Western Force tested Lions fully, says Andy Farrell
Coach Andy Farrell was pleased with how the British & Irish Lions stayed in the contest early on against the Western Force on Saturday
before running away with a 54-7 victory
to kick off their tour of Australia.
Lions management had questioned whether the tour matches against Super Rugby teams would be competitive enough to prepare the Lions properly for the test series with so many Wallabies in camp and unavailable to play.
The Force, the weakest of Australia's four Super Rugby teams, made a mockery of those fears in the opening quarter of Saturday's match when they held the tourists at 7-7 and had a string of penalties inside the Lions 22-metre line.
'The Force played the ball from everywhere and kept the ball in play, that's exactly what we wanted and they tested us fully,' Farrell said.
READ MORE
'I was happy with how we stayed in the fight because it was a tough old start to the game. At 7-7, everything was locked wasn't it really? So I thought we stayed in the game really well.
'We reassessed at halftime and then hit them on the break which was pretty pleasing, and after that I thought our defence was pretty strong.'
The Lions
were beaten 28-24 by Argentina
in their first outing in Dublin last week and Farrell said there was still plenty to work on despite the lopsided scoreline in Perth.
'There's fantastic learnings for us again,' he added. 'We had a few things to fix, mainly our discipline, but once we gained a little bit of composure, I thought the second half was a little bit better.
'Some nice stuff but obviously, at this stage in the tour, a lot still to do.'
The Lions play the Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs, ACT Brumbies and an invitational Australia-New Zealand XV over the next three weeks before the first test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on July 19th.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
19 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Stadium announcer's cheeky dig at Ireland stars ahead of Lions game
The stadium announcer for the British and Irish Lions' opening game in Australia couldn't resist a joke at the expense of some of Andy Farrell's men. Ireland stars Mack Hansen and James Lowe were among those on the receiving end as the announcer highlighted the number of southern hemisphere natives in the Lions squad. The Times' Will Kelleher posted on X: "The Western Force announcer here, going through the Lions 23... "'Our former Aussie, Mack Hansen!'" "'Another former Aussie, Sione Tuipulotu!'" "'It's the Kiwi, now Irishman, James Lowe!'" "'The former SA schoolboy, now Scotsman, Pierre Schoeman'." The Lions secured their first victory on Australian turf, trouncing Western Force 54-7. However, a potential injury crisis looms at scrum-half after Tomos Williams was forced to leave the pitch. Williams was one of the standout performers for the Lions at Optus Stadium, but his game ended abruptly when he injured his left hamstring while scoring his second try in the 47th minute. The Welsh half-back's departure has left the Lions anxious about his fitness, especially as Jamison Gibson-Park has yet to play on tour due to a glute issue. This could potentially leave Alex Mitchell as the only available option for the position. This was the biggest disappointment on a mixed night for Andy Farrell's squad, who rebounded from their 28-24 loss to Argentina with an eight-try thrashing of Australia's weakest Super Rugby franchise, despite revealing some areas of concern. Defensive cohesion remained lacking and the scrum regressed after shining against the Pumas, contributing to an overall shaky set-piece performance. However, their passes connected in attack and they crafted some stylish tries. Henry Pollock, Joe McCarthy and James Lowe all bolstered their cases for Test selection against the Wallabies, while fly-half Finn Russell delivered a creative debut on tour. Russell's masterful play was instrumental in Dan Sheehan's fourth-minute try, his precise kick to Lowe setting up the score. However, the Force retaliated with their first offensive move of the match, resulting in Nic White squirming over the line. The hosts were applying all the early pressure but saw themselves turned over thrice when in dominant positions, one instance being when man-of-the-match McCarthy snatched a line-out ball. Despite the Force's spirited efforts, the Lions' superior skill was evident in the 16th minute. Pollock teamed up with Josh van der Flier, broke free, and then passed out of the tackle for Williams to score. Their precision was on show again in the 36th minute when Russell initiated a quickly taken free-kick with Pollock and Elliot Daly backing him up. When he was halted just shy of the line, Daly managed to touch down. Pollock's provocative celebration of the try near Force openside Nick Champion de Crespigny sparked a heated moment that drew in numerous players. The England back row was subsequently sin-binned, although his yellow card was due to referee Ben O'Keeffe's growing frustration with the number of Lions infringements. Before Pollock could return to the game, the Lions struck once more early in the second half. Wings Mack Hansen and Lowe participated in a counterattack that concluded with Williams diving over in the corner for his decisive finish. Just 10 minutes post-half-time, the Force's defence was already showing signs of fatigue, providing an easy opening for the visitors with Hansen setting up Garry Ringrose for the scoring pass. Once back in play, Pollock seized a loose ball to initiate a counterattack that concluded with McCarthy crossing the line. The gaps kept appearing as Marcus Smith, who replaced Russell at fly-half, assisted Daly in scoring before Alex Mitchell delivered the final blow.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Dan Sheehan reflects on ‘special' career milestone as Irishman captains Lions to victory on tour opener in Australia
