Lions dominate early to down Wallabies 27-19 in first rugby Test
BRISBANE – British & Irish Lions rode a rampant first-half display to a 27-19 victory over Australia in the first test on Saturday, running in three tries in the first 41 minutes and holding off a late Wallabies fightback for a comfortable victory.
Superior in all facets of the game in the first hour, the Lions scored tries through Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Curry and Dan Sheehan while Finn Russell added nine points from the kicking tee.
Max Jorgensen crossed in the first half for the Wallabies and they improved when they cleared the bench in the second half but tries from replacements Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott were too little, too late.
'We're delighted with the win. The game was a tough test match,' said Lions captain Maro Itoje. 'I thought we started well in the first half. We played a lot of good stuff.
'Then the second half was a bit to and fro from both sides. I think that's a good position for us to be in.'
The Wallabies, rank underdogs, made a nervous start amid a cacophony of noise from the 52,229 crowd, and Russell gave the tourists an early lead with a penalty inside the first couple of minutes.
Russell was in the thick of it again when the Lions next got into the Australia 22 in the ninth minute, the Scotland flyhalf considering a crosskick before swinging a pass out wide for Melbourne-born Tuipulotu to run in unopposed.
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Lions centre Huw Jones had a try scratched off for a double movement 10 minutes later but the Wallabies were kicking poorly and rarely threatened to break out of their own half let alone score.
Jorgensen produced a try out of nothing just before the half-hour mark, however, tearing a high ball out of the hands of Lions fullback Hugo Keenan and racing away to dive over in the corner.
Flyhalf Tom Lynagh, making a shaky first test start, missed the conversion and the Lions were soon 17-5 up after flanker Curry, controversially selected ahead of Wales captain Jac Morgan, powered over the line from close range.
Curry's impressive physicality could have got him into trouble just before the break when he tackled Lynagh in the air but referee Ben O'Keeffe kept his cards in his pocket.
'BIG MOMENTS'
Australia's lineout had been malfunctioning all game and they paid a price for it straight after the break when the Lions midfield ran rampant with turnover ball and quick hands from Curry sent hooker Sheehan over in the corner.
Russell maintained his perfect night from the kicking tee to extend the lead to 24-5 as the coaches started bringing on their replacements.
Australia finally mounted some sustained pressure around the hour mark and centre Joseph Suaalii got over the line on a crash ball only for O'Keeffe to penalise him for not releasing as he was dragged forward by the Lions pack.
Replacement flanker Tizzano did muscle his way over the line for a converted try to cut the deficit to 24-12 eight minutes later, but replacement Marcus Smith gave the Lions a bit more of a cushion with a 73rd minute penalty.
The Wallabies were now attacking with more fluency but the impressive Lions defence held on until a minute from time when McDermott skipped over the line for what was another consolation try.
'It's obviously disappointing,' said Wallabies captain Harry Wilson.
'We came in wanting to win, and I feel as if we probably didn't really get our game going there like we would have liked.
'They won a few big moments, and that's something which we want to do and make sure we do next week.'
The second test is at the Melbourne Cricket Ground next weekend and the series concludes at Sydney's Stadium Australia on Aug 2. REUTERS
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