Wallabies show their claws

We'll see what these Lions are made of now, but the auguries are not promising. For the best part of a match-and-a-half they had outplayed the world champions, whereupon, at the first hint of a real contest, they capitulated. There's a worrying trend here.

No longer can the last half-hour on the back foot in Brisbane be attributed to a minimalist, defensive mindset from 29-3 ahead. Indeed, viewed in tandem with the relative drop in performance levels in the second-halves of the games against the Queensland Reds and the New South Wales Waratahs, it suggests that for all the high quality of some of their play, the Lions are struggling to put in 80-minute efforts. They've looked a weary lot on tour, and as the injuries mounted they looked a tired side in the second half here again, whereas the Wallabies look fresher, better conditioned and more durable over the 80.

Reeling from Joe Roff's post-interval double whammy, but still theoretically in the game at 26-14 nearing the 70-minute mark, the Lions had rare attacking ball with a scrum near the left touchline about 40 metres out - indeed, their deadliest range so far.

What did they do? Shovelled the ball along to Rob Henderson at inside centre for him to kick diagonally for both wingers to chase, as Jason Robinson had moved across field. Hardly inspired, and not well executed either, so Chris Latham returned it with interest to force a Lions lineout inside their 22. You would have sensed the Lions were a beaten side before then anyhow, but at that juncture you sensed even they knew it.

The statistical breakdown revealed an utter game of two halves: the penalty count of 9-4 to the Lions in the first-half was reversed exactly in the second. The Lions had 35 rucks and mauls to the Wallabies' 26 in the first period, whereas the second-half count was 38-15 to Australia. There was even a neat symmetry in the second-half points tally of 29-3, which was an exact reversal of the Lions' opening 50-minute barrage in Brisbane.

Perhaps the most revealing statistic showed that the Lions had more of the ball but Australia more of the territory, which underlines how George Gregan particularly had the most astute game of the decision-makers.

No Lion scaled the heights of the previous Saturday, as the Wallabies' defence tightened up and their scrum improved immeasurably. Aside from generating Roff's second try, the ripple effect could be felt continuously. Despite often tweaking back on the tighthead side, Scott Quinnell would still go through with the pick up and big, arcing break - to no great avail.

Even so, Brian O'Driscoll again came up with some big plays as well as a big defensive effort, while Richard Hill was having another big game until his injury. How he was then missed.

The lineout - diminished by the recall of Neil Back - malfunctioned seriously, in part because Keith Wood underthrew a few but primarily because the Wallabies reminded us that they are the world's best at competing on the opposition throw. It kept the Wallabies in the game during the first 40, and their third steal was the prelude to Matt Burke's second penalty against the run of play.

The Lions could have simplified things and stuck it up their jumpers a bit more. Even so, they created more of the chances, although in another reprise of a common failing on tour, they couldn't get the support runners in place to finish off clean breaks.

For the first half they had played all the rugby, so much so that when the buzzer sounded to signal the last play and Gregan punted toward the touchline for Perry to put the ball out of play it summed up the Wallabies' lack of ambition and penetration in the first half.

The ARU had spent about £20,000 on providing a bit of gold amid the sea of red, and the golden ticker tape certainly created an effect. Even so, the red army created the greater din at the outset, and an official Waltzing Matilda after the Australian national anthem quickly became "Waltzing O'Driscoll".

Within the first eight minutes, before Jonny Wilkinson had scored, the enclosed ground had reverberated to Bread of Heaven, "Swing Low" and Molly Malone, each of the national support groups now having well-rehearsed each other's rugby anthems over the past few weeks. Meantime, the action on the pitch continued on in much the same vein as last week.

Had Daffyd James looked for, and found, Jason Robinson after making a clean incision early on it would have been try time. But, not untypically, James kept his head down and went looking for contact. It was the half in microcosm.

The Lions monopolised possession, with Martin Johnson taking a couple of outstanding restarts to prevent the Wallabies from having an "in", and while the James break had been a well-worked move, thereafter individual inspiration saw Brian O'Driscoll, Robert Howley, Keith Wood and Scott Quinnell make clean incisions.

But not once could they convert them into tries, save for a Neil Back effort off a lineout drive after a sensational chip and catch play by O'Driscoll and a cross-field kick by Wilkinson.

A needless offside at the fringe of a scrum by Howley and the Wallabies' third lineout steal enabled Burke to land a couple of penalties, and somehow Australia were in touch at 6-11 at the break.

Stephen Larkham again looked out of sorts and was repeatedly dumped on his derriere, and when Roff's intercept try brought them level it wouldn't be stretching credulity to say the Wallabies had created nothing.

But when Roff's second try sandwiched a Burke penalty, again off a turnover in that a Lions scrum caved in on the tighthead side (though the break-up and the way the Wallabies rumbled through looked decidedly illegal as referee Jonathan Kaplan waved play on), the tide had suddenly turned irretrievably.

What followed showed what good front-runners the Wallabies are. Unlike the Lions' first Test and first-half supremacy here, there was little in the way of individual inspiration but plenty in the way of collective perspiration.

The Wallabies got their patterns going, as they do, and Gregan now ran laterally with ease and popped the ball to the target runners, and their continuity starved the increasingly frustrated Lions of any ball.

Though Wilkinson was again a bit of a weak link despite a couple of monster hits in the first-half, the Lions defence was still firm enough, but one breakthrough by Finegan and offload was sufficient for Burke to complete a personal haul of 25 points.

By then the Lions' supporters had lapsed into a stunned silence. Now it was the golden ones who were singing the loudest.

Onward to Sydney then, where the Lions and the barmy army will encounter the most patriotic fervour of the tour. The momentum is with the Wallabies. If they thought it was tough before, the Lions are going to have to dig deeper again now.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: Wilkinson pen 0-3; 12: Wilkinson pen 0-6; 20: Burke pen 3-6; 27: Back try 3-11; 39: Burke pen 6-11; 41: Roff try 11-11; 46: Burke pen 14-11; 49: Roff try, Burke con 21-11; 58: Wilkinson pen 21-14; 65: Burke try 26-14; 74: Burke pen 29-14; 82: Burke pen 32-14; 89: Burke pen 35-14.

AUSTRALIA: M Burke (NSW); A Walker (ACT), D Herbert (Queensland), N Grey (NSW), J Roff (ACT); S Larkham (ACT), G Gregan (ACT); N Stiles (Queensland), M Foley (Queensland), R Moore (NSW), D Giffin (ACT), J Eales (Queensland, capt), O Finegan (ACT), T Kefu (Queensland), G Smith (ACT). Replacements: M Cockbain (Queensland) for Giffin (39 mins to half-time) and (72 mins), C Latham (Queensland) for Walker (47 mins), E Flatley (Queensland) for Larkham (83 mins), B Cannon (NSW) for Foley (89 mins).

LIONS: M Perry (England); D James (Wales), B O'Driscoll (Ireland), R Henderson (Ireland), J Robinson (England); J Wilkinson (England), R Howley (Wales); T Smith (Scotland), K Wood (Ireland), P Vickery (England), M Johnson (England, capt), D Grewcock (England), R Hill (England), S Quinnell (Wales), N Back (England). Replacements: M Corry (England) for Hill (37 mins), I Balshaw (England) for Perry (53 mins), J Leonard (England) for Vickery (66 mins), N Jenkins (Wales) for Wilkinson (76 mins), M Dawson (England) for Howley (85 mins).

Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa).