
Farrell impressed in patches as Lions steamroller Reds
As against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday, the tourists had their line breached in the first quarter before dominating the contest and running up the score.
"Impressive in patches again," Farrell said. "We played some nice rugby after we settled down. I think the first 10 minutes, the Reds started pretty well and we'd a few errors on top of one another.
"But I thought we was nice and composed, even though it was a bit stop start for us as far as continuity is concerned. But we ended up playing some nice rugby in the end."
Difficulties can be expected when you are bringing players from four nations together over a short period and issues at the restart, handling errors as well as a couple of scrum penalties will not have pleased Farrell.
Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park returned from a glute injury that ruled him out of the loss to Argentina and the win over Western Force, however, working well with Finn Russell in what is expected to be the test halves combination.
Once they settled, the Lions looked impressive in attack and defence, holding their opposition scoreless after halftime for the second match in a row.
"We weren't happy with the start of our game," said Farrell.
"I think we started a little bit better in the second half. And I think the quality of the bench and the example that the benches have set in the other two games has been top draw.
"Competition for places, that's what we're after, isn't it? And everyone's got to play right through to the final whistle."
The Lions lost scrumhalf Tomos Williams for the remainder of the tour with a hamstring injury and now have concerns over fullback Elliot Daly, who was replaced with what looked like a wrist injury against the Reds.
The experienced England outside back has been among the better performers in the first three matches of his fourth Lions tour and scored two tries against the Force.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
France coach Galthie names eight uncapped players to face New Zealand
France coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday named eight debutants, including five starters, in a depleted squad for their opening match of a three-test tour of New Zealand in Dunedin. Tom Spring is set to make his debut on the right wing in the clash on Saturday while Joris Segonds will earn his first cap at flyhalf. Alexandre Fischer will earn his first cap in the third row, Tyler Duguid in the second row and Giorgi Beria as prop. Props Paul Mallez and Regis Montagne, along with versatile forward Jacobus van Tonder, who can play in the second or third row, will hope to debut off the bench. Captain Gael Fickou, who is the most-capped player in the squad (94 caps), will lead the side from the centre while veteran prop Rabah Slimani will return to international rugby for the first time since October 2019. Pierre-Louis Barassi, Pierre Bochaton, Joshua Brennan, Nicolas Depoortere and Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, who all played in the Top 14 final last Saturday, are out of the squad and will be available for the second and third tests. France team: 15–Theo Attissogbe, 14–Tom Spring, 13–Emilien Gailleton, 12–Gael Fickou (capt), 11–Gabin Villiere, 10–Joris Segonds, 9–Nolann Le Garrec, 8–Mickael Guillard, 7–Killian Tixeront, 6–Alexandre Fischer, 5–Tyler Duguid, 4–Hugo Auradou, 3–Rabah Slimani, 2–Gaetan Barlot, 1–Giorgi Beria. Replacements: 16–Pierre Bourgarit, 17–Paul Mallez, 18–Regis Montagne, 19–Romain Taofifenua, 20–Cameron Woki, 21–Jacobus van Tonder, 22–Baptiste Jauneau, 23–Antoine Hastoy.


CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Owen Farrell called up after Daly ruled out of Lions tour with broken arm
SYDNEY :British & Irish Lions back Elliot Daly has been ruled out of the rest of the tour of Australia by a broken forearm and will be replaced in the squad by playmaker Owen Farrell, the son of head coach Andy. Versatile 32-year-old Daly, who was on his third Lions tour, suffered the injury in Wednesday's 52-12 victory over the Queensland Reds having been brought into the starting side just before kickoff when fullback Hugo Keenan fell ill. Daly's ability to cover the centre, wing and fullback makes him especially valuable on tour and his late call-up in Brisbane was his 11th straight inclusion in a Lions matchday squad going back to the start of the 2021 tour of South Africa. Farrell, who won the last of his 112 England caps at the 2023 World Cup and announced in early 2024 that he was stepping away from international rugby, will join the squad for his fourth Lions tour, looking to add to his six test caps. "It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot's tour is over. He is a Lions legend who has added so much to the group on and off the field over the past few weeks," Andy Farrell said in a team statement. "Owen will now come in and add to our options and bring his own Lions experience to the group." Farrell named a third captain in three matches for the clash against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday with Irish lock Tadhg Beirne following tour skipper Maro Itoje and fellow-Irishman Dan Sheehan in leading the side out. Keenan will start at fullback with another option for the number 15 shirt, Blair Kinghorn, named on the left wing having arrived in Australia late on Monday after helping his French club Toulouse to the Top 14 title. Young English loose forward Henry Pollock returns to the side and will play at blindside flanker in a back row also featuring number eight Ben Earl and openside Josh van der Flier. Fin Smith, who started at flyhalf in the loss to Argentina in Dublin two weeks ago, gets another shot at the playmaking role in a halfback partnership with his England teammate Alex Mitchell. Lions team: 15–Hugo Keenan, 14–Mack Hansen, 13–Huw Jones, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–Blair Kinghorn, 10–Fin Smith, 9–Alex Mitchell, 8–Ben Earl, 7–Josh van der Flier, 6–Henry Pollock, 5–James Ryan, 4–Tadhg Beirne (captain), 3–Finlay Bealham, 2–Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1–Pierre Schoeman.


CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Williams see fixes for problems, hope to stay fifth in F1 championship
LONDON :Williams are confident they can fix issues behind recent retirements and expect a car upgrade coming soon to keep them on course for fifth place in the Formula One championship. Team boss James Vowles told Reuters that they understood the brake problem that prevented Carlos Sainz from starting in Austria last Sunday and a fix would be in place for this weekend's British Grand Prix. "The Carlos issue, we're very clear on it, it can be replicated on a rig, it can be understood, and for Silverstone we'll have mitigation in place," he said. An issue that has sidelined Alex Albon in the last two races was more of a challenge but Vowles expected a solution by Sunday. "The issue that Alex suffered was such an instantaneous and rapid problem that it's very hard to replicate," he said at an event in London with sponsor Gulf Oil International for a fan-created livery to be used in Brazil. "Whilst the full detail of why exactly it's happening is not complete, we do have four or five different tests that will allow us to uncover that. "By the time we're going racing on Saturday/Sunday, we're in a good place but it will have compromise on the weekend." Albon has retired from his last three outings, in Spain due to collisions and a damaged car, and then in Canada and Austria due to issues that Vowles said were also seen on Sainz's side to a lesser extent. "There's evidence of it being on the other side of the garage as well. I think sometimes it's very significant and severe and other times it's more manageable," he explained. Williams are 19 points clear of sixth-placed Racing Bulls after 11 of 24 races and 107 behind Red Bull in fourth. Vowles said the upgrade, the last big one of the season, looked substantial on paper and would come either for Belgium or Hungary later this month. "We've been focused in the wind tunnel on '26, we've been trying to be clever about how we develop this upgrade so we'll see where we get to," he said. "We need to make sure the car is reliable, we don't have accidents and we operate it correctly with strategy, pitstops engineering etc. "And all of that put together, even with the car we have today, I'm comfortable we can hold on to fifth in the championship. At the performance step, that should only make our life easier."