Majestic Russell, Furlong's skills, and Curry's class

The 42

6 days ago

IT TAKES TOM Curry and Dan Sheehan just nine seconds to set the tone for the Lions.
As the vastly experienced Wallabies prop James Slipper carries, the Lions savage him.
It's a dominant double tackle from Curry and Sheehan, with the hooker dropping in lower on Slipper's legs as Curry targets his upper body.
With Sheehan taking out Slipper's legs, Curry's power into the tackle sends Slipper backwards.
It's an aggressive meeting point between technique and intent. It's also a big moment so early in the game, immediately sparking the tourists' fans into a 'Lions, Lions, Lions' chant and lifting everyone around them.
On the very next phase, Andy Farrell's men earn a turnover.
As highlighted below, Lions tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong is initially lined up opposite Wallabies out-half Tom Lynagh.
But as Lynagh passes to Joseph Suaalii, we can see that Furlong immediately turns out onto the imposing centre.
That means Furlong can combine with Sione Tuipulpotu to tackle Suaalii before he can power over the gainline.
And that in turn opens the door for Tadhg Beirne, who has started on Furlong's inside shoulder, to jackal.
The Wallabies are late to the party, with lock Nick Frost and fullback Tom Wright already reactive rather than proactive.
Frost [marked in blue above] targets Furlong, looking to clear him away from his tackle, but Furlong has already begun to move himself out of the way in a good show of discipline, keen not to give away a penalty for failing to roll clear as Beirne jackals.
This all means that Wright [green] is one-on-one with Beirne.
That problem is accentuated by the fact that Beirne so clearly wins the race to the breakdown, pouncing over the ball as Frost hits Furlong.
Wright makes no impact on Beirne, who attempts to lift the ball and earns the turnover penalty.
This poach penalty means Finn Russell can kick the Lions 3-0 up after just 80 seconds, a dream start in a series like this.
This defensive effort also sets a defensive marker – both physical and technical – that the Lions don't let up for the rest of the first half.
Having established their defensive intent, the Lions proceeded to showcase a smart kicking game that was pivotal in helping them pull clear of the Wallabies.
Out-half Russell provides one example as he punishes the Australians for a loose kick up the right.
As Russell gathers the ball from a scrappy Jake Gordon clearance, just after a contestable Jamison Gibson-Park kick has stressed the hosts, we can see that Wallabies left wing Harry Potter is signalling behind himself.
Potter is worried about the Lions running on the counter-attack and is advancing, but he wants Wallabies fullback Wright [out of shot] to work hard to get across the backfield so that there isn't a swathe of space left exposed for a 50:22.
But the Wallabies are slow to adjust and Russell spots his opportunity.
Russell rolls his kick in behind Potter, who has to turn back now in a desperate bid to prevent the 50:22.
But Potter can't do that as he loses control of the ball into touch.
It means a Lions lineout in the Wallabies' 22 and though they don't score off that platform, with Fraser McReight earning a breakdown turnover, this is a good example of how Farrell's men used their kicking game to control the first half.
And their attack did fire to devastating effect at the second time of asking. They start from a midfield scrum just inside the Wallabies' 10-metre line.
The Lions get a free-kick and Gibson-Park is away in a flash, tapping it and hitting Tuipulotu for a powerful carry through McReight's tackle attempt.
As Tuipulotu is getting the Lions immediately over the gainline, we can see the Lions forwards setting up for the second phase of a play they had planned to use from the set-piece.
Props Furlong and Ellis Genge [red below] essentially hold their position to the left.
Meanwhile, Sheehan [blue below] is shifting wider as Beirne [green] heads out towards the left touchline to give width there.
Meanwhile, Russell [orange below] and left wing James Lowe [pink] have initially moved across to their right, as if to set up on that side for the phase after Tuipulotu's carry.
However, Russell and Lowe will redirect over to their left instead, looking to take the Wallabies by surprise.
Furlong nominates himself as first receiver as the Lions bounce back to their left in an 11 pattern, which means first phase off set-piece in one direction before going back in the other direction on second phase.
