In his latest column, Wallabies legend David Campese reflects on the first Test between the British & Irish Lions and Australia and is far from happy.
Lions flattered
Well, the first Test came and went, and for me, I wondered how the Lions managed to play so poorly in the second half.
Let’s be honest, they were playing a weak Wallaby side with zero half-back control and still lost the second half 14-10, something that should really worry Andy Farrell and his coaches.
Once Tom Curry went off, Australia had so much space in which to work. I know that the Welsh were up in arms about Tom Curry’s selection over Jac Morgan, but when you see just how much physical pressure he exerts onto the half-backs and midfield, you realise precisely what a brilliant player he is. He’s one of those guys that makes backs do things they don’t want to do, simply because they don’t want to go down his channel and get melted, something he did all day. He and Tadhg Beirne were the best players on the park, although I did think that the Aussie back-row gave close to as good as they got.
The problem is Test footy is all about combinations. Look at the Lions – Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones have played a lot of Tests together. They know their games inside out and that continuity and familiarity is what Test teams are built on. Look at Ireland with Leinster, France with Toulouse and in our day, the Randwick club influence for Australia – teams within teams that simply know each others’ games.
Tom Lynagh and Jake Gordon played as if they’d met for the first time in the car park before kick off. Their kicking work was woeful – too short, too long and in no way effective. Contrast that with the superb Jamison Gibson-Park’s box kicking and Russell’s passing and you can see the advantage the Lions had in that area.
However, to their credit, as the Lions tired and lost the Curry influence, so Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight, alongside impact from Carlo Tizzano, kept trucking. For some reason the Lions looked leg weary and started to fall off collisions you’d expect them to dominate.
Moving forward
The Wallabies had a chance in this Test, but unfortunately two things happened; the selection was poor and players that influence games were injured.
In simple terms, both of these things can be changed up for the second Test. I implore Joe Schmidt to pick combinations that know each others’ games. Ben Donaldson and Tate McDermott must be the men to control the backline – let them play the Wallaby way – heads up, fast and attacking. You can’t play phase pods against a defence like the Lions – you’re simply asking to be picked off and turned over. So play that broken field game we saw in the last 20 minutes and give it a crack.
Alongside Donaldson and McDermott, any team in the world would welcome Will Skelton, Bobby Valetini and Taniela Tupou back. They’re three world class operators and all massively physical. Use them to get on the board and build score pressure. The Lions conceded 12 penalties under pressure and when you’ve men of that size running at you in waves around the corner off nine, things happen.
Skelton will scare any opponent; he’ll distract, annoy, and disrupt. He’ll push the letter of the law in the way other world class locks like RG Snyman and Eben Etzebeth do – intimidation is his staple diet and he’s bloody good at it. Wind the Lions up, irritate them and get them focusing on things other than their jobs – that’s his stock in trade and that’s precisely what the Wallabies need to push the Lions over the disciplinary edge.
For the Lions, I want to see more. The bench futtered and stuttered and I expect to see changes there. Even I, as a running back, know the importance of clean lineout. Ronan Kelleher had a shocker in Brisbane and I fully expect to see the ageless Jamie George shore that area up.
I would want to maintain physical intensity and for me, that’s a 6-2 and get players like Henry Pollock in – someone that can change the tempo and direction of the game. The Lions really lacked that in the second half and I think they’ll rethink their second Test strategy.
Above all, I want to see more from both sides. Australia shot themselves in the foot with poor selection for this game and if that changes, it’ll be closer. For the Lions, 80 minutes is how long the game lasts and they have to change up the dynamic of that last 30 that completely ruined the excellence of the 50 that went before.
Bring it on and let’s hope for an Aussie win!