British & Irish Lions player ratings vs Japan | 2021 Lions series
The British & Irish Lions player ratings, brought to you by The Famous Grouse
It was a match that was dubbed as the hardest curtain-raiser in the history of the British and Irish Lions, but the Japanese performance in Murrayfield didn’t match the hype. Yet it was the brutal injury toll that has created a huge headache for head coach Warren Gatland before a single boot has set foot on South African soil.
15. LIAM WILLIAMS – 6
A busy afternoon at the back for the Scarlets man. Failed to gather a Van Der Merwe offload that would have seen him cross the whitewash, but that chemistry doesn’t come overnight. Took a belt in the plug at the start of the second half and was adjudged to have knocked on with the try line beckoning a few minutes later.
14. JOSH ADAMS – 8
Mr Strikerate didn’t take long to notch up a try on debut for the Lions. Adams was maybe the Lions most persistent threat and showed he’s equally happy smashing players in defence as well.
13. ROBBIE HENSHAW – 7.5
The rekindling of the Henshaw/Aki axis looked particularly promising, with both centres proving too much for the Japanese defence. But there’ll be stiffer challenges ahead.
12. BUNDEE AKI – 7.5
Brilliantly direct inside line in the lead-up to Josh Adam’s opening try. His turnover just before halftime was hardly crucial, but it summed up a positive shift.
11. DUHAN VAN DER MERWE – 8
Good vision to pick up the easiest try of his fledgling Test career, running uncontested to the try line thanks to an undefended blindside. Was a dangerous presence throughout and didn’t seem in the slightest bit overawed. Matsushima did cause him issues, though he held firm.
10. DAN BIGGAR – 8
Kicked well after a predictably scrappy start to the game. A bright start as he bids to prove he’s Warren’s man at 10 for the Tests. Stake claimed.
9. CONOR MURRAY – 7
Will have been annoyed to get pinged after getting isolated five metres out from the Japanese line and was caught flat-footed by an electric Matsushima break just before halftime. Minor blemishes aside, he looked sharp.
1. RORY SUTHERLAND – 7
A job done in front of his home crowd although he’ll want to better showcase the abilities to earn the hard yards that made him a standout in the Six Nations.
2. KEN OWENS – 6
A few rusty moments aside, Owens had a solid at the setpiece. No fancy stuff in the loose and looked a little blowie, which is no surprise given he hasn’t played in over a month.
3. TADHG FURLONG – 7.5
Shipped a knock early on, which he soldiered through. Carried like an enraged bull in the lead up to Lawes fumbled dot down. Leg drive for days and was a moveable brick wall in defence.
4. IAIN HENDERSON – 7
Carried hard and effectively and mitigated any leadership loss after Alun Wyn Jones’ early exit.
5. ALUN WYN JONES – NA
Disaster. Off after just seven minutes with what looked like a tour-ending injury to his arm. Looked relatively cheerful at the final, which will give fans some cause for optimism.
6.TADHG BEIRNE – 8
Proved his worth as a lineout option and contributed with ball-in-hand – not least his 20-metre sprint to the line to open up his Lions account, topping it off with a Superman try celebration.
7. JUSTIN TIPURIC – NA
Gatland’s Welsh injury nightmare was compounded in the 21st minute when Tipuric was removed from the action. You couldn’t see what was his particular malaise but his body language was not good as he made his way off the pitch.
8. JACK CONAN – 7
A relatively quiet first half for the Leinsterman, whose handling skills let him down on occasion. Unlucky not to be awarded poachers try when it wasn’t absolutely clear that Liam Williams had knocked on. Grew impressively into the game.
REPLACEMENTS:
19. COURTNEY LAWES – 7
Contributed plenty after coming on for Jones. His second test try will have to wait after he fumbled the ball over the line. The Saints’ lock unfortunately is to tries what Hans Blix was to weapons of mass destruction.
20. TAULUPE FALETAU – 6
Sprung from the bench after Tipuric trudged off injured. Uncharacteristically conceded a couple of turnovers.
The Famous Grouse is proud to be the Official Whisky Partner of The British & Irish Lions 2021
The partnership builds on more than 30 years of heritage with the sport of rugby as the whisky looks to continue to drive engagement with rugby fans across the UK & Ireland.
The Famous Grouse shares many similarities with the sport such as skill, craft and an unwavering dedication to be the best of the best. The Scotch whisky brand will celebrate such common values through its Spirit of Rugby campaign, leveraging its relationship with The British & Irish Lions to engage with fans and embody the sport’s unparalleled sportsmanship and camaraderie.
To join the rugby conversation please visit @TheFamousGrouseUK on Facebook, @TheFamousGrouse on Twitter and @TheFamousGrouseUK on Instagram
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments