Saturday, June 28 –
WESTERN FORCE 7 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS 54, Optus Stadium, Perth
Scorers: Western Force: Try: Nic White; Con: Ben Donaldson
British & Irish Lions: Tries: Dan Sheehan, Tomos Williams 2, Elliot Daly 2, Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy, Alex Mitchell; Cons: Finn Russell 5, Marcus Smith 2
HT: Western Force 7 British & Irish Lions 21
Dan Sheehan crowned his captaincy of the Lions with a debut try, and his Ireland team-mates Joe McCarthy, who turned in a player-of-the-match display, and Garry Ringrose also crossed during their first outings in the red jersey.
Leading tackler Josh van der Flier and James Lowe, and replacements Andrew Porter, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, and Huw Jones made it nine debuts on the night for Andy Farrell’s men.
There were aspects of the team performance that were lacking, particularly their restart work and discipline at times, but this was a solid start to their campaign Down Under which continues on Wednesday when they play the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.
Finn Russell’s cross-field kick paved the way for Sheehan’s score inside the opening two minutes, and further converted efforts from Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly made it 21-7 at half-time.
Captain Nic White had brought the Western Force level early on, and the Lions fell foul of referee Ben O’Keeffe’s whistle at different stages, losing a turnover-seeking Henry Pollock to the sin bin after a team warning.
However, the Lions tidied things up and were clinical with most of their chances after the break. Williams, who departed with a hamstring issue, Ringrose, McCarthy, Daly, and replacement Alex Mitchell all touched down to push the scoreline past the half-century mark.
The Lions got off to a dream start, racking up the carries before Russell’s right boot picked out Sheehan who linked brilliantly with Lowe, taking the winger’s offload out the back to raid in beside the posts. Russell converted.
Dylan Pietsch’s collection of the restart inspired a quick-fire reply from the Force, though, as they built through 15 phases. After his forwards went close on a few occasions, White burrowed over the line before Donaldson landed the levelling conversion.
Although penalties invited further pressure from the Lions, McCarthy ripped the ball back at a maul for an important turnover. He added another one soon after, the end-to-end action continuing with full-back Daly finding grass with a big kick downfield.
The Lions regained the lead in the 16th minute, profiting after Pollock and van der Flier had connected well to launch a pacy break. The England youngster offloaded off the ground to put Williams over from close range. Russell’s extra made it 14-7.
The hosts could not capitalise on lively winger Pietsch’s gliding run, while Ringrose probed with a couple of kicks out wide for Farrell’s side. He was also throwing himself into tackles, landing a big shot on his opposite number Matt Proctor.
The Lions’ share of territory grew through some breathless passages of play, and an opportunist try widened the margin before the break. Daly got the ball down despite Donaldson’s tackle, rewarding Russell’s decision to tap a penalty and race into the space afforded to him.
Despite Pollock’s yellow card close to the interval, the Lions denied the Super Rugby Pacific outfit a follow-up score thanks mainly to McCarthy and van der Flier’s maul defence which led to Nick Champion de Crespigny being held up.
The Force resumed on the front foot, but the second half’s first score went to the Lions. Mack Hansen and Lowe injected the pace to lead the charge out of the tourists’ 22, and a neat exchange between Lowe and Williams sent the Welsh scrum half over in the right corner.
Mitchell made an immediate entrance, with Williams unfortunately suffering some tightness in his left hamstring. Pollock returned from the touchline, and four changes up front included the introduction of both Porter and Jack Conan.
Some crisp hands from the backs set up Hansen to release Ringrose for a deserved try, the Dubliner darting over from the edge of the Force 22 after the winger’s inviting pass over the top. Russell converted to put 26 points between the sides.
McCarthy was next over the whitewash, with van der Flier’s arcing pass giving the big lock a comfortable finish out wide. It all came from Pollock’s initial chip and chase, the 20-year-old gobbling up his kick and having a cut at the line himself before the score came on the left.
The Lions were soon pressing again through van der Flier, and despite Donaldson’s interception and dangerous kick downfield, Hansen got back to deny the Force full-back. His pace and energy when chasing his own kick towards the hosts’ 22 eventually led to a Lions scrum.
The men in red now had a stranglehold on the game, the Force having to defend even more after a Kelleher lineout steal at the rear, and Daly successfully slaloming down the left wing when running back a kick.
With ten minutes remaining, a nicely delayed pass from replacement Marcus Smith released Daly to complete his brace. Smith fired over from the tee to leave it 47-7.
The increasingly-influential Hansen was then involved twice as the Lions countered late on, Daly using a penalty advantage to put Sione Tuipulotu into space, and Hansen provided the assist for Mitchell to finish off to the right of the posts.
TIME LINE: 1 minute – British & Irish Lions try: Dan Sheehan – 0-5; conversion: Finn Russell – 0-7; 4 mins – Western Force try: Nic White – 5-7; conversion: Ben Donaldson – 7-7; 16 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Tomos Williams – 7-12; conversion: Finn Russell – 7-14; 35 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Elliot Daly – 7-19; conversion: Finn Russell – 7-21; 39 mins – British & Irish Lions yellow card: Henry Pollock; Half-time – Western Force 7 British & Irish Lions 21; 46 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Tomos Williams – 7-26; conversion: missed by Finn Russell – 7-26; 51 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Garry Ringrose – 7-31; conversion: Finn Russell – 7-33; 53 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Joe McCarthy – 7-38; conversion: Finn Russell – 7-40; 70 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Elliot Daly – 7-45; conversion: Marcus Smith – 7-47; 80 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Alex Mitchell – 7-52; conversion: Marcus Smith – 7-54; Full-time – Western Force 7 British & Irish Lions 54
WESTERN FORCE: Ben Donaldson; Mac Grealy, Matt Proctor, Hamish Stewart, Dylan Pietsch; Alex Harford, Nic White (capt); Tom Robertson, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Ollie Hoskins, Sam Carter, Darcy Swain, Will Harris, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Vaiolini Ekuasi.
Replacements used: Reed Prinsep for Harris (9-23 mins), Lopeti Faifua for Carter (49), Max Burey for Harford, Prinsep for Ekuasi (both 52), Marley Pearce for T Robertson, Tom Horton for Paenga-Amosa (both 55), Henry Robertson for White (58), Bayley Kuenzle for Pietsch (61), Tiaan Tauakipulu for Hoskins (64).
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Elliot Daly (Saracens/England); Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales); Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland), Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England).
Replacements used: Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) for Williams (47 mins), Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Schoeman, Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Beirne, Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England) for Furlong, Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England) for Cummings (all 48), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) for Ringrose (55), Marcus Smith (Harlequins/England) for Russell (61), Rónan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Sheehan (65).
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)