Leigh Halfpenny hit 30 points as the British and Irish Lions crushed the New South Wales Waratahs 47-17 with some thrilling running rugby to claim a fifth win in five tour matches yesterday.

Coach Warren Gatland had said this was not a shadow test team but few would complain if the same line-up, particularly the backline, were to run out to face the Wallabies in Brisbane in the first match of the three-game series next weekend.

Halfpenny scored two tries in four minutes around half-time and converted eight kicks from eight attempts to add 20 points in another flawless display with the boot in Sydney.

The other scores came from flyhalf Jonny Sexton, flanker Tom Croft and the outstanding Jonathan Davies but there was bad news for the other Welsh centre Jamie Roberts, who pulled his hamstring.

“It was a good effort and we’re very pleased about the outcome,” Gatland told a news conference.

“To be fair the Waratahs took it to us but I think the boys handled it magnificently (and) in the end we were just too big and too powerful for them.”

The Waratahs, without 11 Wallabies through national duty or injury, gave the British and Irish Lions only their second real contest of the tour in front of 40,805 fans and two tries from combative centre Tom Carter kept them in the match for the first 50 minutes.

Winger Simon Zebo, called up as cover for Tommy Bowe, had an excellent game and nearly made a spectacular start to his Lions debut after 38 seconds when he finished off a blindside move, only for the TV pictures to show that his left boot had grazed the touchline.

Meanwhile, Waratahs centre Rob Horne’s chances of playing in the first test, already thin after being released from the Wallabies squad to beef up the home side, could disappear if he is cited for an early tip tackle on Halfpenny.

“We were able to put some good moves together ourselves but perhaps lacked a bit of the X factor to finish it off,” said Waratahs coach Michael Cheika.

“Probably on turnover ball their class really showed.”