LEINSTER and Ireland star Dan Sheehan hailed his Lions debut after a 'special day' in Australia this morning. Advertisement 2 Dan Sheehan scored the first try in the win over the Western Force on Saturday morning 2 Sheehan reflected on his Lions debut as he called it a career landmark moment And Speaking to Sky Sports after the Game, the Ireland hooker was overjoyed with his debut for the touring side. He said: "A really special day. For me and a lot of the lads making their first appearance in this jersey - it's something special. "It's something you watch all the way when you're growing up, you want to be in this jersey. Advertisement read more on rugby "It's sinking in now, a really special day. We're happy with that result but there's things to work on as well." In the match itself, Connacht winger However, the Lions head coach singled out the Aussie-born star for contributing the "play of the day" late on. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union "But the play of the day, if you want to look what a Lion should do for his teammates was when Mack Hansen went up and down the field, end-to-end, never gave up, and fought for his teammate. "That's the type of spirit that we want throughout the team. So a nice example there." Mum, dad and teen son die in motorway horror crash on way back from holiday – leaving behind eight-year-old girl Hansen's stellar showing from the start on Saturday came after he was brought on off the bench in the defeat to The Lions now place The Reds on Wednesday morning at 11pm. Advertisement
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
'A really special day' - Dan Sheehan's record setting Lions debut
With a strike-rate of 60 tries in 105 games of professional rugby, it would have been a safe bet to think that Dan Sheehan could get on the scoreboard in the British and Irish Lions opener in Australia against the Western Force. As if the day wasn't big enough for the 26-year-old, his Lions debut also saw him captain the side, but any nerves about the big occasion would have been squashed as he ran in for a try inside the opening two minutes. Captaining the Lions on debut is rare enough, but captaining the Lions on debut and scoring a try is even more so, as Sheehan joined an exclusive club to have done just that. It was last done by Rob Wainwright in 1997 against Border, while you have to go back to Tom Smyth against South Africa's South West Districts in 1910 for the only other occasion it's been done in the 137 years of Lions rugby. Sheehan also claimed a record for himself in Perth during the 54-7 win, with the 95 seconds on the clock for his try marking the fastest ever scored by a British and Irish Lion on debut. "It's a really special day for me, and a lot of the lads making their first appearance in this jersey," the Leinster and Ireland hooker (below) said. "It's something special, something you watch all the way growing up, wanting to be in this jersey. "It's kind of just sinking in now. It's a really special day. Happy with the result but plenty of things to work on as well." Sheehan was one of three Irish players who scored tries on their Lions debuts during the first tour victory, as Garry Ringrose and Joe McCarthy also got in, among eight total tries for Andy Farrell's side. McCarthy's try capped off a man of the match display where he also led his side with 15 carries and made 17 tackles and two turnovers in a statement performance. "It was tough. Definitely tough. There was a lot of kicking and that's probably a taste of what's to come on this tour," the second row said following the win. "Australians like to play ball, play quick, so we got plenty of that and it was great fun. "We came out of the blocks firing and I felt like we had them. They came back hard but it was probably our own bit of discipline let them back into it. Plenty to review and we'll get a lot better for it. "We want to be a ruthless side. We want to build on our performances and show a lot every week. There's plenty more to improve on." While the scoreline suggests the game was a stroll, it took the Lions until the second half to really pull clear after a dogged opening half from the Force. It was 21-7 at half time, with the Lions clinical in attack, scoring from each of their three good scoring opportunities, but they were being frustrated by their own kicking game, and struggled badly on kick-offs and restarts, while it was evident that their timing in defence is still a work in progress. "We're still sort of getting used to each other, getting used to new combinations," Sheehan added, as attention turns towards Wednesday's meeting with the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. "We'll have to just go back and make sure we're better next week on Wednesday. "From here on it's coming thick and fast, a game every few days which is brilliant. Every team we come up against will be hungrier than ever. "We've just got to embrace it and enjoy every second and enjoy the journey with each other, getting to know everyone on a deeper level. We've done a great job of it so far and we have to keep it going now."
