How the Lions rated in their victory over Australia in the first Test
Hugo Keenan — 6: While there was plenty of his usual class in the positive column, Keenan was also beaten clean in the air by Max Jorgensen for Australia's first try and fell off a tackle on Harry Potter in the lead-up to Tate McDermott's consolation score. An early, outstretched spillage was also uncharacteristic, but Keenan's distribution was integral to plenty of the Lions' effective early attacks.
Tommy Freeman — 6: The England wing was forceful in contact and in defence, but he produced back-to-back kicks out on the full and forced one offload. He otherwise never got a chance to cut loose with ball in hand.
Huw Jones — 7: Found open country on a couple of occasions, particularly in the lead-up to Dan Sheehan's game-killing score. Jones' disallowed try was actually poor play: he knew he had been tackled and patience would have likely yielded a legal score for the tourists. Still an overall impressive display, with several huge hits in defence.
Sione Tuipulotu — 7: The first try-scorer in the series, Tuipulotu had a fine first half in particular, looking his old self in the carry and bouncing would-be Wallaby tacklers before invariably making the right decision post-contact. A quieter second half before he was replaced by Bundee Aki can be attested to the Lions' general drop-off. It was a good day for the Scottish midfield.
James Lowe — 6: An excellent early defensive read denied Australia a line-break or more. Two errant kicks and a poor decision to turn down a pass to Freeman and go it alone on 34 minutes were frustrating. Disruptive in the air but might consider catching a couple of the balls that he bats down to provoke chaos. Didn't quite get the bounce today.
Advertisement
Finn Russell — 8: The best 10 in the northern hemisphere continued his rich vein of form, offering a constant threat to the Wallabies' defensive line and timing each pass to perfection. Russell's assist for Tuipulotu exemplified his talent and, at 32, his decision-making, as he turned down a crossfield kick and rolled out the red carpet for his international teammate with a picturesque bridge pass. Kicked all of his goals which was integral to the result in the end. A wayward crossfield kick to Joe McCarthy was the only blot on the Scot's copybook.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 8: Produced his best Test performance of 2025 on the biggest stage of all. Got the Lions marching, attacked at speed and with precision, and even melted a couple of Wallabies with defensive hits. All but one of his box-kicks were spot-on, and that Alex Mitchell was the last replacement used by Andy Farrell tells its own story.
Forwards:
Ellis Genge — 7: Had a surprisingly frustrating day in the scrum, conceding an early free-kick and later a penalty. But Genge was huge in the loose, where he made eight carries and beat four defenders, albeit without the kind of yardage he had gained in recent outings. Came up big in the attacking breakdown, too.
Dan Sheehan — 8: The Leinster and Ireland hooker could genuinely teach some wingers how to finish, and he was already worthy of a score when he dove over just after half-time to kill the game. Flawless at the lineout, Sheehan made the third most metres of any Lion with 50 off nine carries, and he lit up the Aussies in defence, too, with 11 tackles during his time on the field. His presence was noticeably missed when he came off in the second half.
Tadhg Furlong — 8: The Wexford man was instrumental to pretty much everything that the Lions did well, his efforts in the loose exemplified by a 15-metre, left-handed pass towards the end of the first half. Made the joint-most passes of any Lions forward, and kept alive the move that led to Sione Tuipulotu's opening try. Unlucky with his penalty concession for a high hit at the breakdown on 49 minutes.
Maro Itoje (captain) — 7: Having ploughed a lone furrow and come out second at a couple of early breakdowns, Itoje rose to the occasion and called a fine game as skipper. Added heft and direction to the tourists' attacking efforts and put in 19 tackles, second only to Tadhg Beirne.
Joe McCarthy — 8: Injury curtailed what was a powerful effort on both sides of the ball. McCarthy was good enough in his 40-odd minutes today that he would prove a significant loss to the Lions next week, particularly with Will Skelton due to return to the Wallabies' engine room.
Tadhg Beirne — 9: The deserved man of the match, whose impact on the game was simply more profound than that of any other player. Beirne, whose place in the starting team was questioned in some quarters, officially won three turnovers for the Lions — two rips at the breakdown and a lineout steal — but in reality won four, also forcing a maul turnover in the second half. He led his team with 23 tackles and was, ultimately, the best player on the field for either side.
