What the Lions got wrong – and Australia got right

Telegraph

2 days ago

With the series already won, the British and Irish Lions were striving for an emphatic performance that could seal a clean-sweep and leave us with a favourable impression of their standing as a team.
Instead, they were ambushed by a defiant Wallabies outfit who deserved their victory. This is how Australia salvaged pride and ended the Lions' tour on a frustrating note.
Selection
Hindsight makes tactical masterminds of us all, but Joe Schmidt was rewarded for his decision to start Taniela Tupou in place of injured tighthead Allan Alaalatoa. Andrew Porter endured a torrid time in the scrummaging exchanges, his hips swinging out to present illegal angles to referee Nika Amashukeli. Here, you can see the pressure exerted on him by Tupou and Will Skelton on Australia's tighthead side:
It is not quite as simple as insisting that Tupou should have been more prominent in the series, because he struggled badly for the Waratahs and was continually outmanoeuvred by Pierre Schoeman. That said, 'Tongan Thor' was then impressive for the First Nations and Pasifika XV a fortnight later. Bound for Racing 92, his carries helped make up for the absence of Rob Valetini.
Porter had been among the stick-or-twist calls for Andy Farrell ahead of this third Test. Having started the first, Ellis Genge was switched to the bench for Melbourne and was an influential replacement. Could the England loosehead have returned to the front line again?
Even if Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry grafted in a losing cause and were two of the best Lions on Saturday, with Jac Morgan dogged from the bench, there is an argument that Andy Farrell could have energised the starting pack with one or two new faces – Ben Earl, for instance – to offset any emotional lull.
The theory of loading six forwards onto the bench in wet weather made sense and Owen Farrell was always in pole position to be the second back because of his ability to cover 10 and 12. Picking Mack Hansen or Jamie Osborne in the 23 shirt would have meant trusting Blair Kinghorn as an emergency fly-half or Earl as a stand-in centre.
Bringing in Fin Smith might have caused Russell to shift to 12 at some stage. A five-three bench risked exposing weary forwards.
In retrospect, though, Farrell senior may wish he had plumped for Sione Tuipulotu over Ireland favourite Bundee Aki. The latter lacked verve in contact.
The ease of this early turnover was ominous, Dylan Pietsch clattering Aki before Fraser McReight and Tom Hooper wrap him up in a classic choke-tackle:
Tuipulotu, assured during the first Test, had even spent half an hour at 13 alongside Owen Farrell at the end of the Australia and New Zealand invitational team in Adelaide. Provided his hamstring was in decent order, Tuipulotu could have started alongside Huw Jones in an all-Scotland midfield before moving wider.
The withdrawal of a wing, as the Lions suffered when Tommy Freeman departed and Jones shifted out wide, was always going to compromise the Lions with a six-two split. But the presence of Tuipulotu, would surely have made their back line more lively. Freeman's sore back in the lead-up will have offered an opportunity for a re-think, too.
Set-piece
Besides the scrummaging issues, and notwithstanding the loss of two key strategists in Maro Itoje and James Ryan, the Lions line-out was a mess. Australia nabbed five of their opponents' 21 throws, while losing just two of their 14. And those statistics do not do justice to the Wallabies' disruption.
Desperation had set in long before a shambolic moment in 75th minute, when Dan Sheehan went short to Jac Morgan, only for Tate McDermott to sack Alex Mitchell and set up a chance for Jeremy Williams to jackal:
During the lightning delay, line-out guru Geoff Parling, now set to become head coach of Leicester Tigers, sat with Nick Frost (in the white circle below) and will no doubt have been examining some Lions routines:
Soon after the resumption, on the edge of his own 22, Frost outjumped Ollie Chessum close to the tail to spoil again:
Australia were superior at both the scrum and the line-out.
Strike zones
In filthy conditions, converting territorial pressure into points – among the oldest truisms in the sport – is paramount. By the fourth minute, the Lions had already coughed up a decent position when Curry slipped and Billy Pollard swooped over him.
Australia went to touch and ran a smart line-out move, with Will Skelton swinging off the back to flick Pollard's throw to Nic White:
A few phases later, the hosts having moved across the pitch, White shaped to bounce back before feeding Tom Wright across the decoy run of Harry Wilson. A cute grubber, with a chase from bustling left wing Dylan Pietsch, caused Hugo Keenan to surrender a five-metre put-in.
With a late change of direction to manipulate back-field space, this is a typical Schmidt play. Piestch would score from Joseph Suaalii's no-look pass within minutes.
Freeman jams in from the wing to help Jamison Gibson-Park take down Suaalii, who hitch-kicks to the outside of the Lions scrum-half. This leaves space for Pietsch and the pass is timed nicely:
The Wallabies were flinty at the other end of the pitch as well. By this point, in the first quarter, the Lions have already been battling away in the opposition 22 for over two minutes in a bid to cancel out Pietsch's try.
Australia have repelled a five-metre line-out and a tap penalty, forcing the attack to move across the pitch from the near touchline to the far side.
Curry steps up at first-receiver and plays a tip-pass to Freeman, who is tackled low by Tom Lynagh before Pietsch flies in with an upright hit. Ikitau and McReight burrow in and James Ryan cannot shift them:
All in all, according to Stats Perform, Australia won 113 of the 115 rucks they spent in possession. The Lions won 64 of 68. Those numbers reflect how the Wallabies won the breakdown tussle.
Hooper's jackal turnover, after the tireless McReight had felled Jack Conan, helped keep an 8-0 lead until half-time. Conceding then would have been a gut-punch for Australia:
Schmidt teams are renowned for shifting the point of contact and this tip-pass from Skelton to Tupou epitomised Australia's blend of handling skills and penetrative running:
There was also ruthless ball retention, another Schmidt trait. Keenan's kicking error in the 64th minute gifted Australia a line-out just inside the Lions 22 because the full-back cleared into touch on the full after Russell had offloaded to him from outside the 22:
The Wallabies subsequently pummelled the defence, kicking penalties to touch in pursuit of a try rather than three points. Ronan Kelleher was yellow-carded for creeping offside and McDermott sniped over:
The next time the Lions could attack was a full eight minutes later from a recovered restart with their rivals 22-7 up.
Hooper (18 carries) and Len Ikitau (11) were major influences on the gain line, the latter darting from midfield to force himself through half-gaps closer to the breakdown. Both are bound for Exeter Chiefs, which will hearten Rob Baxter.
Story
Ultimately, the Wallabies looked more motivated by the prospect of a redemptive result – while avenging their bitter loss in Melbourne and providing White with a fitting send-off – than the Lions did by their pursuit of a 3-0 series scoreline, despite this 'red-wash' clearly being a theme of the entire tour.
When conditions reduce so much of a game to a slug-fest, a team's emotional pitch becomes more important and Australia evidently judged it well.
Speed
A potential lack of out-and-out pace was one criticism aimed at the make-up of the Lions squad from Andy Farrell's initial announcement three months ago and Max Jorgensen's scampering finish was crucial. It also encapsulated the Lions' tentativeness, because there was a chance to overload the defence with Sheehan on the touchline.
But Ikitau and Suaalii responded well. The Australia centres stayed connected and drifted across before quickly shooting up together. Owen Farrell, meanwhile, shaped to kick before feeding Kinghorn after the latter's space had been cut down.
After Ikitau had rushed Farrell, Suaalii rushed Kinghorn. Aki overran a hurried pass from Kinghorn, who vented his anger while the 20-year-old Jorgensen raced away. Australia were simply more alert and more athletic in a pivotal moment: