ACT Brumbies players celebrate their historic victory at the final whistle
Photo: Djuro Sen/Image Matrix

by Paul Cook in Canberra –

The British & Irish Lions unbeaten tour has come to an end with a numbing 14-12 loss in every sense to a combative and hungry Brumbies outfit at a chilly Canberra Stadium. While the temperature at ground level didn’t quite descend to the predicted depths of -1oC, the frost in the newly acquainted Lions backline was evident in spades out on the pitch as a team that only came together in the last few days, roundly played like a team that only came together in the last few days, outfought and outthought by a home side that executed a simple game plan effectively and showed the greater desire for victory.

It is the first loss for the Lions to a provincial side since a defeat at the hands of Northern Transvaal back in 1997 and having cut an impressive swathe through their previous tour matches, this result should no doubt imbue a greater confidence amongst the Wallaby contingent set to take on an albeit different looking side in the first test this coming Saturday.

“I’ve no doubt that the boys sitting in the Wallaby camp would have looked at that result and at the performance of some of these young boys and said ‘Listen, it’s doable now’, whereas, maybe a couple of days ago they would have thought it was a massive uphill battle,” said a justifiably proud Brumbies head coach Jake White afterwards.

“I appreciate and understand just how important Lions tours are and to beat them, it doesn’t matter which side plays against you or which side you play for, it’s obviously a massive achievement,” he enthused.

Mindful of Saturday’s opening test and nursing a succession of injured or recovering bodies, Lions coach Warren Gatland reshuffled his deck with a host of fresh faces in the backline. Billy Twelvetrees, Brad Barritt and Christian Wade had all been flown in from England’s tour of Argentina to help out and – in a bizarre move – former Welsh wing wizard Shane Williams was brought over from his career swansong in Japan for a one-off cameo.

Greenhorn flyhalf Stuart Hogg feels the full force of Tevita Kuridrani’s aggressive defence
Photo: Djuro Sen/Image Matrix

However, with captain Rory Best consistently misfiring with his lineout throws, a tight five that failed to gain any ascendancy at scrum time and a rampant Brumbies side bossing the breakdown, the Lions were unable to build a platform with which to unleash their new blood and on the rare occasions they did, their opponent’s front line defence didn’t give them the room with which to test their combinations.

Stymied, the Lions resorted to an ineffective kicking game with Stuart Hogg and Rob Kearney putting up a barrage of high balls which, in tandem with a poor kick chase, failed to provide any decent front foot ball as the Brumbies coped with ease and simply returned fire with flyhalf Matt To’omua and fullback Jesse Mogg in clinical form off the boot, repeatedly pinning the tourists back in their own half.

Warren Gatland admitted that his side were flat on the night and conceded that the better team had won. “I just felt we didn’t have the urgency and intensity that we needed, we were a bit better in the second half but obviously, we’re a bit disappointed. In not the easiest conditions tonight, the Brumbies were really effective at what they did, they didn’t play any rugby, they kicked a lot of the ball and competed really hard at the breakdown and tried to frustrate us and it was successful.

“There’s not a heck of a lot in the game and they’ve come away victors and it’s important that we learn from that experience and make sure that we’re better for that for the next time we have a hit out. We’ve been building nicely, there’s been a lot of momentum and maybe sometimes it’s not the worst thing to take a bit of a knock and get a bit of a reality check and we had that this evening.”

Shane Williams almost made a dream return with a run down the sideline in the opening moments as the Lions looked for a fast start but the Brumbies scrambled to force him into touch and that would prove to be about as close as the tourists would come to a five pointer all evening.

The only try of the match came a couple of minutes later when Brumbies’ centre Tevita Kuridrani, one of the best on ground, took a wide pass from Mogg before bumping off ineffectual tackles from Christian Wade and fullback Rob Kearney to find the line but from there, it was a question of brawn, intensity and desire.

Justin Tipuric does his best to try and block another accurate clearing kick from Matt To’omua
Photo: Djuro Sen/Image Matrix

Ill discipline at the breakdown penalised the Lions with a host of kickable penalties but a combination of Mogg and Ian Prior had already passed up another 8pts (Prior missed the conversion) before Mogg finally extended the lead to 8-0 four minutes from half-time. However, a penalty from Stuart Hogg after the siren when Peter Kimlin was pinged for going off his feet, offered the Lions a lifeline that their limp first 40 minutes had barely justified.

Further pressure in the third quarter allowed Mogg the chance to kick the Brumbies clear into a 14-6 lead – Hogg replying – before Gatland called on his bench to save the day with Alex Corbisiero, Richard Hibbard and Dan Cole replacing Ryan Grant, Rory Best and Matt Stevens in the front row.

The difference was palpable from the first scrum as a much improved hit brought a penalty but Hogg could only find the upright, his third encounter with the framework on this tour. It was to prove the Scotsman’s last act as he made way for Owen Farrell and all of a sudden, the Lions had a genuine playmaker with a pack in front of him finally offering up some ball to work with.

Slowly but surely, the tourists built up a head of steam and for the first time in the match, the Brumbies looked ruffled as a couple of knock-ons and kicks out on the full were perhaps an indicator of increasing nerves as the finish line drew near.

With seven minutes to go, two Farrell penalties had brought it back to 14-12 and momentum was with the visitors. They were still struggling to execute a concise game plan but as the Brumbies tired, they were starting to find a few more gaps to try and plunder. The decisive play came in the 74^th minute when – after patiently working themselves into a striking position inside the 22, Irish scrumhalf Conor Murray panicked and went on his own with no support, losing possession and the last chance for a late winner in the process.

The dying minutes must have felt like forever for the home faithful but the Brumbies kept it at the right end of the field and when the siren went, the ball was gleefully hoofed into the stands to confirm a historic victory that Jake White rates as his highest achievement in the game. “I’ve been lucky enough to win a Junior and Senior World Cup but to beat the Lions, especially the way it was done with a young group of boys with 28 test caps, it’s definitely as good as it gets in rugby union.”

ACT Brumbies 14 (Tevita Kuridrani try; Jesse Mogg 2 pens, Ian Prior pen) d British & Irish Lions 12 (Stuart Hogg 2 pens, Owen Farrell 2 pens)

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