Freeman and Van der Merwe miss chance to make impression in tough Lions opener

The Guardian

4 hours ago

Swag is a word more common in the US than in this corner of the world. It's a made-to-measure term for athletes with attitude as well as talent; a bit of showmanship to go with the substance. It helps sell the product. When we think of the Lions we like the idea of a bit of swag to go with the occasional success.
Scott Gibbs for example, on the 1997 winning tour to South Africa, the trip that rescued the idea of four countries merging into one and still having a relevance in the newly professionalised game. Or Brian O'Driscoll's stunning impact on his first tour, in Australia in 2001. George North did the same thing in the same country in 2013.
So this opener was the first audition of who might put their hand up in Australia 2025. On the basis of his exploits on this pitch with Northampton Saints against Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final last month you had to consider Tommy Freeman before the stalls even opened. This game was only 10 minutes old when his mate Fin Smith cross-kicked perfectly to him, 10 metres from the Argentina line, only for Ignacio Mendy to intercept the ball brilliantly in mid- air. Otherwise Freeman could have lodged a claim that the north-east corner of Lansdowne Road should have a plaque with his name on it. Two of his three touchdowns against Leinster came on that little patch of land.
The gate to that corner was closed to him thereafter. One of the issues with modern Lions tours is that every minute of game time is one where you have to live your most productive life, for everything up to the first Test is about making the cut for that Test. Sometimes players force stuff. England's wing might want to relive at least one of his offloads, and reshape it more conservatively. He will have lost a night's sleep too over spilling a ball he should have held as the Lions came around the final bend still a few points off the pace, but he finished the night well ahead.
Freeman's England teammates, the Smiths, were not quite on the same track. The idea of Marcus as full-back is weighed down with risk, either defending in the air or against bigger men on the ground. It negates all the good stuff he brings in attack.
Fin is a different story, though. There was a moment in the first half where he was asked to cover the ground quickly to collect a Puma punt that was certain to involve full-on frontal contact: the sort that might end your participation. He didn't blink. When all the other bits of your game are very good, and you layer on that level of bravery, it's a step towards being part of the bigger picture. In the battle for the keys to No 10 it was a very good night for him.
Not so Duhan van der Merwe. When the wing was replaced by Mack Hansen for the final quarter the timing looked unfortunate. Surely it was planned, but hardly intended to follow a brilliant try for Santiago Cordero that started with Van der Merwe losing an aerial challenge. As the home crowd roared their approval at the arrival of Hansen, one of Andy Farrell's favourite players, it must have felt like a long walk for Van der Merwe. All night he looked like a man waiting for the right cards to be dealt only to constantly end up with bum hands. Lions tours demand the ability to make the most of what comes your way, and Scotland's wing was well short.
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He is unlikely to feature on our swag list either way, but Tadhg Furlong is still very much a contender. All season Ireland's tighthead has been getting on the wrong bus, and getting off at the next stop. To have arrived at this point in one piece is an achievement. So a 20-minute spin was about right, but he made it the busiest 20 minutes he has put together in quite a while. He went off for a head injury assessment with the game slipping into its 81st minute, but had sufficient clarity of thought to stop replacement Finlay Bealham – another man who will be happy with his game – to impart some information that was relevant to how the Lions might claw the game back. Whatever it was, it probably needed more time. A bit like the Lions. The award for swagman is up for grabs.