And as Furlong receives the pass from Gibson-Park, we can see that he is at the heart of a 3-man pod with Genge and Maro Itoje on either side of him, while Russell is arriving in the boot behind.
Furlong does an excellent job in his role here.
Watch below how he takes the ball square to the line, posing a threat as a ball-carrier before he swivels to sweep the pass to Russell.
Furlong fully engages Allan Alaalatoa in the defensive line, his opposite number biting down to tackle him just after he passes.
Genge does a wonderful job as the decoy outside Furlong, subtly arcing his short running line slightly back outside to ensure he fully entices Wallabies hooker Matt Faessler in on him.
Genge does a great job of making sure he's a viable option for a tip-on pass from Furlong, timing his run to tie down Faessler.
So as Russell takes the smooth Furlong pass, Faessler is now under serious pressure to recover back out onto Russell.
That means back row Nick Champion de Crespigny [orange below] has to worry about Russell's running threat on his inside shoulder.
And just outside Champion de Crespigny, scrum-half Gordon [pink below] is worried about Lowe popping up out the back of Sheehan as the possible recipient of a pass from Russell.
As we can see in the two shots above, Sheehan has ended up almost on top of Russell.
But the Lions hooker adjusts smartly, fading back to the outside of Champion de Crespigny.
Sheehan reads Russell's intentions intuitively, recognising that he's too close to him but that he could pick up an offload in behind Champion de Crespigny.
And that's exactly what happens as Russell pumps a dummy pass and then, once he knows Champion de Crespigny has committed in on him, reaches his right arm behind the Wallabies flanker to offload just before Faessler can impact him.
Sheehan picks up the offload and then shows his remarkable athleticism to step his way past Lynagh, who probably expects a hooker to try and run over him.
Gordon catches Sheehan from behind when he's off balance, but the Lions are well in behind the Wallabies.
Genge offers himself up for a direct carry on the next phase.
Genge smashes through two tackle attempts from Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson and Slipper before he's brought to ground.
After another carry from Curry to the right, the Lions win a penalty advantage and Gibson-Park decides to bounce back to the left. This type of intuitive decision is something the Lions scrum-half specialises in.
Genge and Lowe have just got back to their feet after the former's carry, but Gibson-Park spies an opportunity, which Genge also sees.
With Genge pointing the way, Gibson-Park fizzes a pass out to Lowe to give the left wing a chance to show his footwork, drawing in two defenders before throwing the offload to Genge.
It takes great skill from the loosehead to reel the ball in down low before he goes very close to scoring.
Only an intervention from the formidable Max Jorgensen stops Genge from powering over, but the Lions seal the deal on the next phase.
Initially, Gibson-Park looks into the shortside where Lowe is waiting, but then he steps back to his right and pops the ball to Furlong.
The tighthead prop is under pressure from Wilson, who looks for the intercept.
Furlong barges Wilson out of the way to claim the ball and skillfully transfer it to Russell, giving the Lions a shot at scoring.
It still takes something special from Russell to get the job done.
His first instinct is to look for a cross kick but he realises that's not on and instead holds onto the ball, weighing up his passing options.
Russell senses that Alaalatoa [red below] is closing up on him.
The short pass to Curry is covered by Lynagh [blue above], while Suaalii [blue] can shut down a skip pass to Sheehan or Itoje, and left wing Potter [green] is closing up and in on Jack Conan.
Russell already knows that Wallabies fullback Wright has stayed wider to cover the possible cross-kick to Freeman, so he senses the space just outside Potter.
It helps having penalty advantage but there aren't many rugby players who can produce the bridge pass Russell delivers here to find that space.
He lifts the ball up over Potter's head but with enough velocity that the Wallabies wing won't be able to identify it, turn back out, and get to Tuipulotu.
Impressively, Russell doesn't need a big wind-up to generate the power in this pass. It's a wristy action that makes it even harder to read.
This is a fiendishly difficult skill to master. Bridge passes often float in the air for too long, giving the defence time to recover, or fly so low so they can be intercepted.
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Russell nails the skill and there's no time for Potter or Wright to react. Tuipulotu has the equivalent of a tap-in.
It's a cracking try from the Lions as they show all of their attacking smarts, initially breaking the Wallabies with a planned play from scrum before ruthlessly finishing the job as they read what's in front of them.
10-0 up after less than 10 minutes, they have made a stunning start.
Before the quarter mark, they briefly think they have their second try only for Huw Jones' effort to be chalked off. It's still a clever attack from the Lions.
They play off a slick four-man lineout as Sheehan finds Itoje out over the 15-metre line, with Conan carrying aggressively off Russell's pass.
The Lions then shape as if to use another 11 pattern, bouncing immediately back to their right.
Russell [red below] drops back to his right as Gibson-Park points to that side.
As he works around the corner, Sheehan also points to the Lions' right.
Gibson-Park even takes two steps to his right, shaping to pass to that side. All of this ensures that the Wallabies don't fold an extra defender to the far side of the Conan carry.
Potter [red below], who is defending up in the line in place of Lynagh, stays on the near side of the breakdown and as we can see, right wing Jorgensen is pointing back to that side, clearly thinking the threat is not coming down his side.
Having been stung by an 11 pattern for the Tuipulotu try, the Wallabies are determined that it won't happen again.
All of which leaves the Wallabies short as Gibson-Park turns back to his left and rips a gorgeous pass to Tuipulotu.
Tuipulotu stays square and has Jones running short off him, with Keenan out the back having initially shaped to move right with Russell.
Tuipulotu goes out the back to Keenan and though Jorgensen does well not to bite in on the Lions fullback, he is still in a tough situation.
Keenan skips Curry and sends Lowe up the left, taking a big shot from Suaalii just after passing.
Lowe shows his power to fend Jorgensen, getting beyond him, drawing Wright, and passing inside to Jones.
It looks like a certain try for a split second, but the relentless Jorgensen denies the Lions.
Having been fended by Lowe, he shows desire and pace to track back onto Jones.
The Lions centre understandably believes he's moving quickly enough to make the line but Jorgensen is even quicker.
With Lynagh covering across, the inside pass to Gibson-Park is a risk and Jones backs himself to finish. But Jorgensen hauls him down and Jones fails to release the ball, getting back to his feet for a finish that is correctly chalked off.
The Lions centre might feel he could have been more patient, but it's tough in the moment with the line so close.
15-0 or 17-0 here in the 19th minute might have ended the contest there and then, but the Wallabies survive thanks to Jorgensen's effort.
The Lions have a relative lull thereafter, putting together back-to-back errors until Jorgensen produces a cracking try when he beats Keenan in an aerial contest.
Yet it's Farrell's side who finish the first half much stronger. Their potent carrying and varied phase-play attack nearly yields a try for McCarthy.
It's a rare misstep from Russell, who would have been frustrated to miss this chance to put McCarthy away in the left corner.
He just miscalculates his cross kick when Furlong's sweep pass gives him something of an open goal. Nine times out of 10, Russell lands the ball in McCarthy's hands for a try but he sends his kick slightly too deep here and the Lions lock can't regather.
The Lions go back at the Wallabies from the goal line drop out, showing off the latest layer in the play they've been using since the start of their campaign.
As highlighted above, number eight Conan runs the ball back to set the platform.
From there, the Lions set up with the same 4-man pod we've seen on all their goal line drop out attacks in recent weeks, with their inside centre part of the pod.
The 4-pod is slightly different this time with Tuipulotu set up even wider and Russell almost splitting the pod.
In this instance, Tuipulotu tips a short pass to Beirne on his outside rather than going out the back to Russell.
And on third phase, the Lions drop in a new layer as they conjure the disguised inside pass play that Ireland have helped to popularise over the past year.
Russell [green below] receives the ball and he has two runners on his outside, but also Sheehan [blue] offering an inside pass option.
