Mike Phillips and Alex Cuthbert scored two tries apiece as the British and Irish Lions kicked off their 125th anniversary tour with a comfortable 59-8 victory over the Barbarians in oppressive humidity in Hong Kong yesterday.

Tries from skipper Paul O’Connell and Phillips helped the Lions to a 23-3 half-time lead and the floodgates opened after the break with Phillips adding a second, Cuthbert grabbing his brace and fellow Welshmen Jonathan Davies, Dan Lydiate and Alun Wyn-Jones also crossing.

“The players were saying the ball was like a bar of soap, it was difficult to hold on to,” Lions coach Warren Gatland told Sky Sports.

“But they kept their composure and I’m absolutely delighted with the start.”

The Lions will face much tougher opposition in their nine matches in Australia, not least in three tests against the Wallabies, but former All Black Joe Rokocoko showed a few flashes of class and set up a try for Samoan Kahn Fotuali’i.

“We’re delighted to get the win and win really well,” Irishman O’Connell, captaining the side in place of the injured tour skipper Sam Warburton, said in a touchline interview.

“We wore them down in the first half and the tries came fairly easily in the second half.”

The Lions enjoyed the sort of dominance in the scrum that they will hope to have in Australia and that made it a tough night for the Sergio Parisse-led Barbarians, who showed more resolve than they had in last Sunday’s 40-12 defeat by England.

Owen Farrell pressed his claim for the flyhalf spot in the Lions test team with 15 points from an assured display of kicking until his rival Jonny Sexton took over just before the hour mark, the Irishman finding the mark with two of fine conversions.

Phillips accepted the Man of the Match award after a superb 50-minute display in front of the 28,643 crowd roasting in the 29 degrees Celsius heat and 72 per cent humidity.