Have a safe trip: Kurtley Beale slipped with his second attempt to land a winning penalty for the Aussies.
The Lions looked to make a promising start in
Brisbane, with early pressure in the Australian 22. However, when a penalty
advantage ended, the Wallaby back-row turned the ball over, forced a penalty of
their own and the quick-witted Will Genia broke up the field with a quick tap.
His 50 metre break and well judged chip for Israel Folau on his debut dealt the
visitors an early sucker-punch. James O’Connor added the conversion to give the
home side an early 7-0 lead.
Shortly after this, Leigh Halfpenny opened
his side’s account with a early penalty to settle the travelling support’s
nerves. It did not take the visitors long to score their first try. A loose
kick from Berrick Barnes was well gathered by George North on his own 50 metre
line. The Northampton-bound winger rounded Pat McCabe and then narrowly avoided
O’Connor’s tap-tackle. The Northampton bound speedster stumbled, but kept his
balance and rounded Barnes before cheekily taunting Genia as he touched down in
the left-hand corner. Leigh Halfpenny continued his mesmerising form from the
tee with the touchline conversion to take the Lions in to a three point lead.
Shortly after this, North looked to be in
for another score, however, his left elbow stroked the touchline on grounding
the ball and the TMO denied him a dream second try in his first Lions Test.
Halfpenny added a further penalty as Warren
Gatland’s side started to work their way in to the match and applied plenty of
pressure on the Australians. However,
Ben Mowen found debutant Folau on the right-hand wing and the Waratah stepped
and sped his way past a hapless Lions defence. O’Connor missed the conversion
in an inconsistent day of kicking for the home side.
Sadly, a thrilling half of rugby was soured by
early injuries to Christian Leal’ifano who only managed 50 seconds of his debut
and full-back Barnes who took a head-on collision from team mate Folau. The
scores finished Australia 12 Lions 13 at half-time.
Gatland’s team talk worked its magic as the
Lions made a bold start in the second half. Alex Cuthbert carved through the
Australian defensive line past O’Connor and Michael Hooper to score after
Jonathan Sexton put him through for a try following a well-worked backs move.
Halfpenny added the simple conversion to put the visitors in a commanding position.
The Australians replied with penalties from
O’Connor and Kurtley Beale on a day where the home team missed 14 points from
the tee. Halfpenny only missed one
effort in the match and this ultimately proved the difference. He added another
penalty after 63 minutes.
With only 13 minutes left on the clock,
Beale who has been in the headlines over the past year for the wrong reasons
made a crucial kick to narrow the gap to just two points.
It was to be a tense final ten minutes,
with Australia piling as much pressure in the Lions’ half as possible. Beale
had two efforts at goal to win the match for the Aussies; however, he pushed
one kick wide and slipped with the final effort of the match.
It was cruel luck for the full-back s the
winning kick would have been some kind of redemption for the troubled
playmaker. However, the ball dropped miserably short and the Lions won only their second
Test in nine matches 23-21.
The First Test matched the hype and
expectation that the tour anticipated, however, the Lions will be worried that
they were outplayed at the breakdown and that they were beaten wide on the
counter attack on two occasions. Positives for the visitors were that the Welsh
back-three are World Class and on occasions, the scrum was devastating. More
consistency in the set-piece and more brutality and speed at the breakdown will
secure the Lions the tour series.
The Australians rued their missed kicks at
goal, if just one of their efforts had sailed between the posts they would have
won. Goal kicking is vital at the top level. You can imagine that there will be
lots of practice this week from the tee for the Wallabies, while Halfpenny will
be proud of his exemplary record.
Man of the Match: George North (British and Irish Lions) Jim Mallinder will be
delighted to have secured the former Scarlet’s signature for this season. The
imposing winger has try-scoring ability from anywhere on the pitch and his devastating
pace and build is a real weapon for the Lions. He scored one wonderful try and
narrowly missed out on a second.
What
did you make of the First Test? Did the Lions deserve to edge the game or were
the Aussies unlucky to lose on poor goal kicking? Post below or message me on
twitter @tommyd91
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