Time to raise the target even higher. After a first Test which exposed a glaring gulf in class, the Lions should be aiming for 3-0+. The goal must be two more wins with bells on.
A week after Henry Pollock had publicly declared the tourists’ ambition to achieve the perfect series scoreline, there aren’t so many raised eyebrows anymore. There is already sufficient evidence that the Lions can regard a whitewash as a minimum requirement, providing they maintain intensity and standards for a full 80 minutes, rather than ‘declaring’ early in the second half, as they effectively did in Brisbane.
The visitors lost second-half momentum to such an extent at Suncorp Stadium that a better team than Australia might have made them pay for it. A similarly profound loss of impetus against either South Africa or the All Blacks might have led to the tables being turned, from the depths of a 19-point deficit, but the Wallabies are not in that class, not even close.
Even if the hosts summon all the fury for a backlash performance at the towering Melbourne Cricket Ground next Saturday, it is hard to imagine them having the firepower to level it at 1-1, as they did 12 years ago. They just don’t have the depth of resources to threaten such well-stocked opponents, so it is up to the Lions to prove beyond doubt that what is unfolding here is a colossal mismatch – disguised in part by the deceptively modest, eight-point margin in the opening encounter.
It is worth emphasising that the Lions management and players cannot do anything about the calibre of the team they are up against. All they can do is beat what is put in front of them. It is up to those at board level to consider whether pummelling an inferior force undermines the whole, cherished concept of what these tours are supposed to be all about.
Let’s face it, England and Ireland would expect to beat these Wallabies, down here, based on the current balance of power in the international game. Scotland would have a shot too. Australia have crept up to sixth in the global rankings by default, after recent defeats for Argentina and the Scots, but when the Lions landed here the hosts were down in eighth place.
The Lions should be targeting two more wins with bells on after their success in the first Test
Even if Andy Farrell’s side win all three Tests they won’t be considered amongst the greats
Despite recruiting Joe Schmidt, Australia don’t have enough big beasts in their team
Huw Jones, Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu celebrate following the Lions’ victory
The scenario was clear from a long way out. It was always looking like this; a near-impossible task for the home team to compete, in a reversal of the traditional Lions script. The only factor which served to muddy the waters was the belief that, by recruiting the Kiwi mastermind, Joe Schmidt, Australia had acquired the services of an oval-ball Yoda whose wisdom could defy logic and reason.
There was a perception that Schmidt – partly based on recent knowledge of Ireland and Andy Farrell – would have a cunning plan to alleviate so many shortcomings. But as they would say in these parts, he just doesn’t have the ‘cattle’ for the task. Despite the impact made by some of their replacements in the opener, the Wallabies simply don’t possess enough big beasts to fight fire with fire, while the Lions have them in abundance.
So, the tourists can only reach heights that the context of this series allows them to. In other words, their quest to go down as the greatest Lions team in history is doomed, which is not their fault. They can’t be immortal if victory is regarded as a near-certainty, albeit requiring hard graft and warrior-like commitment at the end of a long, shattering season.
That’s just not how it works, in rugby or any sport. Greatness comes from beating outstanding and worthy adversaries in their pomp. It is why Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are all in the upper reaches of the tennis pantheon, having jostled for supremacy in an era of all-time legends. Greatness cannot come from beating middle-ranking opposition, which is an unavoidable frustration for all the British and Irish players out here with grand ambitions.
This is the ultimate peak in their careers, to be operating at this exalted level, but the true feat is to win a place in the team, when there are so many high-class rivals from four leading nations all vying for the same shirt. That is the accomplishment.
Eclipsing these Wallabies is not the ultimate, which is why it all went so strangely quiet and flat after Dan Sheehan’s try early in the second half. Game over. No jeopardy. Without jeopardy, there cannot be wild euphoria. Those present were glad to see a Lions win far from home, of course, but there is no kidding true fans about the scale of the accomplishment, even when they’ve had a drink or five.
So, true greatness will elude them, whatever happens, but it doesn’t mean Andy Farrell’s side can’t make statements about the extent of their dominance, to earn a special entry in Lions folklore. The Australian hope is that their Wallabies have opened up a sliver of light and hope, and a way back into the series. Not so.
That notion seems utterly far-fetched, at this juncture – given how imbalanced it all was when the Lions were on the charge in Brisbane. Even if Australia can bring back Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, and even if Joe McCarthy is ruled out of the Lions team due to injury, anything other than 2-0 with one to play seems fanciful.
Australia needed Noah Lolesio fit and firing but he has been absent because of injury
Australia needed Noah Lolesio and they needed Taniela Tupou in vintage form. They needed all their – limited – personnel fit and firing. That hasn’t happened. So, the Lions have to put them away, properly, to leave no hint of doubt about the equation here; four countries – at least two of whom are among the world’s best – ranged against one country where rugby union struggles to compete against league and AFL. It should be a walk-over. It still could be.
