Gerry Thornley: Time running out for Lions players to elbow their way in for Test selection
Lions
have always been exposed to more competitive matches when touring South Africa and New Zealand, and
Warren Gatland
was always of the view that it was preferable for the tourists to be more battle-hardened.
True,
Rassie Erasmus
held back his Springboks from the two Lions games against the Sharks and one against the Stormers, but the tourists were still beaten by the South African A side.
Four years previously, New Zealand sides did not hold back and the Lions were severely tested in every game. A bleary-eyed, jet-lagged Lions even struggled against a less than mighty New Zealand Barbarians side before losing to both the Blues and the Highlanders ahead of the Test series, which they ultimately drew.
On their last trek to Australia 12 years ago, the Lions had five relatively comfortable wins ahead of the week of the first Test, albeit the Reds died with their boots on in a rip-roaring 22-12 defeat. Whereupon the Lions lost to the Brumbies four days before beating the Wallabies in the series opener in Brisbane and ultimately won the series 2-1. But who remembers that Brumbies loss now?
READ MORE
In 2001 the Lions ran up scores of 116-10 and 83-6 against Western Australia and Queensland President's XV and also had commanding 42-8 and 41-24 wins over the Reds and the Waratahs. Yet they did have their noses bloodied by an Australian A side which beat them 28-25 a week and a half out from the first Test, which they also won in Brisbane.
The Lions' last two games against the Brumbies have been two-point affairs and the feeling lurks that next Wednesday's meeting in Canberra will be the toughest of the tourists' games against the Super Rugby provinces. Hence, perhaps, it will be the most meaningful Lions selection in terms of offering hints for the first Test.
The body of evidence towards the Test selection will not be that weighty and time is suddenly running short, with Saturday's game against the Waratahs the first of three over the ensuing eight days before they meet the Wallabies in Brisbane in a fortnight.
In some respects many of those chosen for the Waratahs game appear to be playing catch-up given next Wednesday's game in chilly Canberra against the Brumbies – the pick of the Australian sides in Super Rugby Pacific – has the look of a dry run for the bulk of the first Test side.
Tadhg Beirne at Friday's captain's run at the North Sydney Oval. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho
The honour of captaining the Lions on Saturday could therefore be interpreted as a mixed blessing for
Tadhg Beirne
, in what will be his third start of the four matches to date. By contrast, his secondrow partner
James Ryan
has thus far been restricted to just the last quarter against the Reds in what must have been a slightly frustrating first Lions Tour for him to date.
As both
Maro Itoje
, the captain and real man-of-the-match against the Reds, and
Joe McCarthy
have laid down their markers, Beirne and Ryan especially have ground to make up among the six locks in the squad. Albeit Beirne could well be accommodated at blindside, or at least that could enhance his claims for a place in the 23.
Josh van der Flier
and Jac Morgan have stood out in the last two games, but the former needs another strong outing. If
Andrew Porter
,
Dan Sheehan
,
Tadhg Furlong
, McCarthy,
Jack Conan
,
Jamison Gibson-Park
and
James Lowe
are all being held back to start against the Brumbies, that would seem to augur well for them.
Ditto
Bundee Aki
and
Garry Ringrose
, who have yet to start together, as
Andy Farrell
has tried four different midfield combinations including a first sighting of the Sione Tuipulotu-Huw Davies, Glasgow/Scotland centre partnership also known as 'Huwipulotu'. But you get the feeling Saturday is the first of two Scottish and Irish auditions.
Farrell has certainly kept everyone guessing, having made 13 changes in personnel, and two positional, for the Force match, then another 13 changes against the Reds and 14 to face the Waratahs in his starting selections to date.
Then again, we could all be reading too much into all of this. The best laid plans and all that.
'I keep saying it but we have teams laid out and think we could go that way, but it changes,' said Farrell on Thursday. 'Honestly, it changes daily because it isn't just what happens in the games. Injuries, form, what you would like to see; it changes daily in regards to such a body can't train, he's been ill.
'You've got an outline and tend to stick to that. But, as I've been saying all along, I 100 per cent stay open-minded to let people find their way as well.'
