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Lions hold off First Nations-Pasifika XV 24-19 in Melbourne

Lions hold off First Nations-Pasifika XV 24-19 in Melbourne

Straits Times5 days ago
MELBOURNE - The British & Irish Lions were rocked by the underdog spirit of the First Nations & Pasifika XV (FNP) but held on grimly to claim an unconvincing 24-19 win in their last tour match of Australia on Tuesday.
Centre Jamie Osborne scored a try in each half, while Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe also crossed for the Lions who remain unbeaten on their Australian tour despite producing a largely ragged display at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium.
It was full credit to the FNP outfit, who gave Joe Schmidt's Wallabies a lesson in ferocity at the breakdown and had tries from Tristan Reilly, Seru Uru and Rob Leota, the last allowing them to creep within five points with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
The Lions swept the nation's four provincial teams and an Australia-New Zealand invitational side before downing the Wallabies 27-19 in the first test in Brisbane last Saturday.
They will look to seal the test series with victory over the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. REUTERS
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Piastri beats Norris in rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix
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