The Bernard Foley verdict on Tom Lynagh's starting debut vs Lions

Tom Lynagh made his first Test start for the Wallabies in the pivotal No. 10 jersey against none other than the British and Irish Lions on Saturday, and the reviews from the performance have been mixed.

Former All Black Israel Dagg said point blank on SportNation that the 22-year-old is not up to the challenge the Lions pose, while Lions assistant coach and Test centurion Johnny Sexton told Sky Sport the youngster was an “impressive” prospect who wouldn’t be starting if Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wasn’t sure he was ready for the step up.

The No. 10 jersey for the Wallabies has been something of a revolving door over recent seasons, with youngsters like Carter Gordon, Noah Lolesio, Tane Edmed and Ben Donaldson earning time in gold alongside veterans like Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley.

The latter of those experienced playmakers, Foley, was asked for his verdict on Lynagh’s showing in Brisbane over the weekend.

“For a guy that has not been in the Test match arena that much, and gets to come in and stamp his mark, I thought he was composed and solid for what they needed,” the 76-cap Wallaby told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“I probably would have liked to see the backline get injected and get the ball a bit more, but I thought he had a solid game for a first start.”

Lynagh, the son of Wallabies icon Michael Lynagh, donned Wallaby gold four times in his rookie international campaign in 2024, each time coming off the bench in the No. 22 jersey.

The Reds pivot has had little time to gel with his Wallabies backline, which on Saturday featured Lynagh as the lone Queensland representative.

With a Waratahs halfback inside him and a midfield of Brumbies and Waratahs stars to feed, Lynagh has no time to build chemistry, given game two could see the series wrapped up with a Lions win.

That trio of Wallabies who surround Lynagh boast less than 80 Test caps between them, something that’s worth noting as Foley outlined what it takes for a young 10 to succeed at the international level.

“You’ve got to be really aligned with the guys around you. I think Jake Gordon does that well, he runs the forward pack and he can control the game from nine, which is what you want as a 10.

“And then you need voice from the outside guys. You have your Len Ikitau’s, your Joseph Suaalii’s; they’re providing him voice and giving him options about where the space is, whether it’s attacking the line or whether it’s in the backfield with kick space.

“It becomes a lot easier for the 10 just to be able to execute the skills that they’re telling him and get the feedback loop.

“That’s the hard thing, that takes repetition; it takes a lot of games to get the continuity, to get that familiarisation in terms of language and what they’re seeing. But, that’s where I thought there was pretty good composure for a first outing.”