The British & Irish Lions made it four wins from four Down Under as they survived yet another first-half struggle to beat the ACT Brumbies 36-24 in Canberra – but injury woes struck again.
Despite conceding four tries to the strongest Australian Super Rugby franchise, the Lions coasted clear in the second half again, running in five scores of their own.
Ollie Chessum, James Lowe, Marcus Smith, Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier all crossed for the tourists, but Smith had come on for the injured Blair Kinghorn – leaving another hole in the backline.
First-choice full-back Kinghorn had only joined up with the squad last week after his exploits with Toulouse in the Top14, and the Lions have already lost one option at 15 with Elliot Daly suffering a broken arm against the Reds seven days ago.
Owen Farrell was drafted into the squad to replace Daly but it was Smith who came off the bench for the Scot in the 25th minute, scoring on the brink of half-time. Andy Farrell will now sweat over the fitness of Kinghorn with just 10 days to go until the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Mail Sport‘s NIK SIMON was at the GIO Stadium in the Australian capital to run the rule over every Lion – this is his verdict on who made a grab for a Test place and who has it all to do with only one warm-up game remaining.
Marcus Smith came off the bench to score from full-back on the brink of half-time
The Brumbies are Australia’s strongest Super Rugby franchise and ran in four tries, the most the Lions have conceded Down Under so far
Blair Kinghorn came off with a knee injury and is now surely a huge doubt for next week’s first Test against Australia
1. Ellis Genge (Eng) – 6/10
Penalised for flying off his feet at a ruck but scrummaged well before his departure in the 50th minute.
2. Dan Sheehan (Ire) – 8/10
Looking like a world XV hooker with his ball-playing in the loose. Lurked on the wing like an extra back to help create overlaps in attack.
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ire) – 7/10
Showed all of his experience to anchor the scrum with authority. Attacked with a big drive at the set-piece and milked penalties. Looked back to form.
4. Maro Itoje (Eng, capt) – 6/10
Looked shaky under a couple of restarts as the Lions exit plays continued to struggle. Guilty of a handling error towards the end as the pack struggled to impose themselves in the loose.
5. Joe McCarthy (Ire) – 7/10
Trucks up the ball like a combine harvester. Offers more punch in the carry than anyone else in the pack to make him difficult to overlook in the Tests.
Dan Sheehan looks like a world XV hooker at the moment, and even played as an extra back at times
It wasn’t Maro Itoje’s finest night, looking a little shaky at times and being guilty of a handling error
Joe McCarthy trucks up the ball like a combine harvester and must be close to nailing down his Test starting place
6. Ollie Chessum (Eng) – 7/10
Set-piece functioned well with three specialist locks starting in the pack. Abrasive in the tight exchanges to set up a tight selection battle at blindside flanker with Tadhg Beirne.
7. Tom Curry (Eng) – 6/10
Offered more involvements than his last outing but with mixed results. Conceded penalties and lost the ball in contact but chased everything and provided a silky offload for Smith’s try.
8. Jack Conan (Ire) – 6/10
Carried the ball more than anyone else on the pitch but with no real explosiveness. Does the basics well but has light competition with a shortage of specialist No8s.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ire) – 7/10
Slick supply ensures Russell always has time on the ball. A couple of errors around the base of the ruck but otherwise sharp, giving Andy Farrell confidence in his half-back.
10. Finn Russell (Sco) – 8/10
The most consistent back in the squad so far on this tour. Sparked attacks with his long passed and sprinkled some stardust with a couple of no-look passes in the tight.
Ollie Chessum got the scoring started for the Lions, and also had a late effort disallowed
Finn Russell’s stardust was on show again and he has been the most consistent back on this tour
11. James Lowe (Ire) – 6/10
Used his booming left boot to kick the Lions out of trouble – a genuine point of difference. Sloppy finishing resulted in him having an early try held up, but made no mistake on his second attempt.
12. Bundee Aki (Ire) – 6/10
Punched his way through tackles with his heavyweight frame but forced too many passes. Complements Ringrose, which likely means the Lions are unlikely to split up their midfield partnership.
13. Garry Ringrose (Ire) – 7/10
Showed some classy touches in attack, running off Aki’s shoulder and linking up nicely with Smith. Shot out of the line in defence which left a dog-leg hole for a Brumbies try.
14. Tommy Freeman (Eng) – 6/10
Clearly going to become a key cog in the Lions kick-chase strategy as they gear up for tighter Test rugby. The most athletic member of the backline but wasn’t his busiest game.
15. Blair Kinghorn (Sco) – N/A
Failed to run off an early leg injury to leave his tour in doubt. A cruel twist in his first start at full-back, having been used as the Lions primary restart chaser in the opening exchanges.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Ronan Kelleher (on for Sheehan 61min) – 6/10
Maintained the team’s accuracy at the lineout after Sheehan’s departure.
17. Andrew Porter (on for Genge 50) – 6/10
Hungry to get the ball in his hands with some powerful carrying
18. Will Stuart (on for Furlong 50) – 6/10
Ensured the Lions continued to deliver a solid platform at the scrum.
19. Josh van der Flier (on for Curry 50) – 6/10
Lost control of ball over the line at a driving lineout but touched down later in the match
20. Henry Pollock (on for McCarthy 58) – 7/10
Brought real energy off the match, hungry for the ball, making things happen in attack.
21. Alex Mitchell (on for Mitchell 72) – N/A
Not on long enough to rate.
22. Marcus Smith (on for Kinghorn 25) – 8/10
Showed the best of himself in attack, scoring a try and pulling off a delightful grubber assist. Kinghorn injury would give him a real chance of making the Test 23.
23. Mack Hansen (on for Lowe 63) – 6/10
Mixture of boos and cheers for the local boy. Quickly got himself involved in the action, showing a high work rate.
