Five talking points as the Lions do a job on the Force

BBC News

5 hours ago

And so the British and Irish Lions are up and running; eight tries scored, more than 50 points notched, some outstanding attacking rugby, and a satisfying, if imperfect, victory in Perth.Now this travelling roadshow heads off around Australia at breakneck speed.Next stop Brisbane with the team for the Queensland Reds named on Monday and the game itself on Wednesday before tents are packed for Sydney and beyond.Can we pause for thought? We should. Many interesting things came out of the victory over the Western Force, some good, some bad and, to begin, some worrying…
'There's a little bit of concern' over Williams, says Farrell
Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams was good off the bench in the defeat by Argentina a week ago and he was building wonderfully on that performance against the Force, scoring twice, before he came off with what is being called a "tight hamstring".How tight? Head coach Andy Farrell tried to play a straight bat in the aftermath. "You don't know until you know, and we'll only know in the morning anyway," said Farrell about the severity of the injury.Might he fly out Scotland's Ben White, who is nearby in Auckland with Gregor Townsend's team on their three-match tour of the South Pacific? Jack van Poortvliet is another contender but he's a long way away with England in Argentina. "You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is, giving it a little bit of space, added Farrell. "I've not got a clue. There's a little bit of concern there, but you can only deal with what you can deal with in the here and now, so fingers crossed."Jamison Gibson-Park is fit and should start in Brisbane on Wednesday. Alex Mitchell makes it two fully fit scrum-halves. The question here is whether Williams is going to need some time to recover but can stay on tour or is completely out. Either scenario surely means a call to Auckland.Having only two fit scrum-halves for a period of time is not sensible, especially when one of them, Ireland's Gibson-Park, is only just recovering from injury himself. One game down in Australia and the sceptre of injury has already hit. Hopefully, Williams, one of only two Welsh players, is fine. He's a man in rich form, clearly capable of putting the heat on Gibson-Park, the frontrunner for the nine jersey in the Test series.
What was going on with the Lions' lack of discipline and restart troubles?
If anybody expected it to be perfect, then they don't understand the teething challenges of Lions tours. Their penalty count in the first half was high. They conceded five in 80 minutes against Argentina and shipped four in the first 10 minutes in Perth. Late in the first half, Henry Pollock got done at a breakdown and was sin-binned.Farrell put the issues down to desperation and it was. Players are keen to make an impression. They're hyped. It's fixable, but for the opening 40 minutes there wasn't a lot of composure at the breakdown from the Lions and the restart issue reared its head too often.At the breakdown they stuck their mitts in rucks and came up offside. It gave the Force a serious amount of good field position in the game. They weren't good enough to take advantage. Others on this tour might be, if it continues. You'd back the Lions to tidy it up as they go along."I thought, in the first half, we tried to make something happen the whole time," said Farrell. "We were trying to go for absolutely everything at the breakdown in the first half and therefore losing collisions, so there's always something to go after but it's always nice to review that sort of thing early in a tour like this, having come away with our first win."
Big Joe makes a big impression
The situation in the second-row is really getting interesting. Maro Itoje, as captain and totem, is a certain starter in the Tests. Was it a surprise that he didn't start in the first Saturday game on tour? A minor one.Itoje has played more than 2,000 minutes this season. He's one of the most played, if not the most played, player in the entire squad. Giving him a rest is sensible management. There's a case for resting him again on Wednesday and then let him play the Saturday games from then on. A fresh Itoje is essential.Farrell might want a bigger unit at six - Tadhg Beirne or Ollie Chessum - so that could blow open a spot at lock alongside Itoje. That spot was looking like it was going to go to Beirne, but maybe he will be more of a six-cum-lock rather than a lock-cum-six when the really big stuff starts to happen.Ireland's Joe McCarthy is now in pole position if that's the case."He's a lot more composed in what he does but at the same time he's never wavered in the intent within his game," said Farrell. "In the set-piece, you saw him come away through the maul, stealing the ball, running down the wing and cutting back inside, looking for off-loads and going through rucks and being the force that he is. He's developing his all-round game and he'll only grow from here on in."The lock was incredibly aggressive from the get-go against the Force, hitting big and getting through a mountain of work with and without the ball. With the hulking Will Skelton waiting for the Lions in the Test series, the Leinsterman took a step forward on Saturday.
Is Hansen now a shoo-in for the Test series?
It might seem silly to ask that question after just one game in Australia - and against the nation's weakest franchise at that.But we ask it because of Farrell's eyebrow-raising praise of his wing post-match. "The player of the game by a country mile was Mack Hansen," said Farrell.Ireland's Hansen was a constant source of trouble for the Force, as were a number of others. He's a selfless type winger. His try-scoring return is not high and he's not going to kill anybody with his pace or what power he has, but his influence is huge. His energy is massive. He's such a clever reader of a game."By a country mile" was an arresting comment and it showed the regard Farrell has for him. And there was more. "Back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own. That's what a Lion should 100% do for his team-mates."Hansen's performance clearly went down a storm with his coach. Over to you, Tommy Freeman and Duhan van der Merwe in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Russell the heartbeat of a team that attacks on instinct and wants to entertain
It's early days but the Lions want to play, they want to entertain, they want to attack from deep, take risks and offload. They had 24 offloads in Perth. Some of the tries were joyous.It was a little bit Ireland and a little bit Scotland. This is not the 2021 Lions in South Africa. This looks like a squad you could fall in love with, if they keep playing winning and ambitious rugby.The enormous caveat is that they were playing a poor team that ran out of puff after 40 minutes, but equally, when combinations settle the Lions will grow.Fly-half Finn Russell is the heartbeat of the Lions' attacking philosophy. For Scotland, he has played against Australia six times and has won the past four. He knows how to get the job done."He unlocks a lot for you with his creativity, doesn't he?" said Farrell. "Just playing on instinct. The quick tap [for Elliot Daly's first try], the crossfield kick for the first one [that led to Dan Sheehan's opener], etc. He's ready to go and that's good."There's a long, long way to go, but this was a pleasing beginning. To Brisbane, then. With heads spinning.