The impressive Sean O’Brien dives over for the Lions third try

by Paul Cook in Melbourne –

They were gallant but the Melbourne Rebels ultimately didn’t have the quality to worry a dominant British & Irish Lions, who could still afford some periods of forgettable play to run out comfortable 35-0 winners at AAMI Park and maintain their winning momentum going into the second test.

With Owen Farrell orchestrating proceedings from flyhalf and the workhorse duo of Sean O’Brien and captain Dan Lydiate doing the hard yards at the breakdown, the Lions ascendancy was assured after they’d weathered an initial barrage from the home side and a 14-0 half-time lead was about the right reflection given the weight of territory and possession.

It didn’t get much better after the break for the Rebels as the Lions turned the screw when they needed to and plundered three more five pointers to complete a comprehensive victory but the performance was not without it’s glitches. Their dominance on the scoreboard led to moments where the game plan took a backseat and unstructured, and at times scrappy, rugby was the result. In the end however, five unanswered tries was more than enough for coach Warren Gatland to be happy with.

“I’m pleased with that, it was a good response to the disappointment of last week in Canberra,” he enthused. “We said before that it was an opportunity for players and I thought the backrow was very good, I thought Richie Gray had his best game on tour, Richard Hibbard carried the ball well, both nine’s were good, Sean Maitland was good and the defence was outstanding.”

Owen Farrell took it to the line more than usual in an improved display – Photo: photae.com.au

He also felt that the performance was the embodiment of exactly what the squad had been about all tour. “These guys have been so good on and off the field throughout this tour and that was demonstrated tonight with the spirit that was displayed and by not conceding any points. They’ve been fantastic ambassadors for the four home unions and everyone back home should be really proud of the way they’ve conducted themselves both on and off the field.”

Rebels head coach Damien Hill was disappointed his side came away with nothing for their efforts but paid heed to the sell-out crowd that turned up to cheer them on. “A few of the guys I’ve spoken to said that was like nothing they’d ever experienced before but they never gave up. I thought the defence at times was outstanding, it’s just a shame we couldn’t finish a few things off. To have a full stadium for the first time in three years is great for the club and a sign that Melbourne is behind us.”

The Rebels had indeed come out with plenty of attacking intent, spreading the play at pace and trying to find holes through what was, initially, a rather disjointed Lions defence but with Sean O’Brien at his pilfering best in the loose, the tourists eventually settled and took the sting out of their opponents with some controlled possession.

The Sea of Red that swarmed down the Yarra River from the city to fill seemingly 70% of a sold-out AAMI Park, were suitably vocal when their heroes marched the Rebels scrum back at the first hit, a statement of intent from Dan Cole and Richard Hibbard in particular, both of whom were present for Saturday’s last minute scrum failure that could/should have cost the Lions the first test.

With Owen Farrell pulling the strings and taking it to the line more than usual, the Lions started to turn the screw and force their hosts onto the backfoot, the flyhalf using plenty of willing inside runners to make inroads into the Rebels 22 and it was only the final execution that was missing from an opening try.

However, the increasing pressure told in the 14th minute when Conor Murray pounced from 2 metres to open the scoring. A grubber from Brad Barritt in behind for Sean Maitland was fielded in goal by Rebels fullback Jason Woodward but the Lions almost drove the resulting 5 metre scrum over the chalk before Murray was on hand to spin and find the line when the ball spilt out the back.

Manu Tuilagi was a powerful threat with ball in hand and may be considered for the 2nd test

The Lions continued to blossom with pill in hand, Simon Zebo a menacing threat when given space but they were guilty of being a tad flat at times and were lacking somebody to bend the line and really press home their territorial advantage.

The Rebels held firm for another 10 minutes before they were undone again, this time in open play. Manu Tuilagi, making his comeback from the shoulder injury he sustained against the Queensland Reds over two weeks ago, showed too much gas and no little power, to break through a couple of soft tackles down the flank and release Maitland on his inside with a deft flick.

The former Crusader ran a nice line, drew the defence in textbook style and fed Toby Faletau to the posts but a desperate last ditch tackle from Woodward delayed proceedings until the ball was recycled wide and Maitland, who had continued his run, was there in support to open his Lions try scoring account.

Dan Cole exorcised some demons from Saturday’s near fatal last minute scrum with a dominant display at the set-piece

There was no Leigh Halfpenny to cement both tries but the prowess of Neil Jenkins as a kicking coach was firmly in evidence again as Farrell converted both with aplomb. That was more or less that until half-time with the Rebels having one concerted period of pressure inside the Lions 22 but were unable to turn it into any points and even the mandatory three escaped them as Woodward pushed his 34th minute penalty attempt wide after the Lions were pinged for offside.

A piece of impromptu magic from Farrell in the 48th minute, facing one way but reversing a chip kick off the outside of his foot in the opposite direction, almost put Rob Kearney in for a memorable score but a minute later, the Lions did have their third. Richie Gray and Lydiate combined off a 5 metre lineout to give O’Brien space in the corner to force his way over.

Farrell converted for his 18th successful kick from 19 attempts on the tour but it proved to be his last contribution as Stuart Hogg came on in his place, soon followed by a front three change that saw Ryan Grant, Richard Hibbard & Dan Cole off and Tom Court, Rory Best and Matt Stevens on in their place.

At 21-0, the Lions became a bit ragged as the game turned into an unstructured affair – good for the observer but no so good for a Lions team trying to master a controlled environment and, as in Canberra, Hogg and Kearney could be accused of putting far too much boot to ball, especially considering the three try advantage.

There was still time for some icing to be added to the cake, a penalty try awarded in the 62nd minute after replacement Jordy Reid had deliberately gone in from the side and spoiled a certain score, was complemented 10 minutes later by lively replacement Ben Youngs, who received clean lineout ball from Tom Croft to dummy his way through to the posts.

British & Irish Lions 35 (Conor Murray, Sean Maitland, Sean O’Brien, Ben Youngs, penalty try tries; Owen Farrell 3 cons, Billy Twelvetrees 2 cons) d Melbourne Rebels 0

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