Latest news with #Beirne
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Shannon Blueway park offers pitches to tourism operators and investors
The Beirne family is retiring and selling the nine-acre site and business near Leitrim village. It is also convenient to Carrick-on-Shannon which is on the N4 linking Dublin to the tourist spots in the north-west of the country. Overlooking 245 metres of river frontage, the property combines a Fáilte Ireland-approved caravan, camping and glamping park, a private 16-berth marina and a renowned pub and restaurant – Beirne's of Battlebridge. The business has featured in a number of TV programmes such as No Frontiers and At Your Service and is also included in The Big Pitch guide for caravanners and campers. It was recognised as one of Ireland's Top 10 Campsites in the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards. The park offers 43 hard-standing touring pitches and 20 tent pitches, all with electric hook-ups and water access, as well as a luxury glamping area featuring 11 eco-units. The site also accommodates a reception building, communal facilities, beer garden and a car park. The pub, known as Beirne's of Battlebridge, has received numerous accolades including a Guinness Irish Pub of Distinction award and a Black & White Pub award. An upstairs studio space could be converted to residential use. Occupying a corner site on a crossroads, it has road frontage on two sides. Commenting on its potential, Liam McCarthy of Savills pointed to its space for expanding the glamping facilities and serviced pitches. An adjoining field previously received outline planning for six detached houses, offering further scope for expansion or diversification. 'With diverse income streams, strong brand recognition, and a loyal customer base, it benefits not only from the continued growth in domestic and eco-tourism but it also offers a fantastic combination of lifestyle and investment appeal.' It consistently attracts repeat visitors and with its location on The Shannon Blueway, it has the potential to become a central hub for walkers, cyclists, paddlers and boaters exploring the region as it is also within easy reach of Lough Key Forest & Activity Park and the wider Shannon-Erne Waterway network. Battlebridge takes its name from the bridge where skirmishes took place when General Humbert led French and Irish forces to fight the British in 1798.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Red hot Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne set out Lions stall leaving Wallabies an uphill task
A dominant first half led the Lions to a straightforward victory in the first Test match against Australia. Some notable performance justified Andy Farrell's selection, particularly in the back row, showing that there's a lot more to team selection. Public focus was on most recent form, whereas Farrell proved why he's the man in charge with his selection of Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry. The Beirne selection was less surprising. He's one of the head coach's go-to guys in the Irish team and there are much clearer intangible attributes to Beirne. The Kildare man is a captain and leader while being a dominant setpiece player. It wasn't a case of whether Beirne would start, it was more about whether he would play in the second row or back row. While accepting his player of the match award after the 27-19 win, Beirne discussed his recent form being poorer than he would have liked, yet unsurprisingly, he stepped up when the challenge was at its highest and he put in a standout performance. Beirne won a penalty in the breakdown within 20 seconds, giving the Lions an immediate 3-0 lead, which meant that Australia were under pressure from the beginning. Aside from his leading tackle count, Beirne had two breakdown turnovers and a crucial maul turnover when Australia were beginning to find some momentum. As Farrell said, Beirne is a Test-match animal, and he justified his selection after receiving some criticism during the week. The more surprising selection was Curry, considering the form and quality of other players in the back row. While the Sale forward won't give you the same volume of match moments as Beirne, or the other back-row options for that matter, everything that Curry does is of the highest intensity. Not only did he set the physical tone for the Lions from his very first tackle, Curry was clever in his work rate and impacted the game at crucial times. He certainly strikes me as a guy that thinks his way through the game, and prepares himself both mentally and physically behind the scenes. Australia's Tom Lynagh made his starting debut on Saturday. His timing was pretty poor in attack, contributing to a lot of clunky play from the home side. However, Curry was a thorn in his side and disrupted any chance that Lynagh had of leading a cohesive attack. Joe Schmidt had clearly set Australia up for a clever move off their first scrum launch play. Teams often use a dummy play down the short side of a ruck or scrum to force the opposition back field to move across to that side. They then throw the ball back in the other direction to a more vulnerable defence because the backfield are out of position from chasing hard on the initial side. The Wallabies tried that in the first play, but when the ball was flashed back across the scrum to Lynagh running flat, Curry was aware and rushed the young out-half. It meant that centre Len Ikitau's timing off Lynagh was poor and the Australian out-half's kick to the manipulated back field didn't hit its mark. It's a small thing and might not be caught upon your first watch of the game, but small, sharp moments like this is what makes Curry shine in Test