Tom Curry — 8: Another who answered any scepticism towards his involvement as a starter. Curry was ballistic, once or twice to a fault. He made seven gainline successes off eight carries and finished with a try and an assist, albeit there were also two penalty concessions for a tackle in the air and a high hit.
Jack Conan — 8: While his performance may not have been celebrated to the same extent as the more headline-grabbing efforts of Beirne and Curry, Conan's fourth Lions Test start was exemplary as he gave his side routine go-forward ball and won virtually every collision in which he was involved.
Bench impact — 5: Really, only Bundee Aki — a 7 in his own right — had any kind of meaningful influence on proceedings upon his introduction.
The Connacht and Ireland centre ultimately denied Australia a try by getting over the ball as Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i tried to roll over for a score after the hour, and added a couple of meaty carries to a fine cameo.
That the rest of Andy Farrell's replacements proved a drop-off from their predecessors — albeit in a game that felt dead from about 41 minutes onwards — will be a point of criticism in camp ahead of the second Test. The door will remain open for plenty of players who missed out on today's 23.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
43 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Lions call on former captain Martin Johnson for second Test inspiration
If anyone can give this British and Irish Lions squad a sense of what to expect on Saturday, it's Martin Johnson. The former England head coach and captain was skipper when the Lions came to Melbourne in 2001 off the back of an impressive first Test win, only for the Wallabies to emphatically level the series. Four years earlier, Johnson was also captain of the great 1997 side, who clinched the series with a game to spare against the Springboks at Kings Park in Durban. And as the Lions look to make their own piece of history at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow, it was appropriate for the former captain to come in and pass on some words of wisdom. Johnson presented the squad with their jerseys ahead of Saturday's MCG Test, and spoke to the squad about what to expect, as someone who has been through both the highs and lows of Lions' tours. "The room was completely quiet for the whole time he was there and spoke. There were guys just staring up at him," scrum coach John Fogarty (below) said of Johnson's presentation. "He talked a bit about the Lions series they won [1997] and the Lions series they lost [2001] and the difference in either. "He spoke about how in the biggest games the fundamentals are incredibly important. There's going to be errors but not compounding errors on errors is a huge part of winning big games. It was really cool. "Maro [Itoje] asked him a question or two and then he handed out the jerseys. It has been such a privilege this whole journey to have someone like him come in and talk to the lads was another privilege. It's cool. Some of the current squad Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Jamie Osborne weren't even born when Johnson captained the Lions on that 2001 tour, while many others were yet to even be walking or talking 24 years ago. However, Fogarty said the significance of having Johnson in camp wasn't lost on the younger crop. "They knew who he was for sure. "There was a bit of contemplation and reflection after he talked, which is a good thing. It is what you want. You don't just want to turn around and get your dinner. "There was a bit of thinking and there were conversations, but it was a quiet room because they wanted to listen to a guy they see as an icon. It was pretty cool. "He said it is the smallest of margins in the biggest of games [that matter]. "The error bit, what he is talking about there is being able to get back to neutral and talking about being in the moment. All that stuff is difficult when you're playing in front of 95,000 people in a stadium as iconic as this." While Johnson's game for the Lions in Melbourne in 2001, and the 2013 Melbourne Test, were both across town at the Docklands – now Marvel – Stadium, tomorrow's game will be played in a much grander setting, where an estimated 90,000 supporters will be packed into the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. The MCG was looking spectacular on Friday afternoon as Fogarty spoke to the media pitchside, less than 24 hours after an AFL game on the same pitch between Hawthorn and Carlton. And the Lions assistant was blown away by the size and history of the venue. "What a stage, what a game it's going to be. "I have never watched cricket, never seen the game, we didn't play it when we were kids so I hadn't got a clue [about the MCG]. "Andy [Farrell] has been telling us: 'Wait until you see this'. When he got back from doing a recce he was 'Oh my God, this stadium, that stadium' but nothing landed until we walked out. "My brother Denis is over and he came to the game last night and was telling me it was going to be some stadium to play in, it is an amazing place. "I remember the first time I walked out to Croke Park when I was a kid and I was 'Oh God, look at this' so when we walked out you could see a lot of us looking around and going 'Jesus, this is bigger than anything we have been in before'. "Certainly for me it is bigger than anything I have been in before, it is an unbelievable privilege to be here, I know have said it a couple of times but I mean it. I feel unbelievably lucky, and the players are the same, to be able to do this stuff. It is not normal." There may be temptation to approach the game from a cold perspective, but Fogarty wants the players to embrace the occasion of playing a Lions Test in one of the world's most famous sporting venues. "You've got to lean in a little bit, don't you? "The boys are going to be building to 8pm, so we need to simmer away tomorrow so that we're at the right level when we arrive here and then we can hit the ground running and do things properly. "We're expecting an absolute battle, a war. But when you come here it makes it a bit more special because you understand what it's going to be like a little bit. "All the little things will matter tomorrow." Meanwhile, the Lions have confirmed that Ewan Ashman, Gregor Brown, Rory Sutherland and Darcy Graham have returned home after they were drafted in on a temporary basis to help with Tuesday's fixture against the First Nations and Pasifika XV. Irish pair Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne remain with the squad.


Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Playing with the Lions is like the Olympics' – Nick Popplewell on being part of last amateur touring side
The former Irish International, who toured New Zealand with the Lions in 1993, says only the test matches matter Proud Wexford man Nick Popplewell, has been in the property industry with Sherry Fitzgerald Radford for the best part of a quarter of a century. Before that he was one of Ireland's greatest amateur athletes. In 1993 he was selected for the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, where he played in all three test matches. That year, the Lions lost the series 2-1, but Nick became the only Irishman to play on a victorious team against New Zealand since 1978, a record he held until 2016, when Ireland finally did beat New Zealand in Chicago.


Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Lions v Wallabies head-to-heads: Andrew Porter v Allan Alaalatoa
Andrew Porter Position: Loosehead prop Age: 29 Height: 6ft Weight: 123kg (19st 5lbs) READ MORE Lions Tests: 1 Points: 0 Why he's so important: There is a two-fold reason why the Leinster and Ireland prop has found his way into the starting team from the bench last week. The first revolves around the scrum, a strength in general terms earlier in the Lions tour, but one of the few areas that Australia shaded in the first Test. He is part of an all-Irish frontrow that is used to working together as a unit. Porter has fallen foul of referees in the past, unfairly so at times, so it's a huge investment in his capacity to present the right pictures for the officials and solidify this area. Andrew Porter during a Lions training session at Xavier College in Melbourne on Thursday. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho The second issue was the lack of positive impact in a collective sense when Lions head coach Andy Farrell went to his bench last week. The Wallabies dominance in the last half-hour, in the collisions and on the scoreboard, has seen Farrell made sweeping changes in the replacements, injuries notwithstanding, to seek greater impact. Ellis Genge has been outstanding in his general play and especially his powerful carrying and it is that energy and dynamism to which his team will be looking when he does arrive. Porter knows that he can empty the tank in the first 50-60 minutes rather than having to play through 70 plus. Trivia: Porter made his Ireland senior debut against the USA in 2017, an honour he shares with James Ryan and Jacob Stockdale, with whom he previously had reached an Under-20 World Championship final the previous summer in Manchester. Allan Alaalatoa Position: Tighthead prop Age: 31 Height: 6ft Weight: 125kg (19st 10lbs) Caps: 81 Points: 5 Why he's so important: A son of former Manu Samoa prop Vili Alaalatoa, and a younger brother of one-time Leinster prop Michael, Allan is noted for his strong work in the scrum, an area in which Australia won two penalties and a free-kick in the first Test. Joe Schmidt brought in fellow Kiwi Mike Cron to work with the Wallabies as scrum coach after his work with the All Blacks and as a consultant with World Rugby. Allan Alaalatoa during a Wallabies Training training session at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne on Thursday. Photograph:'You can really feel that change and that consistency and it probably does come from the quality of coaching that we've had and the simple messaging, but a clear understanding from the boys as well on how we can improve throughout that scrum set-piece,' Alaalatoa said of Cron's impact on their scrum. 'I think from where we were this time last year, there's been a massive growth around that, so I think for us it's just to continue to take that forward and have plenty of belief in our scrum.' A three-time Brumbies player of the year, he became the 85th player to captain Australia against Italy and in doing so, he and Michael (Samoa), became the first set of brothers to captain different countries. Trivia: Alaalatoa is a rare phenomenon in that he represented Australia at three Under-20 World Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014, a staggering achievement for a frontrow forward considering he was just 18 the first time around. Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia Listen | 46:27