By the end of a strangely subdued night in Brisbane, the muted celebrations told their own story. The British and Irish Lions had beaten Australia and taken a 1-0 lead in the series, but it all seemed a bit flat.
Not that there was ever likely to be any whooping or hollering. With the monosyllabic Maro Itoje as captain, this Lions squad are led by a man who does not lend himself to headlines or flashy soundbites.
But there was still something that felt very low key at full-time. The Lions had prevailed, but there wasn’t a whole lot to shout about.
Especially in the second half, this match turned into a real grind for Andy Farrell’s side. Even the most generous critique would give this team performance no more than six out of ten.
The Lions had actually started like a steam train. In the opening exchanges, Finn Russell had the ball on a string. His sorcery laid on the first try with a lovely, looping pass to find Scotland team-mate Sione Tuipulotu.
When Huw Jones then went over to score what looked to be the second try, it felt like this could be a turkey shoot for the holy trinity of Scotland’s midfield. Alas, only for Jones’ try to be ruled out.
Finn Russell revelled in his role as the British and Irish Lions’ starting No 10
Sione Tuipulotu wasted little time in making an impact following jibes about his inclusion
After crossing for his early score, the Scotland skipper mockingly took aim at his critics
But, between them, Russell, Tuipulotu and Jones were instrumental in everything that was good about the Lions during that opening 40 minutes.
Given some of the cheap jibes that were aimed his way by the Aussies a few weeks ago, you can bet your bottom Dingo Dollar that Tuipulotu will have enjoyed that try.
Jones also ran some brilliant lines and it was clear why Farrell had favoured the cohesion and chemistry of the Scotland centre pairing.
But the drop-off in the second half will have troubled the Lions head coach. From threatening to inflict a record beating on the Wallabies, the Lions lost their roar.
In the end, they laboured to victory. Australia actually won the second half 14-10 and emerged with far more credit than they really ought to have done.
That’s not intended to downplay the character and resilience they showed. Merely, it’s a reflection of the manner in which the Lions let them off the hook.
The Lions had far more quality and power on the bench. Leading 17-5 at the break, the expectation was that they would go through the gears and put a big score on the Aussies.
Huw Jones crosses for another first-half try only to see his effort ruled out by the TMO
Russell added nine points with the boot in a splendid performance from the Scotland talisman
But they never got going at all. It was disjointed and unconvincing. As a collective unit, they were miles off it in the second half.
That’s not to say that they weren’t still the better side over the piece. Plainly, they were. They will travel to Melbourne next week still with plenty left in the tank.
Given their lack of game time coming into the series, the Aussies will be better for this. They will have one or two key players back next week and will be improved.
So, too, should the Lions. Farrell and Itoje should be driving the standards this week and demanding a more complete 80-minute performance.
The Lions remain red-hot favourites to claim a 3-0 series whitewash. But if their performances don’t improve, this feeling that the tour has all been a bit flat and subdued will be hard to shift.
