Lions fail to impress in narrow win over First Nations & Pasifika XV

The British and Irish Lions emerged from the toughest test of their Australia tour with an edgy 24-19 victory over First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne.

For the first time in seven matches Down Under there was a sense of jeopardy as scratch opponents comprising players with First Nations or Pacific Island heritage threatened to cause an upset at Marvel Stadium.

A 64th minute try by Duhan van der Merwe propelled the Lions 10 points clear in what appeared to be the decisive moment, but big-hitting FNP refused to concede and struck again through Rob Leota to set up a tense finish.

The closing exchanges belonged to FNP, who replaced Melbourne Rebels after the Super Rugby franchise went into administration, and when they pinched a late line-out the Lions had to weather one last storm.

Owen Farrell was captain for the first time in his four Lions tours and while he was solid enough, few players put their hands up for selection for Saturday’s second Test against the Wallabies.

Jac Morgan and James Ryan were replaced early in the second half, suggesting they might be involved in the Melbourne Cricket Ground showdown in some capacity, but in performance terms all the stars wore white – and none more than their brilliant openside Charlie Gamble.

If the Lions were lulled into a false sense of security by running in early tries through Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham, they soon woke up.

Graham, one of nine late call-ups in the matchday 23, experienced 16 eventful minutes after being presented with two-half chances, finishing an easier third and being on the receiving end of a dangerous tackle from Triston Reilly.

Reilly was sin-binned and soon after Graham limped off with what appeared to be an ankle injury.

The Lions were too frantic and the tide turned quickly when Reilly – whose yellow card was not upgraded on review – picked off a poor pass by Blair Kinghorn to touch down.

Van der Merwe’s work in defence has been exposed all tour and his hesitation in dealing with a kick was the prelude to FNP drawing level when a series of forward drives ended with Seru Uru powering over.

All the small wins were coming from the underdogs as they won a scrum penalty, defended their line manfully and then pickpocketed a Lions line-out.

Seeking a reaction, Farrell barked “let’s go, let’s go” at his players, but instead Kinghorn threw another loose pass and this time van der Merwe came to the rescue as FNP threatened to score.

The Lions’ conviction returned early in the second half and was evident as Farrell, Fin Smith and Kinghorn threw passes that provided Osborne with a simple run in.

They continued to be met with thunderous defending but eventually struck for the fourth time with Farrell sending van der Merwe over.

FNP were not done, however, as they advanced downfield to win a line-out through their determined harrying before Rob Leota found a way through.

And the Lions were waiting for the final whistle to blow as they faced down a series of late attacks.