Lions 21 New South Wales Waratahs 10
Here are the player ratings from Johnny Watterson:
[ Lions v Waratahs player ratings: Mitchell, Jones and Earl stand outOpens in new window ]
Here is Gerry Thornley’s report:
[ Lions attack does not quite click in unconvincing victory over WaratahsOpens in new window ]
That’s all from me, goodbye!
Andy Farrell: “I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied, satisfied with the win, but with the territory and possession we had, to have so many turnovers, to say we left a few out there was an understatement. It’s a good learning for us. We didn’t come out of the blocks hard enough. We need to address our exits. It’s a different type of game.
“The ground was wet for some reason. Playing off slowish ball, shovelling ball, when it’s wet, you’re going to lose collisions. We have to state the obvious, the Waratahs have been waiting for this for a long time, and we have to be ready for it.
“Brumbies are a great side, we know what we’re in for.”
Alex Mitchell on Sky Sports: “I think we struggled with a greasy ball, the errors and discipline let them back in the game. Credit to the Waratahs, some of their jackal threats were awesome. We were a bit loose in the first half, we put the pressure on but errors put them back in the game.”
Tadhg Beirne: “It wasn’t the step forward we were looking for, it was scrappy of times. Lacked the cohesiveness we were looking at. We stepped up in the lineout and scrum, but we weren’t as clinical as we’d want to be out there. Individual errors, I made one there, I just took my eye off the ball. That’s the frustrating part, we didn’t play the weather conditions.”
80 mins: Marcus Smith misses touch completely straight out the end line from a penalty, and that about sums up the Lions today.
Alex Mitchell picked as man of the match and there is some better passing from the Lions, but captain Beirne drops the ball...
Full-time: Lions 21 Waratahs 10
Flawed, mistake-prone performance by the Lions, lacking fluency. Waratahs played well above expectations, Gamble may have given Joe Schmidt something to think about.
77 mins: Disallowed try for Lions. Lineout was won by Cummings then a maul to the line. Was hard to spot what was happening, but it’s been ruled out for obstruction.
74 mins: Another turnover by Waratahs with the Lions near the line, Gamble is outstanding again. The crowd loved that.
67 mins: Scrums have been good today, Furlong, Sheehan and Genge showing their class off the bench to win a penalty. But Waratahs win the ball back and gain significant territory again. They are making a mockery of pre-match score predictions so far.
63 mins: A few more replacements for the Lions, as Marcus Smith and Jac Morgan are on. Good pass by Kinghorn to Hansen to the wing. Unfortunately Hansen has not had his best game and he’s turned over.
60 mins: Was some nice interplay by Sheehan and van der Flier, but Genge gets caught and turned over. Great box kick by Mitchell to get 50-22. After an underpar first half, he has been very good this half.
Sheehan releases Hansen and the Lions go at speed. Genge goes for the line and it will be checked by the TMO. No try, he lost control, but was good play by the Lions.
54 mins: A penalty from the scrum as Waratahs didn’t drive straight. Smith kicks into the corner. Big opportunity now.
Successful lineout... Try for Lions! Superb piece of play by Mitchell, one dummy, two dummies then swerving into the gap and over. Converted by Smith. Lions 21 Waratahs 10
51 mins: A scrappy game so far, Lions struggling to control the game, but they have a scrum at the 22. Penalty advantage, Hansen is near the line but takes a strange decision to kick. Back for the penalty.
Several replacements for Lions - Joe McCarthy is on, so is van der Merwe, so is Dan Sheehan, Ellis Genge and Tadhg Furlong.
46 mins: Try disallowed for Lions. Van der Flier almost on the wing after a brisk lay-off by Keenan, but taken out of play before he got the ball down.
Second half is under way.
42 mins: Try for Waratahs! Wow not the start that was expected to this half. They overload the maul and Dobbins gets through from the drive to score the try. A bad miss from the conversion though, hits the post. Lions 14 Waratahs 10
40 mins: One last attack by the Lions as the siren goes with them five metres from the line. Hansen tries to fire a quick pass to Cowan-Dickie but well behind him, Lions had kept the ball but Waratahs turn it over.
Half-time: Lions 14 Waratahs 5
A flawed performance from the Lions, well off what would be expected against an unfancied Super Rugby team. Scottish players stood out the most, particularly Huw Jones with the two tries. Bealham was one of the better Irish players. Lions should come on strong in the second half, but work to be done.
36 mins: Immediate response from Waratahs! A gap opens for the Australian side Tupou and Leota combine to get Lancaster on the wing and Lancaster does well to finish over the line... but another TMO check to the dismay of the home fans. Lee-Warner involved again, colliding with Mack Hansen and question marks over the clear out.
No foul play according to the ref, the Sky commentary team disagrees but it’s... Try for Waratahs! They miss the conversion. Lions 14 Waratahs 5
34 mins: Clumsy play by the Waratahs on the ball, another penalty given away and now Lions have an attacking lineout. Jones nearly to the line.
Try for Lions! Mitchell with a fine pass to Jones who beats the first man with a drop of the shoulder and has to reach over to the line. Great finish. He gets his second try of the match. Smith converts in front of the posts. Lions 14 Waratahs 0
30 mins: Tap and go and they go again at the Lions. Another penalty given away by the Lions, the referee gives a warning to captain Beirne that the next infringement will go to the bin.
Disallowed try for Waratahs. Charlie Gamble with it, good lineout and Gamble just powers through after separating from the ruck, shrugs Hansen and Mitchell off. TMO check though first.
Fergus Lee-Warner was in front of the jumper from that lineout, obstruction. Disappointing for the home team.
27 mins: Waratahs get a penalty and drop it into the corner, soft penalty given away by the Lions. Just short of the line, Tupou is nearly there, Lions hanging on. Back for another penalty for offside.
25 mins: After several phases, Mitchell tries a kick through but doesn’t quite work and Waratahs clear well up the pitch past halfway. Then Sinclair turns the ball over. Doing better than expected so far are the New South Wales team.
20 mins: Waratahs penalised for not driving straight and Smith kicks to touch. From the lineout, Waratahs are penalised again, Smith tries a little kick through but doesn’t work and goes back for the penalty. Another attacking lineout and Lions power through towards the line. James Ryan though mishandled the ball and then Cowan-Dickie drops the ball.
15 mins: Lions under the cosh and just survive. Waratahs win penalty and kick for attacking lineout. Tupou almost powers through but Lions win it back and Smith clears. Waratahs mess up the lineout and Lions are safe again.
12 mins: Better pass this time by Hansen to Earl on the wing gains significant ground. Tupou tries to intercept a pass but knocks it on. Lions win a penalty from the scrum, Smith kicks to touch. First real chance of a try here coming up.
Try For Lions! James Ryan takes the lineout, Tuipulotu with a beautiful short disguised pass for Jones who bursts through and runs over. Excellent try. Smith converts. Lions 7 Waratahs 0
7 mins: Good scrum by Ireland wins a penalty, Bealham does well there. First time with the backs ball in hand and Hansen and Earl don’t quite connect, dropping the ball, another knock-on.
3 mins: A mistake by Lions gives Waratahs an early chance of a break but they just about recover it. Sione Tuipulotu pass to Keenan was mishandled, Cummings does well to scramble back.
The view from Australia is that the New South Wales Waratahs are unlikely to trouble the Lions too much. Jonathan Drennan says the Lions will face an out-of-form Waratahs side, shorn of frontline players such as former rugby league sensation Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who is in Wallabies camp preparing to play Fiji on Sunday.
“There is a sad and strong possibility that the Lions will put more than 60 points past their opponents on Saturday, but things will be far tougher on Wednesday and Saturday when they take on the strongest sides they will have met on the tour so far: the Brumbies in Canberra and an Australian and New Zealand combined selection in Adelaide.”
[ View from Down Under: Lions unlikely to be troubled by weakened WaratahsOpens in new window ]
Josh Van der Flier on Sky Sports: It’s one of my first times since school to prepare for three matches in a week, it’s been busy. Definitely a bit of pressure to put on a good show today. We just want to put in a performance to be proud of, very excited.
Yet another defeat for Wales... and 18th Test in a row, this time to Japan.
“Wales wilted in the Kitakyushu heat to lose 24-19 to Japan and suffer an 18th successive Test defeat.
First-half tries from Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers, as well as a penalty try and a Sam Costelow conversion, gave Wales a 19-7 interval lead and hopes of a first victory since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup 21 months ago.
But Japan dominated the second half and tries from Takuro Matsunaga, Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea, plus nine points from the boot of Seungsin Lee, piled on more misery for Wales."
Some breaking team news. That means the starting team will be:
LIONS: Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Alex Mitchell (England); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Finlay Bealham (Ireland); Scott Cummings (Scotland), James Ryan (Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Ben Earl (England).
Full-time score in the first Test between New Zealand and France is 31-27. Crowd got their money’s worth!
It’s 31-27 in Dunedin with five minutes left, an exciting finish there!
Back to the Lions, Gerry Thornley has written about how time is running out for Lions players to elbow their way in for Test selection.
“Farrell has certainly kept everyone guessing, having made 13 changes in personnel, and two positional, for the Force match, then another 13 changes against the Reds and 14 to face the Waratahs in his starting selections to date.
“Then again, we could all be reading too much into all of this. The best laid plans and all that.”
An understrength France team are going reasonably well in Dunedin in their Test against New Zealand. They led 10-0 early on and were within a point just after half-time until Will Jordan scored his second try of the game. 28-20 there with 30 minutes left.
Also in rugby today, Ireland are playing Georgia in Tbilisi at 6pm. Non-Lions players there obviously, so lots of new faces. You can read John O’Sullivan’s preview here:
[ New Irish blood primed for more than a battle in GeorgiaOpens in new window ]
Here is Gerry Thornley’s match preview:
“The Waratahs finished eighth of 11 in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific campaign, thus missing out on the playoffs, three points above Western Force (who the Lions beat 54-7 a week ago), and a dozen points adrift of the Queensland Reds (who the Lions beat 52-12 last Wednesday).
“Given the Waratahs’ unexceptional Super Rugby Pacific season, something similar is expected to unfold in this 21st meeting between New South Wales’ finest and the Lions, who have won the last four clashes dating back to a 6-6 draw in 1966.
“Allowing for the quality of the opposition, much of the focus therefore will home in on individual performances and various combinations, although, as is usually the case, the quality of the collective will help to portray them in a better light.”
Nathan Johns looks at the history of the Lions today, looking at those who have been boosted or diminished by playing in the Lions. Rob Kearney in the former category. Who will come out of this tour with the reputation boosted this time?
[ Players who had their career made by a Lions tour or broken by itOpens in new window ]
Our man Gerry Thornley is over in Australia now for the month and you can ask the rugby correspondent a question here which he will answer in the next few days:
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the British & Irish Lions game against the New South Wales Waratahs at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Kick-off is at 11am. Munster’s Tadhg Beirne will captain the Lions, becoming the seventh Munster captain of the tourisng side since 2001 (Keith Wood, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell, Peter O’Mahony, Donncha O’Callaghan and Conor Murray). The Waratahs aren’t expecting to overly challenge the Lions here, so expect Lions to put plenty of points on them. Here are the teams.
LIONS: Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Alex Mitchell (England); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Finlay Bealham (Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt), James Ryan (Ireland); Henry Pollock (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Ben Earl (England).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Scott Cummings (Scotland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Ben White (Scotland), Marcus Smith (England).
WARATAHS: Lawson Creighton; Andrew Kellaway, Lalakai Foketi, Joey Walton, Darby Lancaster; Jack Bowen, Teddy Wilson; Tom Lambert, Ethan Dobbins, Taniela Tupou; Fergus Lee-Warner, Miles Amatosero; Rob Leota, Charlie Gamble, Hugh Sinclair.
Replacements: Mahe Vailanu, Jack Barrett, Daniel Botha, Matt Philip, Jamie Adamson, Jack Grant, Tane Edmed, Henry O’Donnell.
