Queensland Reds 12 British & Irish Lions 52: Maro Itoje leads by example as tourist make it two from two in Australia

Scottish Sun

17 hours ago

The Lions were hit by the late withdrawal
Queensland Reds 12 British & Irish Lions 52: Maro Itoje leads by example as tourist make it two from two in Australia
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MARO ITOJE led from the front as his Lions made it two from two on Australian soil with his tourists hit the Reds for an eight-try half century.
But Andy Farrell's men had a late injury worry when Elliot Daly, himself a late call-up to the starting XV, went off with an arm injury after 66 minutes.
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Maro Itoje celebrates with a team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie
Credit: AFP
And Itoje went down after a blow on the shoulder late on but carried on to ensure his side got over the line safely.
Daly was attempting a tackle on home full-back Jock Campbell when he pulled up holding his left arm and was replaced then later seen with blood coming from a bandage on the limb.
Itoje was everywhere for the Lions, dominating the line outs, bossing the breakdown and scoring a try in the second half.
There were other pluses for boss Andy Farrell with fly-half Finn Russell conducting the backs and England wing Tommy Freeman scoring twice in another powerful display and Jac Morgan won the battle on the deck.
The Lions were hit by the late withdrawal of Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, who was listed as sick, and Daly was parachuted in from outside the 23 to start.
Keenan has not played on the tour so far, after a calf injury, but is expected to be fit to face the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday with time running out to make a claim for a Test spot.
That means the versatile Saracen has been named in a Lions 23 for the last 11 games stretching back to the tourists' opening game in South Africa in 2021.
The Lions led 21-21 at the break but had been given the hurry-up by a Reds side who drew first blood through former Wasps prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen on seven minutes.
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But Freeman, with a neat finish, got the Lions back in it, but Queensland centre Josh Flook made the most of a bounce that bamboozled Duhan van der Merwe to get the hosts in front.
Itoje's side then returned fire with a double salvo from prop Andrew Porter and Van der Merwe before the skipper stormed over off a short pass from Jamison Gibson-Park on 44 minutes.
Morgan, now the only Welsh player left on tour, finished it as a contest when he hit a strong line off Alex Mitchell's pass to cap a great evening for the Osprey.
Freeman grabbed a second and Huw Jones ran in from 50 metres before Daly was forced off but the Lions were home and hosed.