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Irish Times
41 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Lions attack does not quite click in unconvincing victory over Waratahs
Waratahs 10 Lions 21 The bar having been set in the last two outings, perhaps partly as a consequence this Lions' remodelled concoction did not ultimately subdue and put away a Waratahs side that, admittedly, played much better than had been anticipated. Even so, this was some way short of past meetings with New South Wales' finest and the Lions. The match will still have served a useful purpose, in both negative and positive ways. The set-piece was strong, especially the scrum, which was a bountiful supply of penalties to the corner which led to the Lions' three tries, but this comes with the rider that this Waratahs pack, with an inexperienced 21-year-old loosehead off the bench for the last 10 minutes, was some way off what the Wallabies will provide a fortnight hence in the First Test in Brisbane. There was also much to admire in the line speed and tackling execution of the Lions in defence but although there was again a pleasing shape and plenty of ambition to the Lions' attack, despite a strong showing from the Sione Tuipulotu-Huw Jones partnership, with the latter's first-half brace a product of his X-factor. READ MORE Alex Mitchell's running threat, along with one 50-22, also became more pronounced as the match wore on. His club and Test halfback partner Fin Smith also had some nice touches but was perhaps culpable of pulling the trigger too quickly. Huwipulotu combines for the Lions! 🤝💥 — Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) The attack came close to clicking without quite doing so, and needed more go-forward before looking to hit the edges, and three tries from 16 visits to the opposition 22 was an anticlimactic return. The Waratahs defended spiritedly and openside Charlie Gamble typified their repeated threat at the breakdown, which was another issue for the tourists. Josh van der Flier had another productive outing but it was a more frustrating night for Tadhg Beirne and Hugo Keenan, while in the pack Scott Cummings redeemed himself with his workrate and Ben Earl had a good all-round outing. In a familiar refrain from these opening jousts, despite clever manipulation of the home defence and nice attacking shape, the timing was slightly off among relatively new or untried combinations, thus leading to dropped passes instead of clean breaks. The tone was set by Hugo Keenan slightly overrunning and dropping a pass from Sone Tuipulotu when the fullback was in line to break clear. Soon after, Mack Hansen picked a good line and offloaded for Ben Earl, but the number eight was slightly off balance and fell in attempting to gather. The ensuing break in play offered the opportunity for the big screen to pan on to the newly arrived Owen Farrell, promoting boos from the home crowd. Farrell laughed them off, all the more so when squad mates good-naturedly joined in the booing. Hansen did locate Earl on the edge with a long looped pass, but the Waratahs brought huge speed and energy to their defending, as epitomised by Miles Amatosero's monster hit on Pierre Schoeman which drew an approving 'oooh' from the 'Tahs supporters. Hugo Keenan of the British and Irish Lions is tackled during the tour match. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty One area of significant strength was the scrum, and although the catch-and-drive from a penalty to the corner was held up, Sione Tuipulotu took the ball to the gain line and shaped to pull the ball back for Blair Kinghorn only for Huw Jones to time his in-and-out run on to the no-look flat pass from his Glasgow and Scotland midfield team-mate perfectly to scamper clear and score. Still though, a Tuipulotu offload did not find Fin Smith on the wrap, and when Earl played the 'Tahs scrumhalf Teddy Wilson it led to three close-range penalties and an apparent finish by impressive openside Charlie Gamble was ruled out on review for obstruction by Fergus Lee-Warner at the outset of the catch-and-drive. Instead, another Lions scrum penalty led to another catch-and-drive, and although the maul was held up, Jones first took a very good line on to Tuipulotu's pass in the launch play and then two phases later he did Rob Leota with his footwork before taking a double hit to score, Fin Smith's conversion making it 14-0. Whereupon the Lions rather lost their way a tad. There appeared to be no real danger after Jack Bowen ran back a Mitchell clearance inside the Lions half when the home side went blind a couple of rucks later. But a two-on-two was beaten on the edge when Fin Smith was drawn in for Leota's pass to send Darby Lancaster clear and he bounced up from Hugo Keenan's strong hit but incomplete tackle to finish well. All that said and done, on video review somehow referee Paul Williams deemed that Fergus Lee-Warner made a legitimate attempt at a clean-out on Hansen and thus not guilty of foul play when it looked a dangerous hit to the head with a tucked arm, and from the side at that. In any event, on the resumption Tadhg Beirne was pinged for pursuing a Mitchell box kick from an offside position and from the ensuing penalty to the corner and catch-and-drive, Ethan Dobbins plunged over. Only two conversions now separated the sides on the scoreline. The Lions turned to their bench, with five replacements