The record victory for the Lions here is 31-0 – so strive to trump that in Melbourne or Sydney. The Lions have never won every game they have played in one of the big three southern hemisphere countries, so do that too. Take Pollock’s declaration of intent and super-size it, by gunning for a series whitewash with bells on and records broken.
That’s now where the bar must be set. The traditional tour scenario has been turned upside-down; the odds are loaded against the hosts. In a financial sense, this will be a jackpot event for them, but in sporting terms they are facing the threat of oblivion.
Next time, when the Lions expose the Wallaby jugular, they mustn’t let go. No mercy.
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Tadhg Beirne deserves an apology
Tadhg Beirne; an apology. This observer contrived to award the Ireland flanker a seven-out-of-10 match rating on Saturday, which amounts to a ludicrous error of judgement. Mostly, these things are just a matter of opinion but, sometimes, the facts are overwhelming. Operating at blindside, Beirne made 23 tackles. What an epic shift. And he was a jackal threat who won turnovers, to markedly improve an area of concern for the Lions earlier in the tour.
He was magnificent. Often, it takes a second view of a game to fully grasp the detail. Teams themselves will review forensically using slow-motion footage and statistics, GPS data and reports from analysts. So-called ‘hot takes’ are fraught with danger. Fine details of performances can be missed amid the scramble for instant verdicts, as in this case. Beirne was worthy of a nine-out-of-10 rating and a gold star. A correction in this column would not have been on his wish-list, but here it is anyway.
Tadhg Beirne deserves an apology after only being given a rating of seven-out-of-10
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Lions will look to escape unscathed from awkward assignment
It is hard to imagine the Lions ever again agreeing to a midweek tour game between Tests, as is the scenario this week in Melbourne. They were supposed to face the Rebels, but the Super Rugby franchise went bust, so now they must navigate their way through another fixture against made-up opposition. In Adelaide it was an Australia-New Zealand Invitational XV and at Marvel Stadium it will be a First Nations-Pasifika XV. Here’s hoping that they will have bonded better than the trans-Tasman side managed to do on July 12, when they surrendered 48-0.
Toutai Kefu, the ex-Wallaby No 8 of Tongan heritage, has a decent squad at his disposal, but what he needs is a cause to unite them. Perhaps the Lions have provided that by vetoing the inclusion of Pete Samu, because he spent last season at Bordeaux and not in Super Rugby, despite having signed to join the Waratahs.
For Farrell and his staff, the sole ambition will be to escape an awkward assignment relatively unscathed. The timing means it will feel like a hollow, box-ticking exercise; turn up, play the fixture, fulfil obligations, move on quickly. Maybe one or two players could force their way into Test contention but that is doubtful. In future, all tour games should take place before the three-match main event, then leave all parties to focus fully on that.
Andy Farrell will look to ensure that his team emerges from the midweek game unscathed
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Tom Lynagh follows in his father’s footsteps
He had been hounded by ultra-aggressive Lions defenders, led by the relentless Tom Curry, but it was still an occasion to cherish for Tom Lynagh on his home turf. The fly-half and son of World Cup-winning Wallaby icon Michael Lynagh was emotional afterwards, when asked about making a first starting appearance for his country, in such a momentous event. Seeing what it meant to the rookie was a joy to behold, as he said: ‘I always dreamed of being involved in this fixture.
This has always been something I wanted to do; follow in dad’s footsteps. I’m sort of living the dream now. It’s a proud moment for me and my family. It’s not just about me – it’s everyone else involved. It’s a special game to be part of. It’s once in a lifetime to be part of this series. You’ve got to look forward to every single game.’ There were tears in his eyes, from the enormity of it all. Good luck to him.
Australia’s Tom Lynagh was emotional after his first starting appearance for his country
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Last Word
The magic figure is unlikely to be achieved next Saturday. When the series schedule was announced, there was widespread excitement about the prospect of the MCG being crammed to its 100,000 capacity for the second Test between Australia and the Lions. That would be a landmark of truly historical resonance.
However, given the sky-high cost of remaining tickets, what it probably required was for the Wallabies to win or at least give the British and Irish favourites more of a fright, to suggest that an upset could be on the cards in the series-defining middle fixture.
It seems unlikely that the expected attendance figure for the second Test will be met
Perhaps there will be a late surge after Schmidt’s side eventually made a game of it in the second half in Brisbane, but few will consider a respectable result to be justification for splashing out more than £300 to be at the next Test.
It will also hinge on whether Melbourne Cricket Club members turn up en masse out of curiosity, given their access to reserved seats. Australian officials are hoping that there will be more than 90,000 present. The official record for a Lions Test was the 95,000 who turned up to watch them face the Springboks in Johannesburg in 1955. How good it would be for that mark to be surpassed, some 70 years after it was set. They should quietly hand out free tickets to local schools and clubs, to ensure there are more bums on seats and maybe win some junior hearts and minds.
