British & Irish Lions hammer Western Force in Perth
The Wales half-back limped from the pitch to leave the Lions sweating on his fitness given Jamison Gibson-Park has yet to play on tour because of a glute problem, potentially leaving Alex Mitchell as the only available option in the position.
It was the biggest disappointment of a mixed evening for Andy Farrell's men, who bounced back from their 28-24 defeat by Argentina with an eight-try demolition of the weakest of Australia's Super Rugby franchises while exposing areas of concern.
Up and running in Australia 🦁🇦🇺#Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/622q3NDpPV
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025
The lack of cohesion in defence continued and the scrum took a step backwards after excelling against the Pumas as part of a shaky overall set-piece performance, but their passes stuck in attack and they created some classy tries.
Henry Pollock, Joe McCarthy and James Lowe all advanced their claims to Test selection against the Wallabies, while fly-half Finn Russell produced an inventive first outing on tour.
Russell's fingerprints were over Dan Sheehan's fourth-minute try with his pinpoint kick to Lowe making the score possible, but the Force hit back with their first attack of the match when Nic White wriggled over.
All the early pressure was coming from the hosts but they were turned over three times when in commanding positions, one of them occurring when man-of-the-match McCarthy pinched line-out ball.
The Force were showing plenty of endeavour but the Lions' extra class was evident in the 16th minute when Pollock combined with Josh van der Flier, raced clear and then passed out of the tackle for Williams to score.
And their accuracy was on display again in the 36th minute when Russell ran a quickly taken free-kick with Pollock and Elliot Daly in support and when he was stopped just short of the line, Daly was able to touch down.
Pollock provocatively celebrated the try close to Force openside Nick Champion de Crespigny, igniting a flashpoint that drew in a large number of players.
The England back row was then sin-binned, although his yellow card was the result of Ben O'Keeffe running out of patience with the number of Lions infringements.
🦁 A second score for Tomos 🔥 https://t.co/xBGKhg9Q36
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) June 28, 2025
Pollock had yet to rejoin play when the Lions struck again early in the second half with wings Mack Hansen and Lowe involved in a counter attack that ended with Williams diving over in the corner for his fateful finish.
Just 10 minutes after the interval and the Force defence was already tiring, allowing the tourists to force an easy open with Hansen supplying Garry Ringrose with the scoring pass.
Back on the field, Pollock pounced on a loose ball to launch a counter that ended with McCarthy crossing and the gaps continued to appear with Marcus Smith, on for Russell at fly-half, sending Daly over before Alex Mitchell landed the final blow.
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North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
British and Irish Lions face anxious wait over fitness of Tomos Williams
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
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Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
British and Irish Lions face anxious wait over fitness of Tomos Williams
Williams sustained an injury to his left hamstring during the act of scoring the second of his two tries early in the second half at Optus Stadium, ending another impressive performance for the Lions that was propelling him into Test contention. While the extent of the damage is not yet known, it creates pressure on the tourists' half-back stocks with Jamison Gibson-Park yet to make his first appearance on tour due to a glute problem. Now that is a STUNNER 🔥 The Lions break through James Lowe and go the length of the pitch, as Tomos Williams flies over in the corner. Conversion: missed. #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025 Gibson-Park is expected to make his comeback against the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday but with Williams struggling and Alex Mitchell facing the prospect of playing in a third consecutive game, head coach Andy Farrell may be forced to call up a reinforcement. 'Tomos has come off holding his hamstring. There was plenty of cramp last week, let's hope it is one of those,' Farrell said. 'Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week so we're happy with that but you don't know until you know and we will only know in the morning. 'You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is and give it a little bit of space. 'Tomos was playing well and I'm sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Ben White is currently on tour in New Zealand with Scotland and would be an obvious solution should Williams be ruled out for any length of time. When asked about White, Farrell said: 'We need to talk about that and make the right call for the group.' Joe McCarthy was named man of the match but the eight-try demolition in the first outing on Australian soil also saw eye-catching displays from Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Elliot Daly, Finn Russell and Henry Pollock. All sides of Pollock were on show as the Lions' youngest tourist at 20-years-old used his athleticism and awareness to set up Williams' first try and almost scored one himself, while also providing the spark for a confrontation between the sides and being sent to the sin-bin for a ruck infringement. 'Henry got a yellow card because of repeated infringements – which was fair enough – but you also saw his point of difference, that's for sure,' Farrell said. Pollock received strong praise from Dan Sheehan, the Ireland hooker who was captaining the Lions on his debut for the tourists, but there was also a reminder that the team comes first. 'Henry was brilliant. He does his own thing and plays his own way, which is different to a lot of the forwards,' Sheehan said. 'I enjoy that kind of rugby – off the cuff, see what's in front of you and make it happen. With his skillset and speed he can certainly make it happen. 'It's just about trying to make sure he's doing the right thing for the team all the time.'