up front and Duhan van der Merwe, a late call-up after Scott Cummings had replaced the withdrawn Henry Pollock, and this had a swift if short-lived impact. After a good break by Mitchell, van der Flier worked hard to work around Blair Kinghorn but was denied a try by the fine corner flagging tackle of loosehead Tom Lambert. Despite the PA announcer doing his best to encourage the home crowd among the 40,568 crowd – 'Okay Tahs fans, this defence has been resolute ... on your feet' – yet another scrum penalty was also the source of their Lions' tours. Working off the ensuing maul, Mitchell first dummied to the openside, then swivelled to the blindside and with his Northampton and England halfback partner Fin Smith working around outside him, the scrumhalf dummied again to score untouched. But that was as good as it got, the Lions' breakdown issues continuing as Gamble won another turnover penalty from a Beirne carry as Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tadhg Furlong failed to effect the clearout. Whereas Farrell jnr could afford to smile at the cameras early into the evening, not so his father and Lions head coach, who had a face like thunder five minutes from the end before Ellis Genge's finish following a close-range lineout drive was overruled initially for obstruction by Earl. That hardly improved his mood, and nor did Marcus Smith kicking a penalty to touched over the end-goal line. Scoring sequence: 12 mins Jones try, F Smith con 0-7; 33 mins Jones try, F Smith con 0-14; 35 mins Lancaster try 5-14; (half-time 5-14); 42 mins Dobbins try 10-14; 55 mins Mitchell try, F Smith con 10-21. Waratahs: Lawson Creighton; Andrew Kellaway, Lalakai Foketi, Joey Walton, Darby Lancaster; Jack Bowen, Teddy Wilson; Tom Lambert, Ethan Dobbins, Taniela Tupou, Fergus Lee-Warner, Miles Amatosero, Rob Leota, Charlie Gamble, Hugh Sinclair (capt). Replacements: Mahe Vailanu for Dobbins (50 mins), Henry O'Donnell for Foketi (51 mins), Matt Philip for Amatosero (52-63 mins), Daniel Botha for Tupou, Tane Edmed for Bowen (both 56 mins), Jamie Adamson for Sinclair (61 mins), Amatosero for Lee-Warner (63 mins), Jack Grant for Wilson, Jack Barrett for Lambert (both 71 mins). British & Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Alex Mitchell (England); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Finlay Bealham (Ireland); Scott Cummings (Scotland), James Ryan (Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Ben Earl (England). Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Ireland) for Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge (England) for Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong (Ireland) for Bealham, Joe McCarthy (Ireland) for Ryan, Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) for Keenan (all 51 mins), Marcus Smith (England) for F Smith (60), Jac Morgan (Wales) for van der Flier (61 mins), Ben White (Scotland) for Mitchell (71 mins). Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand).
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Lions v Waratahs player ratings: Mitchell, Jones and Earl stand out
15 Hugo Keenan (Ireland) Just back from illness and not the error free Keenan we have become used to. A missed high ball in the first half and fell off the tackle as Lancaster ran into score to the Waratahs in the first half. Rating: 5 14 Mack Hansen (Ireland) Mixed bag from the Irish right wing. Got his hands on the ball early but didn't inject himself into the attacking play enough. Made some brave tackles and later in the game was one of the players that looked dangerous. Rating: 6 13 Huw Jones (Scotland) Took his two chances well for his tries and showed what a threat he can be. Especially the second try where he stepped the first defender and used muscle to wrench the ball over the line. Rating: 7 12 Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) A huge physical presence in the centre. While he didn't get any clear air to make clean linebreaks and open the Waratah's defence his small gains and hard defending were crucial. Rating: 6 READ MORE Sione Tuipulotu of the British and Irish Lions. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty 11 Blair Kinghorn (Scotland) Having just come over from France the left wing saw very little ball in the first half. Because of the handling errors and spilled balls, he was isolated. Needed to come in more and get involved. Rating: 5 10 Fin Smith (England) Kicked the ball away a few times and although he was willing to take the ball on and try to get the backline moving struggled to do so. Maybe lacked a bit of creativity before Smith came on. Rating: 5 9 Alex Mitchell (England) The England scrumhalf was one of the players who looked like he was playing for a Test place. A different style to Gibson-Park he provided decent ball but it was his breaking and try that impressed on the day. Rating: 7 1 Pierre Schoeman (Scotland) Aggressive at the breakdown. Tackled hard and carried when asked among a packed field. The scrum was strong and he was a willing work horse in a tough phase of the game. Rating: 6 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (England) His lineout throwing was accurate and carried a few balls in the first half. High energy effort but was part of an overall package that didn't go well in contact in the first half. Rating: 6 3 Finlay Bealham (Ireland) Got his hands on the ball early in the game and did some good work both sides of the ball especially during the energy sapping first 30 minutes when Waratahs were pushing hard. Rating: 6 4 Scott Cummings A safe pair of hands in the lineout and took several clean balls for the Lions' driving maul. Put a decent shift in around the park on both sides of the ball but not that many carries. Rating: 5 5 James Ryan (Ireland) Was strong in the lineout, taking a few balls and was willing to take on work. Spilled a ball going forward but could have done with more energy and visibility until McCarthy came on. Rating: 5 James Ryan of the British and Irish Lions and Miles Amatosero of the Waratahs compete in the lineout. