How the Lions rated in their victory over Australia in the first Test

The 42

6 days ago

Backs:
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.
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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.