matches. He stayed up field and alive in the defensive line, despite the ball being thrown in the other direction. It might sound basic, but top internationals do the basics consistently and effectively. Club players switch off in that moment, Curry didn't. He had another standout moment from an Australian lineout overthrow move. The England international cut out the throw, offloaded to Finn Russell who sent Huw Jones into space. Curry didn't stop and admire his contribution. He raced around in support and when Jones faded onto a Russell pass to create a 3 v 2 situation on the right-hand touchline, Curry was on hand to finish the 2 v 1 after receiving the pass from Russell and Dan Sheehan (below) finished in the corner. They're small moments that make big impacts. These are moments that don't show up on the stats sheet. Curry won't have the same volume of actions as Jac Morgan or Josh van der Flier, something that was used as evidence against his selection during last week. However, when you notice the impact of the moments that he has, he more than justified the chance that Farrell gave him, in an unbelievably competitive position. International rugby doesn't rely on the same volume of efforts as club rugby. The ball-in-play time is often lower and players contribute equally. At club level you get top players doing the work of others. At international level that's rarely needed. Curry fit into a system and when called upon, he gave everything in the moment. He played on the edge, and might have been penalised or even carded at times, but good players can play on the edge and find a way to stay out of trouble. Curry did that for the Lions last weekend and he had a huge part to play in the dominant parts of their victory. It's not to say that Van der Flier, Morgan or Henry Pollock wouldn't have contributed very positively to a Lions win, they probably would have. Curry certainly did. Farrell can enjoy the first victory, knowing that when his selection was questioned, the players that he showed loyalty to, paid him back in spades. He'll have to prove his value as a coach once more next week in what is arguably the most difficult game. Win and the series is over as a contest, with a freebie to finish off the tour. Lose and it's a draw with all the momentum against the Lions. There'll be a few impactful players returning to the wounded Wallabies. I'm not sure they'll have enough impact to turn this Test series around. The hosts were pretty poor for large parts of the game. The Lions indiscipline left the Wallabies back into the game. With their replacement half-backs, Australia showed that they have something to build on. You'd expect Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson to take control from the start on Saturday and give Schmidt's side a better chance of competing in the opening quarter, instead of playing for pride in the closing one. The Lions will make some changes too. Their bench didn't provide the punch that Farrell would have expected. McCarthy's injury might force at least one change, otherwise I think the starting pack will be the same, with a greater chance of changes coming onto the bench and potentially a back-three player. It's still all to play for and Australia could pull off a surprise this weekend. However, they didn't have enough punch across the pitch last week, and I don't think the return of Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and even a few others are going to tame this Lions tour.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Tadhg Beirne: 'I felt the pressure. I'm not going to lie. A lot of people calling for my head out there'
WHEN the talking stopped, and the debates around selection gave way to the noise of a Test match build-up inside Suncorp Stadium, Andy Farrell knew the players those outside the British & Irish Lions camp may have doubted would perform they way he believed they would. It was not perfect in any shape or form but the way the Lions dominated Australia during Saturday's first half in Brisbane on their way to a 27-19 victory was confirmation enough that Farrell had got his combinations right. Flankers Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry had been selected despite not setting the world alight in the opening skirmishes of this tour against Australia's Super Rugby franchises but their head coach backed them regardless, based on his trust that when it mattered, their experience and ability to raise their performances would come to the fore. And so it proved, openside Curry's thundering power in the tackle rocking the foundations of prop James Slipper to the core with the first hit of the game, his blindside partner Beirne following up with jackal to win the first penalty of the games after just 14 seconds. Less than a minute later Finn Russell had opened the scoring and the Lions were up and running, first taking a 10-0 lead and then leading 17-5 at half-time. By the 42nd minute, Curry had perfectly read the Wallabies' overthrown lineout to meet the ball on the run and spark the superbly executed transition attack that led to Dan Sheehan's try which killed the game off there and then, Russell's touchline conversion sending the tourists into a 24-5 lead. SWEET FEELING: Beirne shows off his Player of the Match medal from Brisbane's first test. 'You see it time and time again,' Farrell said. 'When it really matters, big game players, that's what they do, they turn up, they trust themselves to be able to perform on the big stage. It's not an easy thing to do, I suppose it comes with a little bit of experience and they deliver it again. 'We have conversations of 'why do you think you're selected' and 'what is it that you're going to bring to the team performance' and to a man they're unbelievably honest. They're men of their word and that's what they delivered.' Munster captain Beirne, who contributed 23 tackles to the series-opening victory, gave a rare insight into what it feels like to be at the centre of a very public selection debate and the positive impact Farrell had had in those conversations with the back row he had placed his faith in, also including his Ireland team-mate and No.8 Jack Conan. 'It was right up there,' Beirne said. 'I felt the pressure. I'm not going to lie, I did feel the pressure this week. There are some things you can't shy away from. 'A lot of people calling for your head out there. I know my performances to this date weren't up to par by my standards. So to be in this team, Faz has put a lot of trust in me and it was an honour to be selected. 'I had to put in a performance. All of us did. Everyone around me put in great performances and the best part about it was that we were able to make each other look good, particularly for the first half. That last quarter we probably fell off a bit and we will need to look into that to go better.' Beirne did not reveal what was said by his head coach, save to say that his words helped the back-row unit. "Look, Andy had a quiet word with the back row, the captains, and he said a few things to us. He put a little bit of pressure on us without putting pressure on us, as Andy does. 'But it gives you motivation and it gives you a little bit of realisation as to where his head's at and the opportunity that's being presented to us. So those words certainly sat with me for the 24 hours leading up to the game. 'I knew how important this game was and not just because of what he said, but it's also a massively important game because each week is the biggest game of your career on these tours. 'I'm 33 now, I'm not going to be on another Lions tour, let's be realistic, so these are special moments. These are huge games and I want to be involved in all of them, so I knew how important this game was and hopefully I've done enough to help this team win and hopefully be selected next week." FAMILY AFFAIR: Tadhg Beirne is reunited with his sister and family down under. Pic: Alannah Beirne/Instagram It sounds a little out of kilter to hear a Lions Test man of the match say he could not be certain of his place in this Saturday's team to take the field at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but Beirne understands he is in rarefied air on this tour with the players Farrell has brought to Australia. "That's the thing about the Lions. Any man next up has more than earned their spot. There's been incredible performances in the lead-up to these Tests. 'If I'd have gone down with an injury, Chess (Ollie Chessum) would have went into six, no-one would have batted an eyelid there, not 'oh no, Tadhg's out', do you know what I mean? It would have been like 'great, Chess is in'. 'So that's the tour we're in. These guys, everyone's gunning for a position here and everyone's worthy of a position here. The responsibility's on us to try and keep our positions.' Despite the hothouse environment, Beirne has been able to absorb the points of difference a Lions tour creates and as a veteran of the 2021 'Covid' tour to South Africa when his two Test appearances off the bench alongside starters Curry and Conan were in the empty concrete void of the Cape Town Stadium, he is relishing 'proper touring' to coin a Farrell phrase, particularly with so many of his nearest and dearest able to finally watch him play for the Lions inside Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night. There were 10 family members in the stands, including his three sisters, all of whom live in Australia, one in Adelaide, another close to Brisbane on the Gold Coast and the Sydney-based Jennifer, whose birthday was on gameday. The juxtaposition with a fanless tour spent in splendid isolation at a resort hotel outside of Cape Town was brought into sharp focus as hordes of Lions jerey-clad supporters flooded into the Queensland city. 'Just the whole experience since we've been here has been so different, so much more enjoyable. 'Getting to walk around today, it was my sister's birthday today so I met up with her quickly for a coffee in the morning and just as we were walking around the place, the amount of Lions jerseys. That sea of red is just incredible to see, the amount of people turning up as the day started getting closer to the game and it's just such a different experience. 'You feel the buzz and it affects you. It affects how you feel going into the game and it affects your motivation, everything. You become more excited, you know, the whole experience of the game and you feel how important it is, how big of an occasion it is. It gets you very excited.' The feeling was mutual on Saturday night but all the Lions players know they are going to have to up their game at the MCG for the second Test against a Joe Schmidt team that grew into the game after what their head coach described as a 'submissive' first half to prevent the rout that had seemed likely just two minutes into the second half. Yet the Lions were in a similar spot four years ago, winning the opening Test of a rancorous series with the Springboks, only to lose the second two. Beirne appears to have learned the lessons. 'You can't rest on your laurels at all. You've got to take a big step forward. You've got to elevate your performances. 'If we put in the same performance as we did tonight it probably won't be good enough next week, it's going to have to step up. There's going to be a lot of players back, they're going to be desperate to win. 'So we're going to have to elevate our performance to make sure we bring that up.'