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty 6 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt) Put in his usual high work-rate and was among the bodies in most of the physical exchanges around the park. Didn't get to carry and was disappointed with a knock-on in attack at the end of the match. Rating: 5 7 Josh van der Flier (Ireland) A typical honest performance from the flanker and had some visibility early on. More of a hard graft game for him and didn't get that opportunity to carry in what was a scrappy game overall. Rating: 6 8 Ben Earl (England) One of the players that stood out from the beginning. The number 8 found gaps and exploited space as well as putting in big tackles. He has pace and uses it well. Throughout a genuine line break threat. Rating: 7 Replacements The bench brought energy as expected against a tiring Waratahs but apart from Alex Mitchell's individual try on 54 minutes the scoreboard didn't really move against a dogged opposition. Rating: 5 Head coach : Andy Farrell A scrappy performance with handling errors throughout the match. The team lacked a bit of hardness and bite in the breakdown area and lost collisions. The team moved forward in the last match but not this one. Rating: 5
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Wales lose for 18th Test match in a row; New Zealand edge past France in thriller
Japan 24 Wales 19 Wales wilted in the Kitakyushu heat to lose 24-19 to Japan and suffer an 18th successive Test defeat. First-half tries from Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers, as well as a penalty try and a Sam Costelow conversion, gave Wales a 19-7 interval lead and hopes of a first victory since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup 21 months ago. But Japan dominated the second half and tries from Takuro Matsunaga, Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea, plus nine points from the boot of Seungsin Lee, piled on more misery for Wales. Brave Blossoms boss Eddie Jones said he had hoped for a hot day to 'run Wales off their feet' and the oppressive conditions – with the temperature above 30 degrees as well as high humidity – meant water breaks in each half and an extended interval. READ MORE A slippery ball produced countless handling errors and there was often little rhythm to a disrupted contest that took over two hours to complete. Taulupe Faletau, Nicky Smith, Ben Thomas and Blair Murray survived from the 68-14 thrashing to England in the Six Nations as interim head coach Matt Sherratt made 11 changes. Number eight Faletau – the fifth-most capped Welshman – made his 109th appearance but it was largely an inexperienced line-up with six starters having fewer than 10 caps. Wales' fall from grace had left them in 12th place on World Rugby's rankings table, one spot above Japan, and it was very much a meeting between two teams in transition. There was a worrying start to the contest as Ben Carter took a hit to the side of the head inside 30 seconds. Carter slumped to the ground after attempting to make a tackle and there was a lengthy stoppage before the second row forward was taken away on a stretcher. Wales immediately shrugged off that blow as Faletau exploited space profited from a lineout ploy to send Thomas over with a well-timed pass and Costelow converted. Japan were on the back foot and struggling to get out of their own half, but scored from their first attack after 16 minutes as winger Kippei Ishida sliced through midfield to set up Matsunaga and Lee's kick restored parity. Wales hit the front again with a penalty try after Nakakusu, who had replaced the injured Matsunaga moments earlier, deliberately slapped the ball away as Josh Adams closed on Kieran Hardy's chip by the try line. Nakakusu suffered further punishment with a yellow card, and Wales took advantage of their extra man after Japan had found touch from the kick-off. Faletau broke away from a scrum going backwards and Hardy, Costelow and Johnny Williams moved the ball on for Rogers to scamper into the corner. The tide turned in the second half as Amato Fakatava saw his effort ruled out for a Shinobu Fujiwara knock-on, but Japan were not to be denied after going through the phases. Rogers slipped off a tackle and Nakakusu dived over with Lee adding the extras and soon reducing the deficit to two points with a penalty. Japan got their noses in front for the first time as replacement Vailea barged over and Lee's sparked celebrations that continued until the final whistle. The two-match series will conclude in Kobe next Saturday. New Zealand 31 France 27 Will Jordan scored a try in each half and Beauden Barrett kicked to perfection as the All Blacks overcame three cancelled tries to claim a nervous 31-27 win over France in the series-opener in Dunedin on Saturday. Fielding only three players from the Six Nations title-deciding win over Scotland, the depleted French gave Scott Robertson's team a huge scare in an entertaining match at sold-out Forsyth-Barr stadium. But a late Barrett penalty proved enough for the All Blacks to hold on, snapping a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus. 'Just a typical test match against the French for us,' said Jordan, who was denied a hat-trick try by the television match official (TMO). 'A couple of errors cost us ... But we showed good composure to finish it off in the end there.' Will Jordan of New Zealand passes during the International Test match between New Zealand All Blacks and France. Photograph: Joe Allison/Getty The All Blacks lost Sevu Reece to a head-knock less than a minute in when the winger clattered into a French hip, forcing Robertson into a backline rejig and Damian McKenzie to play at fullback off the bench. The French had a better start, with debutant outhalf Joris Segonds booting a penalty in the seventh minute after winger Gabin Villiere won a turnover penalty. France charged out to a 10-0 lead as fullback Theo Attissogbe made a break down the left wing, centre-captain Gael Fickou drove the ball to the line and number eight Mickael Guillard crossed by the right post. Chastened, the All Blacks hit back hard. A Jordie Barrett try was denied by a knock-on the build-up but minutes later his brothers combined for their first legal try. Scott Barrett charged down a French clearing kick behind the 22-metre line before Beauden put Jordan over at the right corner with a superb, loop pass. McKenzie kept the momentum for the hosts, shrugging off four would-be tacklers with a jinking run to the posts before Tupou Vaa'i barged over to put the All Blacks four points up. The Barrett brothers struck again on the cusp of half-time, this time with centre Jordie touching down at the right corner after quick hands from Beauden and Jordan. The All Blacks' 21-13 halftime lead all but disappeared within minutes of the restart, though, as Rieko Ioane spilled the kick-off ball forward to gift France a scrum deep in attack. Battering away for 16 phases, Segonds spread the ball wide to Villiere who jogged through a gaping hole in the All Blacks' line on the right side. The try-fest continued as Jordan burst through two defenders to cross for his second, with Beauden Barrett again setting up the chance. Fresh off the bench, France lock Cameron Woki then crossed under the posts to peg back the All Blacks again. The pendulum swung back to the hosts with Villiere shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. A minute later, All Blacks centre Billy Proctor stretched an arm over the line - only for the try to be cancelled as replays showed an illegal grounding of the ball. The undermanned French soon buckled again, with Jordan crossing for his hat-trick try in the 63rd minute. But it was erased by the TMO who spotted prop Pasilio Tosi obstructing a French defender in the build-up. France will have reinforcements for the second and third tests in Wellington and Hamilton. France's debutant lock Tyler Duguid said his team performed well after being widely written off. 'It feels good. There was a lot of outside noise that we'd come out, we'd take 50 [points],' he said. 'But I thought we showed a lot of spirit.' Maori All Blacks 26 Scotland 29 Gregor Townsend was pleased to see Scotland's summer tour 'start on a positive' after his side held on to claim a 29-26 win against Maori All Blacks in New Zealand. Having got off to a shaky start when Sam Nock crossed for the hosts, Scotland were able to clinch victory in the non-cap international with tries from Harry Paterson, Arron Reed and two either side of the break from George Horne. A late scare saw the Maori reduce Scotland's lead to three points with 10 minutes to play, but head coach Townsend was pleased to see his less experienced side prevail in Whangarei. He said: 'The Maori are a quality side and I suppose we decided to put a team out tonight that wasn't as experienced knowing that it'll be a great development and learning experience for them. 'But we also wanted to win this game and we're so pleased that we did win the game and how we set that win up in the first half – how clinical we were. And then the pressure around set-piece and our defensive effort at the end saw us through. So, we're really pleased that the tour starts on a positive. 'The players who haven't played that much for Scotland and players that were coming back from injury were able to be part of a winning side tonight.' Hong Kong qualify for Rugby World Cup Elsewhere, Hong Kong beat South Korea 70-22 in Incheon on Saturday to win the Asia Rugby Championship and qualify for the World Cup for the first time. The Hong Kong side has got to the last stage of qualifying for the last two World Cups only to fall short but will now take their place at the expanded 24-team showpiece tournament in Australia in 2027. The United Arab Emirates beat Sri Lanka 29-21 in Colombo on Friday to finish second in the championship and will play off against an African nation in July for a spot at the final World Cup qualification tournament. Hong Kong are only the second team from Asia to get to the World Cup after Japan, who have already qualified after finishing third in their pool at the 2023 tournament in France.
