British and Irish Lions surge in second half to beat Queensland Reds 52-12

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Maro Itoje bounced over to score beside the posts to trigger another second-half surge from the British and Irish Lions, setting up a 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Wednesday.
The Lions are now two from two in five days in Australia after a 54-7 tour-opening win over Western Force in Perth on the weekend.
On a cool, windy night in Brisbane, the Lions again took a while to get started, twice falling behind to early tries before turning a 12-7 deficit into a 21-12 halftime lead.
Skipper Itoje, who was rested for the first game, ran powerfully onto an inside pass from scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park five minutes after the break to crack the game open, with the Lions scoring three tries in 15 minutes.
The Lions were determined to play with pace and high-tempo, spreading the ball to the edges regularly and maintaining a positive attacking shape to generate space and scoring opportunities.
'As a team we just wanted to be better today, take a step forward. It wasn't perfect, but it was a step in the right direction,' Itoje said of his first win as Lions captain. "I think we were a little bit more clinical, sharper, a little bit more accurate on the ball.
'We still made quite a few errors ball in hand, but I thought it was better in that regard.'
Winger Tommy Freeman was a beneficiary of the attacking mindset, scoring two tries, while Bundy Ake created opportunities in midfield and openside flanker Jac Morgan put in a player-of-the-match performance in a dominant forward pack, including a try.
Huw Jones plucked an attempted chip kick out of the air and sprinted 60 meters to make it 47-12 and Garry Ringrose capped it off with a try five minutes into stoppage time.
The Lions have now won back-to-back matches after slipping to a 28-24 loss to Argentina in a warmup in Dublin before traveling to Australia for a nine-game tour, which includes three tests against the Wallabies on July 19, 26 and Aug. 2.
The Lions will play New South Wales on Saturday in Sydney.
'We have five games in two weeks. We don't have loads of time on the training field but what we do have is loads of games,' Itoje said. 'You improve and you learn probably more so in games than you do in training, so it's a blessing in disguise.'
Injuries
Irish fullback Hugo Keenan was ruled out just ahead of the match and replaced by Elliot Daly, who scored two tries in the win over Western Force. Daly hurt his left forearm in a tackle late in the second half and didn't finish the match.
Head coach Andy Farrell said Daly would undergo medical scans on the injury.
Early pressure
The Reds stunned the Lions with an early try and twice led in the first half.
Prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen powered through the defense and reached over to score the opener in the ninth minute after a strong break by center Hunter Paisami.
Ake was held up over the line at the back of a driving maul from a lineout in the 12th minute, and the Lions again went close to scoring in the 16th until Daly's last pass went astray with the tryline open.
The pressure paid off in the 20th when the Lions created an overlap and spread the ball wide for Freeman to score untouched.
The Reds, playing in maroon and navy colors, were missing a host of starting players on duty for Australia's test against Fiji on Sunday, but still threatened regularly.
Center Josh Flook swooped onto a short, stabbed grubber kick from scrumhalf Kalani Thomas as the Lions defense rushed up, collected the half-volley and dived over to give the Reds a 12-7 lead after 25 minutes.
The Lions went within inches of scoring two minutes later but couldn't ground the ball. There was no doubt over prop Andrew Porter's barging try from close range in the 29th, though, and the Lions regained the lead 14-12.
The Lions took a quick tap in the 35th after the Reds were penalized for a hand in the scrum and spread it wide quickly for Duhan van der Merwe to dive inside the left corner post. It was all the Lions after that.
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