Lions Tour Aussie takes: Bigger is better, the stars who failed to fire

The British and Irish Lions deservedly walked away from Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium as victors, taking out the first game of the series, 27 – 19 over the Wallabies.

They blew the Australians off the park in the first quarter, leaving the Wallabies shell-shocked at the speed of their defensive line and ferocity in contact.

While there was a gulf in class and intensity for much of the match, it’s clear there are both positives and negatives to take out of the first Test for Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.

While the Wallabies will feel they wasted opportunities, a strong second half will show the team there is hope yet and ways to break down this Lions side.

Fixture

British & Irish Lions

Australia

19 - 27

Full-time

British & Irish Lions

All Stats and Data

1. Sometimes, rugby is simple; sometimes, you just need the bigger players

The Wallabies were visibly outmuscled for much of the first half, and it was clear the side was suffering due to the absence of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton.

Valetini is one of the best carriers of the ball in the world, so he’s impossible for Australia to replace, and Skelton is such a big specimen that he will always thin the defensive line by attracting at least two defenders every time he carries.

While second rowers Nick Frost, Jeremy Williams, and back row/debutant Nick Champion De Crespigny played well, they failed to fill the shoes of the two absent Wallabies.

This observation is not necessarily just about what Skelton and Valetini can do with the ball in hand, but their profiles and reputations often draw the eyes of defenders, opening gaps elsewhere for players around them.

Schmidt shouldn’t make wholesale changes, but tweaks, particularly in the pack, if the Wallabies are to meet the challenge of the Lions in Melbourne this weekend.

2. Starting James Slipper and Allan Alalaatoa was the right call

The two old bulls vindicated their starting selections with tireless shifts in the front row.

This was a set piece and defence-oriented decision from Schmidt, and Slipper and AAA were hard at work for the length of their time on the pitch, making 10 and 15 tackles respectively.

The pair were relentless on the defensive side of the ruck, shifting bodies, locking in several Lions players into rucks, and disrupting the Lions’ distributions.

All this came off the back of an impressive shift at scrum time, where the Brumbies’ duo helped the Wallabies secure 100 per cent of their scrum, and managed to milk a penalty from the Lions scrum as well.

While young prop Angus Bell is one of the most dynamic props in world rugby, and Taniela Tupou is yet to join the fray, the old dogs proved their work rate and leadership to be crucial in a series such as this.

3. Key Wallabies fail to fire

While it was a rusty performance overall, some big-name players failed to fire, and it exacerbated the struggles of the Wallabies.

Harry Wilson was doing a lot of kicking, and although some of them came off, in a game without Valetini, he needed to produce more than the eight carries that he did.

He was the most powerful ball carrier listed in the side but left a lot of the carrying to those around him. Reds teammate Fraser McReight carried 12 times, Nick Frost 14, Len Ikitau 11. Wilson was only the eighth
highest carrier for the Wallabies.

Lineout coach Geoff Parling also needs to reconsider the pack’s strategy at set-piece time, with Wilson being picked off twice at lineout time after a shaky lineout performance against the Fijians two weeks ago.

Elsewhere, the hands of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and McReight let the side down with both throwing passes to the deck.

In Suaalii’s case, they were both no-look passes thrown without consideration.

Although Suaalii was busy in attack overall, he was overshadowed by rival Sione Tuipulotu.

JAS carried 10 times for 22m, averaging 2.2m per carry. Tuipulotu carried five times for 33m, averaging 6.6m per carry.

Whereas in defence, JAS struggled making 4/6 attempts, Tuipulotu made 6/6.

While all the Wallabies players tried their hardest, ballers like Suaalii and Wilson must deliver more in big matches, especially when key ball runners are absent.

4. A lot is hanging on the referring decisions in Melbourne

Ben O’Keefe was the man in the middle in Brisbane, and it was a night with plenty of lineball calls that went against the Wallabies.

Tom Curry tackled Tom Lynagh in the air, Tadhg Furlong tackled Ikitau in the face, and Ben Earl made a no-wrap grass-cutting tackle on Suaalii four metres from the line.

The former two garnered penalties, the latter didn’t even garner a review from the officials.

This is not to rant and complain about refereeing; they are a crucial part of the game, but there will be a massive uproar should a Wallaby player receive a yellow card for identical acts in the subsequent Tests.

Consistency of law interpretation across a single referee’s matches is relatively achievable; however, consistency across three different referees across three matches is nigh impossible.

In patches, the contest on Saturday was fierce, edge-of-your-seat stuff, 15-on-15 action. Now we must all hold our breath and hope Italian referee Andrea Piardi views the game the same way as O’Keefe did in Brisbane.

Territory

26%

23%

17%

35%

52%

Territory

49%

5. Wallabies must control the skies to control the narrative in Test 2

While the Lions dominated upfront and managed to manipulate the Wallabies in the backline, there was nothing dominant about their back three.

Schmidt should see this as one massive chink in the Lions’ armour, as Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, and Tommy Freeman were all kept uncharacteristically quiet.

It was all exemplified by Max Jorgensen’s tear away try, where he beat Freeman in the air after a stock-standard contestable.

On the other wing, Lowe failed to kick effectively, and at the back, Keenan looked oddly shaky under the high ball.

Although there has been a lot written about the performance of Harry Potter, on balance, it looks like the Wallaby wingers outplayed their Lions’ counterparts.

While Schmidt may want to call on some more size in the form of Dylan Pietsch for the second Test, it would be difficult to split Potter and Jorgensen for both bring pace and tackle evasion.

At the back, Wright will be sweating a little after a strong cameo from Andrew Kellaway and a very quiet night for himself.

While the Lions did well to keep Wright out of the game, moving forward, he cannot afford to stray from the contest, especially as a ball-playing fullback playing behind a no.10 who was playing his debut starting role at Test level.