Andy Farrell's second Test experience should serve Lions well against Australia side with 'nothing to lose'
The British & Irish Lions take a 1-0 lead into Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It is an iconic stadium which will be packed with an estimated 95,000 supporters, a huge number of whom will be hoping the side they have travelled to watch from the other end of the world can secure a first series victory in a dozen years without the need for a deciding leg.
The home side's beleaguered supporters clearly have a different objective for their Wallabies and Farrell understands the situation they are in.
It was as Ireland's defence coach here in Melbourne, not too far down the road from the MCG, that he and Joe Schmidt plotted a comeback from an 18-9 series-opening defeat to Australia up in Brisbane seven days earlier.
Ireland won at the AAMI Stadium that night and went on to seal the series in Sydney a week later and it was four years later in New Zealand that Farrell the Ireland head coach summoned another reversal of fortune against the All Blacks having been beaten soundly at Eden Park in the first Test.
His experience in those situations should serve the Lions well as they go up against an Australian team now coached by Schmidt and boosted by the return from injury of powerhouse forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini.
Now Farrell is the one seeking to protect a 1-0 lead following last Saturday's 27-19 win at Suncorp Stadium and on Thursday, having named a side showing three changes from the Brisbane Test, he assessed the current balance of pressure in the series, between a team looking to get the job done and another fighting to stay alive.
'I suppose, when you're in the opposite camp - and I've been in that type of situation many times, playing a three-game series - everyone thinks you've got everything to lose,' the Lions head coach said, 'but you get yourself to a stage where you've got nothing to lose, because everything has to be put out there.
Tommy Freeman, Head Coach Andy Farrell, Assistant Coach Simon Easterby, Jamie George, Huw Jones and Ben Earl. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan.
'You ask more of yourself. Your all is given. And that's what these type of situations bring out in you.
'But from our point of view, we need to back what we believe is our potential within our side, and making sure that we're accurate with our game, and that's accuracy in all single areas, including physicality, etc.
'So we believe that we understand what type of team we're chasing, and we think if we're able to put that out on the field, that should be good enough to put us in with a good shout at winning the game.'
Wallabies hopes going into this pivotal game lie in their strong finish to the first Test, when a strong collective bench performance outgunned the Lions' replacements to rally from 24-5 down after 42 minutes to leave the tourists needing a late penalty from Marcus Smith to provide some insurance in an eight-point victory.
With extra physicality from Valetini and Skelton, it points to a stronger Wallabies performance and the Lions have been aware of that since they came off the pitch in Brisbane a week ago. Farrell doubled down on that as he replaced Sione Tuipulotu with Bundee Aki at inside centre and swapped in last week's back-up loosehead Andrew Porter to start with possibly the stronger finishing Ellis Genge moving to the bench.
With Ollie Chessum replacing an injured Joe McCarthy in the second row, the bench also sees a first Lions Test opportunity for lock James Ryan, while flanker Jac Morgan is named as back-row replacement at the expense of Ben Earl.
The wise, older head of Owen Farrell has also been drafted onto the bench for Test action in his fourth Lions tour and will also be leaned on to see the Lions through any sticky patches.
'During victory you get an opportunity to be unbelievably honest and show each other just how much you can improve and there has been nothing but that this week as far as honesty is concerned, about where we can get to,' Farrell said.
'We certainly feel we left a few things out there, most aspects of our game will need to better but it is proving to ourselves it can be better as well.'
Last week's second-half woes, when the Lions allowed the Wallabies back into the game after Dan Sheehan had finished an excellent attacking move on 42 minutes to give them a commanding 19-point lead, were attributed to a dip in focus, and a dropping off in intent.
'Not intensity, doing things properly,' Farrell clarified, 'that is what we have talked about all week, what it looks like for us and the expectation that has to happen the majority of the time.
'We are realists, we are all human and we realise it is not going to be perfect all of the time. It is not going to be a perfect 85-minute performance but staying on it as much as we can will give us a better chance of getting what we want.
'But this game might be completely different, we might have a role reversal and we have to adapt and be honest with ourselves and stay on point if we are in front, if we are behind, things going your way, not going your way. It is just staying honest as long as we possibly can.'
This is a Lions team on a mission and first series win since 2013 beckons, sooner rather than later.
AUSTRALIA: T Wright; M Jorgensen, J Suaalii, L Ikitau, H Potter; T Lynagh, J Gordon; J Slipper, D Porecki, A Alaalatoa; N Frost, W Skelton; R Valetini, F McReight, H Wilson – captain.