The real strike runner is fullback Keenan [red above], who is doing his best to stay hidden behind Sheehan.
So Russell shapes initially to pass inside to Sheehan but delays and instead hangs the ball up for Keenan.
It takes a superb read from Champion de Crespigny to stop Keenan from scorching through and quite possibly scoring for the Lions.
When Ireland have used this disguised inside pass, many defenders in Champion de Crespigny's position have been attracted onto Sheehan's dummy run, leaving space for the strike runner to scorch through on their outside.
But Champion de Crespigny completely ignores Sheehan as he reads the delayed pass to Keenan, which suggests that the Wallabies have done their homework and foreseen the possibility of the Lions using a play that Ireland have had success with.
Still, the Lions regenerate momentum after this Champion de Crespigny intervention and they really should score with penalty advantage playing, only for Lowe to back himself to finish rather than passing.
Freeman and Sheehan would have fancied their chances on Lowe's outside.
However, the Lions conclude a big period of pressure with their second try in the 36th minute.
It eventually comes from a simple five-metre tap penalty routine. First, Sheehan taps, takes the first few metres, and ducks in under the tackle.
Furlong's powerful clearout helps to ensure the ball is free to be played at the base of the ruck.
Genge carries next with a latch from McCarthy on the inside, while Conan [green below] arrives from the outside to clear out.
Conan drives in and engages both Jeremy Williams and Champion de Crespigny, shifting them backwards just enough to make it tricky for Frost [spotlighted below] to fold across as he gets back to his feet.
We see below how that leaves McReight in a one-on-one situation against Curry with his inside shoulder exposed.
Ideally, McReight would have Frost set up on his inside for a double shot on Curry but instead he's flying solo.
Lions openside Curry surges to that exposed inside shoulder and finishes for the Lions.
Even after the missed chances, Russell's conversion leaves the Lions sitting pretty with a 17-5 half-time lead.
And they essentially finish the game as a contest just 75 seconds into the second half.
Their third try begins with Curry making an excellent read of a deliberate Wallabies overthrow. As highlighted below, Curry is the defensive receiver for the Lions in the lineout.
As the ball leaves hooker Faessler's hands, Curry recognises that it's a long throw to clear the back of the lineout. It's good awareness from Curry and again speaks of a well-prepared player.
His early read allows Curry to beat Jorgensen, who has to come from 10 metres back, to the ball.
Curry still needs to show great skill to palm the ball one-handed into his grasp before he rides Lynagh's tackle and offloads to Russell.
The Lions out-half passes to his right to send Jones surging into acres of space.
Jones makes it to within 10 metres of the Wallabies' tryline before he's hauled down.
Gibson-Park shifts the ball left initially, where Furlong makes a carry off Conan's tip-on pass, before the Lions scrum-half cleverly bounces back to his right.
In a continuing trend in the Lions' play, right wing Freeman [blue below] runs a hard line close to the ruck to keep defenders honest there.
As Freeman interests the first three defenders off the ruck, Keenan [red below] is the most obvious recipient of a pass out the back of Freeman.
Wallabies centre Len Ikitau [green above] decides to shoot up from the defensive line in a bid to regain momentum and shut down the Lions' ability to pass the ball wide. Initially, Ikitau is attracted towards Keenan.
But Gibson-Park has already picked out the wider pass to Jones [pink below].
Gibson-Parks rips a superb pass wide to Jones, who reads it and fades with the pass to the outside of the advancing Ikitau.
Having come up and in initially, it's too late for Ikitau to adjust out onto Jones as Gibson-Park fires his pass and the Lions' number 13 accelerates outside him.
As soon as he's confident that Ikitua can't get out beyond him, Jones passes to Curry, who has worked all the way to the right-hand side after his initial intervention.
And Curry calmly holds Potter for long enough to give Sheehan time and space to finish powerfully in the corner.
It's a cracking counter-attacking try from the Lions.
Russell continues his superb goal-kicking form to rub salt in the Wallabies' wounds.
With a 19-point lead, the Lions are never going to be caught.