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Tadhg Beirne: "I'm not going to lie, I did feel the pressure this week"
It only took 19 seconds of Saturday's first Test between the British and Irish Lions and Australia to realise that Tadhg Beirne was going to have himself a day. The game was only three phases old when the Ireland international pounced on Wallabies centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii when he was tackled by Tadhg Furlong, earning a penalty which Finn Russell knocked between the posts for an early 3-0 lead. That was just the start of it for Beirne, who would go on to be credited with three turnovers and a stolen lineout, while his 23 tackles were the most of any player at Suncorp Stadium. "You've got to love those occasions," the 33-year-old said after Saturday's 27-19 win. "You've got to love every minute of it. You've got to love the dark moments when you are blowing out your arse and love when you are camped on your own line. You have to love every part of it and I certainly did today." The Munster captain would have been viewed as a nailed-on starter - either in the second or back row - prior to the tour, but after failing to hit his usual heights earlier in the warm-up games, his selection raised some eyebrows last Thursday when Andy Farrell preferred him to the in-form Ollie Chessum at blindside flanker for the first Test against the Wallabies. Farrell justified that call, and the decision to start Tom Curry at openside, by pointing to their track record for delivering on the big days, and both players repaid the faith shown in them by their head coach. "I felt the pressure. I'm not going to lie, I did feel the pressure this week," Beirne added. "There are some things you can't shy away from. A lot of people calling for your head out there. I know my performances to this date weren't up to par by my standards, so to be in this team, Faz has put a lot of trust in me and it was an honour to be selected. "I had to put in a performance today. All of us did. Everyone around me put in great performances and the best part about it was that we were able to make each other look good, particularly for the first half. "This is the game. Big games. You want to perform. You either step up to it or you don't. I tried my best to step up to it and hopefully when they review the game they will be happy with my performance. Everyone stepped up to that performance." The determination from both Beirne and Curry was clear from the first whistle. While Beirne came up with that jackal penalty on the third phase of the game, Curry flattened James Slipper with a crunching tackle seconds earlier. "His [Curry's] work rate is outstanding," Beirne said of his baxck row partner. "I suppose there's questions over some people, we see it as well over selection. "But the tape we have seen of Tom over the last couple of weeks has been outstanding. His workrate off the ball, everything he is doing that people aren't seeing is incredible work and that is why he has been selected, it is for those moments, the incredible fitness and workrate he has. So fair play to him." And Beirne says that determined start was helped by some special words of encouragment from the head coach. "Andy [Farrell] had a quiet word with the back row, the captains, and he said a few things to us. "He put a little bit of pressure on us without putting pressure on us, you know, as Andy does. But it gives you motivation and it gives you a little bit of realisation as to where his head's at and the opportunity that's being presented to us. "Those words certainly sat with me for the 24 hours leading up to the game. I knew how important this game was and not just because of what he said, but it's also a massively important game because each week is the biggest game of your career on these tours. "I'm 33 now, I'm not going to be on another Lions tour, let's be realistic, so these are special moments. These are huge games and I want to be involved in all of them, so I knew how important this game was and hopefully I've done enough to help this team win tonight and hopefully be selected next week." Barring injury, there will be no doubt over Beirne's place in the side for this week's second Test in Melbourne. And four years on from seeing the Lions lose a series to South Africa, having won the opening Test, he's determined not to go through it again. "I was there last time and we won the first Test and lost the last two, so we can't just sit back and relax now. "We have to go forward and that's where it's going to be challenging next week. They're going to expect a performance, they're going to elevate their performance, they've a few lads coming back and a few big names, a few world-class performers. "So they'll be back next week and the challenge becomes even more difficult because not only do they have some world-class names back but they also have a lot more to fight for because they know if they lose, they've lost the series. So next week is huge game. It's going to be tough in Melbourne."
The 42
4 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Majestic Russell, Furlong's skills, and Curry's class
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. Advertisement 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.