Replacements: B Pollard, A Bell, T Robertson, J Williams, L Gleeson, C Tizzano, T McDermott, B Donaldson.
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Ireland); A Porter (Ireland), D Sheehan (Ireland), T Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, O Chessum (England); T Beirne (Ireland), T Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland).
Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), E Genge (England), W Stuart (England), J Ryan (Ireland), J Morgan (Wales), A Mitchell (England), O Farrell (England), B Kinghorn (Scotland).
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Oscar Piastri wins Belgian Grand Prix to extend championship lead
OSCAR PIASTRI HELD held off his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win the Belgian Grand Prix today. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came third as Piastri stretched his lead in the drivers' standings over Norris to 16 points. Advertisement Heavy rain delayed the 13th round of the season by 80 minutes, with organisers eventually allowing a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car as the sun finally appeared. Pole sitter Norris was quickly passed by Piastri as Norris complained he had a problem with his car's battery. Piastri then produced a controlled race from the front to lead home McLaren's sixth 1-2 of the season. 'I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,' said Piastri. 'Rest of race we managed really well,' the Australian added. 'Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say,' said Norris. Max Verstappen, winner of Saturday's sprint, took fourth in Laurent Mekies' first race weekend as Red Bull team principal after the sacking of Christian Horner a fortnight ago. – © AFP 2025
The 42
5 hours ago
- The 42
Dan Sheehan's very clever and somewhat confusing try
WE'VE GOT LOTS of different examples of Dan Sheehan finishing tries in recent months but he surprised all of us, including the Wallabies, with his latest big play. Most teams task their hookers with being the person to tap five-metre penalties. Sheehan is good in this role. He has the size, acceleration, and bravery to thrust himself at the tryline, generally making a few metres for Leinster, Ireland or the Lions before the other forwards take over. Sometimes Sheehan is involved in trick plays where he needs to dummy a carry but instead pass, or leave the ball for someone else to tap. All in all, Sheehan brings a nice variety in this area of the game. When most players tap and carry, they do their best to stay low to the ground, attempting to drive in under the defenders as they race up off the tryline. Getting caught upright is a recipe for disaster into what are usually double or triple tackles. We get an example of that low-carrying approach from Sheehan in last weekend's first Test win over the Wallabies just before Tom Curry's try. Sheehan places his left foot ahead of the ball, bringing himself closer to the tryline, then uses his right foot to tap it. He scoops the ball up as he accelerates off his planted left foot. Sheehan's acceleration takes him over the first couple of metres and then he starts to dive down towards the ground before tacklers James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, and Harry Wilson can make heay contact with him. The idea of dropping in low is that Sheehan can burrow under the tacklers, rather than getting rocked back by them. Essentially, his decision to drive low in the carry means he can bank those first three metres he has made off the tap. Curry scores a crucial try for the Lions two phases later. Fast forward to the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday and Sheehan uses the same approach on the first occasion the Lions decide to go for a five-metre tap penalty. Sheehan taps with his right leg, races over the first few metres and dives down into the tackle from Slipper and Wallabies hooker Dave Porecki. The Lions then try a 'Leicester' play – something Ireland and Leinster also use, inspired originally by the Tigers – by switching into the shortside with Andrew Porter, only for the Wallabies to read it well and stop him. A few phases later, the Wallabies are caught offside and the Lions decide to go for another five-metre tap. As Sheehan stands over the ball, we know what the Wallabies are expecting. But he pulls out a new move that catches the Australians off guard. Sheehan again taps and accelerates but this time, he doesn't dive in low to get under the tacklers. Instead, he dives straight over the top of them for the tryline. It's clearly something the Lions had discussed and planned. We can see Maro Itoje grabbing Sheehan's shirt and looking to propel him forward just as the hooker dives for the line. Advertisement Itoje wants to add any additional velocity he can to Sheehan's dive for the tryline. We can see how the two Wallabies tacklers who Sheehan drove under on the earlier tap penalties – Slipper and Porecki – are expecting him to do the same again. Porecki and Slipper are both dropping in low to try and complete the tackle, expecting Sheehan to be down there too. Instead, he clears both of them on his way to the tryline. It's very clever from Sheehan and the Lions, who show the Wallabies one picture with the hooker's tap and low carries before they spring a completely different picture on them. Referee Andrea Piardi awards the try, but the Wallabies immediately appeal, claiming that Sheehan has illegally jumped over the tackle. 'He's allowed to jump to score the try,' says Piardi as Wilson vehemently tries to get the try overturned. World Rugby issued a law clarification around this kind of thing back in 2022 at the behest of New Zealand Rugby, following two incidents where players jumped as a defender tried to tackle them. In the first instance, below, World Rugby ruled that Chiefs number eight Pita Gus Sowakula should have been penalised for jumping to hurdle the tackler, Aaron Smith of the Highlanders. World Rugby said that Sowakula's actions here were against Law 9.11, 'Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler.' Wales' Blair Murray was penalised for the same offence during this year's Six Nations. The same month, Moana Pasifika wing Kyren Taumoefolau was not penalised for the incident below, but Super Rugby bosses later admitted that this should have been a penalty against Taumoefolau. As World Rugby underlined in 2022, 'jumping to hurdle a potential tackler is dangerous play' and should be penalised. In each of these instances involving Sowakula, Murray, and Taumoefolau, they are clearly jumping to clear the defender, with each of them landing again before continuing upfield. They are not diving for the tryline. The other incident that New Zealand Rugby asked for clarification on in 2022 was Jonny May's memorable try against Italy. Frustratingly, World Rugby didn't actually say whether this finish was legal or illegal. They rather confusingly said that players should be allowed to dive to score, but also that defenders may attempt 'safe and legal tackles' in these instances. World Rugby added that in rare situations like this one, 'match officials have to make a judgement call as to which actions have taken place' and that 'if there is any element of dangerous play, in line with the above ruling [re. Sowakula], then a try cannot be the reward.' It's very rugby for the governing body to simply say it's up to the officials to decide in the moment. Just last month, World Rugby had another request in this area from its own high performance referee manager, Joël Jutge. 'At a ruck/breakdown close to the goal line, the attacking scrum-half picks up the ball and dives forward over the ruck in an attempt to score a try,' read the request. 'Is this legal or should it be sanctioned?' Lions skipper Itoje was involved in one of the incidents examined. World Rugby said that these incidents were 'potentially dangerous actions, so a player who attempts this and makes any contact with players already on the ground can be sanctioned' with a penalty. World Rugby did refer to its 2022 clarification in underlining that in these 'specific ruck situations, it would be difficult to either dive safely, or then be tackled safely.' So diving over a ruck to score was confirmed as illegal, as long as the diving player makes contact with other players already on the ground. But of course, Sheehan doesn't dive over a ruck for his Lions try, so really the 2022 clarification on May's try was the most relevant thing for Piardi on Saturday at the MCG. He knew it was a judgment call from his point of view. The Italian referee decided that Sheehan was making a genuine dive to score the try, rather than dangerously hurdling a tackler. And that's the bottom line here – World Rugby basically said that the referee's judgement call in this kind of situation is the law. Piardi decided it was a try, so it was a try. Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt – a former World Rugby director of rugby – expressed his concerns about the score post-match. 'It's illegal to jump the tackle, but he dived over,' said Schmidt. 'What it now challenges World Rugby to do is that if we have two guys going in low and a guy dives over that, he is pretty much headfirst. 'So what do we do to stop him scoring, apart from stopping his head? There's not much else you can do.' It's a fair point from Schmidt and underlines how willing Sheehan was to put his body on the line for the Lions. If one of the Wallabies defenders had stayed up high or popped upwards late, it could have been a nasty collision. But they didn't. The Wallabies tacklers were lured down into low positions by Sheehan's previous set-up plays and he soared right over the top of them. Piardi was happy and Andy Farrell's men had five crucial points.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Lions land in Sydney with sore heads as Australia continue to fume over MCG endgame
