-point effort), outside centre Jaco Pretorius adding a stunning long-range effort and flanker Franco van der Merwe also weighing in with a five-pointer.

Lions points-machine Earl Rose, the leading scorer in the 2008 Currie Cup, kicked a further 10 points to boost his team's semi-final chances.

A determined Sharks team - with 11 internationals in their starting line-up - were simply too strong for a young and inexperienced Western Province side that had its unbeaten home record shattered in the process.

The Sharks, who led narrowly by 8-3 at half-time, scored three second-half tries as they claimed a four-try bonus point to move a point ahead of the defending champions, the Cheetahs at the top of the standings.

Elsewhere, the Cheetahs scored three tries in a 22-3 win over the Wildeklawer Griquas in Bloemfontein, while the Valke suffered a nail-biting 31-29 loss to the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington on Friday afternoon.

Currie Cup table after round eight

Sharks 28 points from eight games
Cheetahs 27 points from eight games
Golden Lions 26 points from eight games
Blue Bulls 24 points from seven games
Western Province 17 points from eight games
Valke 13 points from eight games
Boland Cavaliers 13 points from eight games
Griquas 9 points from seven games

Top points-scorers

111 - Earl Rose (Golden Lions)
82 - Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls)
75 - Willem de Waal (Western Province)
68 - Chris Rossouw (Cheetahs)
51 - Justin Peach (Boland Cavaliers)

Top try-scorers

6 - Jacques Botes (Sharks)
4 - Earl Rose (Golden Lions), Willie Wepener (Golden Lions)
3 - John Daniels (Boland Cavaliers), Danwel Demas (Boland Cavaliers), Keegan Daniel (Sharks), Rouan Cloete (Valke), Jan Kruger (Valke), Dawid Pretorius (Valke), John Mametsa (Blue Bulls), Wynand Olivier (Blue Bulls), Wikus van Heerden (Blue Bulls), Pedrie Wannenburg (Blue Bulls), Fabian Juries (Cheetahs), Wylie Human (Western Province), Doppies la Grange (Golden Lions), Jaco Pretorius (Golden Lions), Franco van der Merwe (Golden Lions), Jano Vermaak (Golden Lions)

Three former British & Irish Lions will line-up against an England XV at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday as the Barbarians warm-up for their showdown with the 2013 tourists in Hong Kong next week.

Radike Samo, one of only two players still playing top level rugby in Australia who placed against the 2001 British & Irish Lions, will return to top flight action with Queensland Reds against the Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday.