The first British & Irish Lions Test with Australia was, in reality, men against boys despite the final score.
It was not what a Lions series should all be about.
What summed up the game for me was with the clock in the red and with the Lions winning 27-19, the Australian captain Harry Wilson kicked the ball out to end the game.
Talk about a losing mentality. For me, it is the last play of the game so why not have a mentality to try and score as this could be the situation in seven days’ time, only closer? Why not rehearse this scenario? Why would any player, especially the captain, want to end the game? That in so many ways reflects the current state of Australian rugby which is clearly not in a great position.
The Lions were dominant and far superior and the score just did not reflect the difference between the two teams. The best team won and big congratulations to Andy Farrell and all the Lions players. You can only play what is in front of you and clearly what is in front of this Lions team was short in many aspects of what is fundamental to international rugby.
Before the game, Farrell’s side were firm favourites. And they did their job to go 1-0 up. From the first 40 minutes, I couldn’t see any way the Lions could lose and they should have been 20 points up at least by half time.
The Lions’ victory over Australia made it look like this was men playing against boys
Their physicality was on a different level to Australia and the scoreline does not do them justice
They also had a superior mentality to their hosts, though they tailed off in the second half
The physicality of the Lions was on a different level and Farrell got his selection spot on. You wondered if Australia would struggle without the power of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini. And they did so badly.
Simply put, the Australians were physically beaten up. It was summed up by the half-time statistic that the Lions had made 257 metres to 112 from the hosts. In the second half, they seemed to just go through the motions because the game was clearly up barring any miracles. That will annoy Farrell no end.
For a long time, I’d been convinced that if the Lions won this first Test, they would go on to claim the series 3-0. Now they have done the first part of the job, I fully expect that to happen. That’s great for Farrell as coach and his players.
But it’s not great for the concept of the Lions as a whole. A Lions Test series should be close and full of jeopardy. I’ve got my concerns whether that is going to be the case this time. That is not the fault of the Lions. They can only beat their opposition and that’s what they’ve done so far. But it does raise questions over Australian rugby as a whole.
The Lions were outstanding in the first 20 minutes, but should have been further clear. Finn Russell pulled the strings. His offload in the tackle sent Dan Sheehan away and then it was his long pass that set-up Sione Tuipulotu for the opening try. I thought Huw Jones was very unlucky to have his score ruled out. To me, it looked like he wasn’t held in the tackle so the try should have been given.
I was very impressed by Ellis Genge. His power in the loose was very impressive. The Lions were so clearly the superior team. But the fact they didn’t pull away was more down to their mistakes and inaccuracy than any Australian excellence. I thought the Wallabies offered very little across the whole game.
There was a Lions kick dead and a few penalties conceded at the scrum. Genge looked exasperated by that. Out of nowhere, Australia got back into the game. Max Jorgensen beat Hugo Keenan in the air far too easily.
The Lions forwards were outstanding. It wasn’t perfect, with some inaccuracies and errors. For example, James Lowe should have passed wide with Sheehan in acres of space out wide. Tom Curry summed up the physicality of the red pack, grabbing a deserved try. Curry was excellent.
Finn Russell pulled the strings in a match where the Lions asserted their dominance
I was very impressed by Ellis Genge, whose physicality the Australians could not match
There was controversy over Tom Curry’s selection at No 7 but I thought he was excellent
Austraia could not get their star man Joseph Sua’ali’i into the game – he scarcely had a touch
It is a worry that there was such a chasm, and Andy Farrell knows that his side can do even better – that spells big trouble for Australia
Australia’s fightback papered over a one-sided affair – the last 30 minutes were a non-event
There was controversy over his selection at No 7, especially ahead of Jac Morgan. But he delivered a big performance and deserves plenty of credit for that. With a dominant pack in front of them, the Lions half-backs and centre pairing could play with a bit more freedom. Jamison Gibson-Park and Russell controlled the game.
Australia couldn’t get their star man Joseph Sua’ali’i into the game. In the first half, he barely touched the ball, predominantly because his pack was in reverse. Given that, I thought rookie Wallaby No 10 Tom Lynagh did OK on the whole. But it was still a big task for him given his inexperience. Given what we saw I think they made a bad call at half back.
The vast gulf in quality between the two sides was shown not only in the tight forward exchanges, but also at half back. Gibson-Park and Russell were on a totally different planet to the Australian 9 and 10. To give credit to the Lions, they continued in the second half where they left off at the end of the first.
When Sheehan scored in the corner, the game was officially over as a contest. However, I don’t think it was a match that ever really merited that description. The final 30 minutes or so was really a non-event, even if Australia did fight back.
That is so disappointing for all rugby fans. The Lions were in cruise control and with a clear lead, they were able to maintain their dominance in the forwards by bringing on the likes of Ollie Chessum and Andrew Porter.
Farrell will be very, very pleased even if his team did switch off. That’s an area for improvement.
Joe Schmidt is a brilliant and canny head coach, who always has a trick up his sleeve. But it was next to impossible for him to change the direction of the first Test given how his team were so clearly second best. Of course, there is a chance Australia will fight back and level the series. But that looks very unlikely based on what we saw in Brisbane.
It’s a long, long way back for them now. From the Lions’ perspective, they can still get far better too. And that spells big, big trouble for Australia.