A day after they'd gone to war and gone to the wire, the respective Wallabies and Lions squads made the post-second Test trek from Melbourne to Sydney for next Saturday's series finale, one with heavy hearts, the other with collective sore heads. Joe Schmidt and his Australian squad were on a morning flight and, one ventures, an altogether quieter one, not least as Andrea Piardi and his match officials were apparently among them. Andy Farrell has cultivated a ruthless, winning mentality in the touring squad and hence they were frolicking and cavorting like caged Lions let loose into the wild in the aftermath of Saturday's dramatic and pulsating 29-26 win to emulate the series win of 2013. As Farrell and Maro Itoje were conducting their valedictory post-match press conference in a cramped room in the otherwise spacious MCG, they were already being serenaded by the rest of the squad in the away 'shed'. In their own, ever-changing adaptation of Rockin' All Over the World, the chorus hailed coach and captain: 'Ohhhhh Farrell and Captain Marohhhh'. READ MORE The squad's extensive playlist carried on throughout the Lions and Wallabies press conferences, and included Dirty Old Town which, although popularised by The Dubliners and The Pogues, was written by an Englishman of Scottish extraction, Ewan McColl, about Salford in Manchester. The players then brought white chairs and beers out to the centre of the MCG pitch, by then deserted of its record-breaking 90,037 attendance, and when Hugo Keenan emerged from his media duties in the mixed zone he had to re-enact his match-winning 80th minute try. Meanwhile, Schmidt had already been stoking up the widespread outrage that the try had not been over-ruled and a penalty awarded to the Wallabies on review for Jac Morgan's clearout on Carlo Tizzano at the preceding ruck. Former Wallaby turned pundit Morgan Turinui said on Stan Sport: 'The referees were too weak to give it.' And described it as 'a terrible decision'. Australia backrow Carlo Tizzano receives treatment after the clearout by the Lions' Jac Morgan at a ruck in the lead-up to Hugo Keenan's late try at the MCG. Photograph:'Robbed' screamed the back page of the Sunday Telegraph, while inside the heading on one piece read 'This Will Cost Us Forever'. Yet the Lions, to a man, maintained Morgan had made a legal clearout on Tizzano, with Finn Russell indicating that the Wallabies sub had milked the moment. And the outrage would have been even greater had Keenan's try been ruled out on review for something that happens in every second ruck. The pity is that the controversy distracted from an unforgettable Test in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch the Lions play in Australia and the biggest rugby union attendance on Australian soil in two decades. And who knows, despite all the naysayers who have decried the Wallabies and the series, primarily from home, this may mark the beginning of a rebirth for Australian rugby. Saturday's epic win, sealed by Keenan's finish to an utterly compelling 13-phase attack, was all the more memorable for the Wallabies producing what has been described as their best performances in the last decade. They were a side transformed, not surprisingly, by the raised stakes, the injection of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini's ball carrying, sharpened lineout launch plays and Joseph Suaalii coming to the party. 'They were good. They turned up,' agreed Farrell. 'I suppose the drama and how it unfolded is what makes it special. You wouldn't have backed us at 23-5 but to find a way adds to the story, doesn't it? It adds to the fairytale.' Saturday's game had uncanny echoes of Ireland's epic clash with the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium in 2013. Back then, Schmidt was overseeing just his third match as Ireland's head coach. A week previously Ireland had been beaten 32-15 by Australia and akin to last week's build-up, his Wallabies side went into Saturday's game as 10-point underdogs, with a 7-2 chance of victory. Jamison Gibson-Park leads the celebrations in the Lions' dressingroom after the win over Australia at the MCG. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho On that November Sunday in 2013, Ireland flew out of the blocks with a three-try salvo to lead 22-7 after 35 minutes. Here, the Wallabies' three-try salvo earned them a 23-5 lead after 31 minutes. Ireland would not add another point while on Saturday the Wallabies were restricted to just one more Tom Lynagh penalty in the 54th minute. A dozen years ago, the All Blacks completed the biggest comeback in their history to lead 24-22 for the first time with the last play of the game, namely Aaron Cruden's retaken conversion after Ryan Crotty's try. On Saturday, after Keenan's try was confirmed, the Lions thus led for the first time with the last play of the game to complete their biggest Test comeback in history; the only difference being that Russell's conversion served to run down the lock and wasn't required to seal the victory. Russell spoke of the 'calmness' which permeated throughout the Lions, both at 23-7 down and entering the endgame. Their matchday squad boasted 1,337 Test caps as against the Wallabies' 715, and perhaps tellingly, their finishing XV had 789 caps to their opponents' 335. When they first came together, Farrell targeted a 3-0 series win in Australia for the first time since a 'British Isles' team did so in 1904. 'Everybody wants to play next week,' said Russell, a sentiment echoed by Itoje. For Farrell to be true to his word, the changes in selection might be sprinkling rather than wholesale. After all, the likes of Tadhg Furlong , Itoje, Tom Curry and Jack Conan deserve to be ever-presents for a second series in a row, and in Furlong's case a third, and ditto key performers like Dan Sheehan , Tadhg Beirne , Jamison Gibson-Park and Russell, while Joe McCarthy , Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen could come back into the mix. Decision, decisions, decisions. But from a happy place.
