Owen Farrell crosses for try number eight after coming off the bench – Photo: photae.com.au

by Paul Cook in Perth –

After all the pre-match spin and spite, the reality, if the result is the be all and end all, finished uncomfortably close to the predictions of a whitewash as the British & Irish Lions plundered nine tries in a 69-17 victory over the Western Force last night. However, when the game is judged over the eighty minute performance, the Force put up a far greater fight than the margin of victory suggests.

Yes, the Lions scored those nine tries, had the bulk of possession, particularly in the first half and made fifteen line breaks to one but they were breached twice, in similar circumstances, and made to work far harder than they were by the seasoned pros donning Barbarian jerseys last Saturday.

Force captain Matt Hodgson was proud in defeat afterwards, “They’re definitely a tough opposition and they kept coming at us for the full eighty no matter who they had on the field at the time. To score two tries against a world class opposition is good and to defend quite well in patches was exciting, it was just disappointing that the difference was greater than what we wanted.”

He had every reason for his pride, for despite suffering from the jitters in the opening quarter, gifting the tourists a 10-0 lead without having had to work particularly hard for it, they dug in and made life difficult for the remaining hour.

Fullback Leigh Halfpenny gave a kicking masterclass with 11/11, many from the touchline – Photo: photae.com.au

Coach Michael Foley’s decision to make wholesale changes in light of Sunday’s game against the Waratahs may be open to debate but there was nothing questionable about the performance of a team whose experience on the international stage paled into insignificance by comparison to their seasoned opponents. It might sound odd to suggest that a team that conceded 69pts actually defended quite well but the willingness of these greenhorns to put their bodies on the line against a visibly more powerful opponent is to be lauded.

And powerful they were. From the opening minute’s line break from Tommy Bowe, the Lions were hard to handle across the park. Jamie Heaslip was a devastating ball runner all night, Manu Tuilagi enjoyed his debut with a succession of bell ringing hits and hit-ups and in George North, they had a human wrecking ball that took two or more men out of the equation at every tackle.

Jonny Sexton mixed up his game nicely from no.10, slicing and dicing when he found space, putting his runners through with disguised or delayed passes and putting up the odd crossfield kick to keep the Force defence guessing. By comparison to Owen Farrell’s wobbly hit-out against the Barbarians, this was a significant statement of intent from the Leinster pivot.

It was he who crossed for the Lions’ first, taking a pass from Conor Murray before dummying and swerving his hips through a bewildered defence to find the line, Leigh Halfpenny complementing the try with a conversion to add to his 3rd minute penalty. It would prove to be some night for the diminutive fullback.

Controversy reigned near the end of the first quarter when Force scrumhalf Brett Sheehan reported Lions prop Cian Healy for biting. Referee Glen Jackson referred it to the man upstairs who came back with ‘inconclusive evidence’ but Healy will still front the judiciary in Brisbane this evening.

Guilty or not, the Leinster prop may well have played his last football on this tour anyway. A little over 10 minutes after the alleged indiscretion, he fell awkwardly in a tackle and was stretchered off, clearly in some discomfort, with Mako Vunipola his replacement. The early news is that there’s no break but in lieu of a proper medical assessment, Alex Corbisiero is already on his way Down Under as back-up.

George North attracted defenders with his powerful surges – Photo: photae.com.au

In those intervening minutes, the skipper Brian O’Driscoll had added a second in response to a Sheehan penalty and a period of Force dominance, which saw the Lions lose their early momentum. Twelve years after opening his Lions account on the same ground, O’Driscoll showed he is still one of the best finishers in the game after trading passes with North and racing into the corner.

Halfpenny added another penalty to sustain control and there was still time for the Lions to add a third before the break. Heaslip made the early charge before good hands and support allowed the visitors to stretch and stress the Force defence across the field, Tom Croft in the right place at the right time.

The half-time stats told their own story with the Lions holding 70% possession and the Force missing 25 tackles but you felt that the tourists still had a couple of gears to go to and the message from Warren Gatland must have been to that effect as they came out in the second-half with a bang, Heaslip crossing off a long pass from Sexton in the opening minute.

Halfpenny’s pinpoint conversion made it 34-3 and from there, it became a procession, although defence coach Andy Farrell won’t have been happy with the lapses in concentration that saw two copycat tries conceded near the ruck. Richard Brown and Locky McCaffrey were the players that gave the ‘Sea of Blue’ a chance to momentarily drown out the ‘Sea of Red’ but the scores proved to be no more than a minor hindrance as the Lions put their foot down and crossed five more times.

Captain Brian O’Driscoll on his way to scoring his first
Photo: photae.com.au

The impressive Vunipola was too big and too strong for no.5, Bowe’s feet were too quick and nimble for no.6, and no.7 came from the play of the night when Tuilagi crashed through off a great pass from Sexton before finding his captain on his inside with a softness of hand which belied his frame.

With the label ‘slabs of meat’ still ringing in their ears, O’Driscoll couldn’t resist making a point of that play afterwards. “For all the things that were said about the brawn of this squad, there were a couple of deft touches from a few big men out there today and I benefitted from two of them so, I think we’ve got plenty to show and we’ve got a nice mixture.”

Owen Farrell cameoed off the bench and went some way to restoring his reputation after the stumbles in Hong Kong with a sublime jink and turn of pace to ghost in for the seventh before another replacement, Geoff Parling, was on hand to profit from a pop pass off the floor from flanker Sean O’Brien, throwing his hat firmly into the ring for a starting test spot with a typically industrious display.

Halfpenny converted from wide again to complete a masterclass of kicking. He finished with 11 from 11, half of which could be deemed ‘tricky’ at best and Gatland admitted that that level of consistency is one which may come in handy when the tour gets truly serious.

“We’ve got one of the best kicking coaches in the world with us and three quality kickers so we’re in a fortunate position. It’s an important factor in international rugby, you’ve got to nail your kicks.”

For now though, the Lions are happy to run wild and run free and while they are far from the finished product – the line out was problematic, the scrum solid if unspectacular and the defence in need of some tweaks – they are certainly giving the Wallabies reason to sit up and take notice with ball in hand. What they need is a legitimate test and Ewen McKenzie’s Reds will provide just such a benchmark with which to judge more accurately on Saturday.

British & Irish Lions 69 (Brian O’Driscoll 2, Jonny Sexton, Tom Croft, Jamie Heaslip, Mako Vunipola, Tommy Bowe, Geoff Parling tries; Leigh Halfpenny 9 cons, 2 pens) d Western Force 17 (Richard Brown, Locky McCaffrey tries; Brett Sheehan 2 cons, pen)

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