British and Irish Lions dominate early to down Wallabies 27-19 in first rugby Test

BRISBANE – The British and Irish Lions rode a rampant first-half display to a 27-19 victory over Australia in the first rugby Test on July 19, running in three tries in the first 41 minutes and holding off a late Wallabies fightback for a comfortable victory.

Superior in all facets of the game in the first hour, the Lions scored tries through Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Curry and Dan Sheehan while Finn Russell added nine points from the kicking tee.

Max Jorgensen crossed in the first half for the Wallabies, and they improved when they cleared the bench in the second half but tries from replacements Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott were too little, too late.

“We’re delighted with the win. The game was a tough Test match,” said Lions captain Maro Itoje. “I thought we started well in the first half. We played a lot of good stuff.

“Then the second half was a bit to and fro from both sides. I think that’s a good position for us to be in.”

The Wallabies, rank underdogs, made a nervous start amid a cacophony of noise from the 52,229 crowd, and Russell gave the tourists an early lead with a penalty inside the first couple of minutes.

Jorgensen produced a try out of nothing just before the half-hour mark, however, tearing a high ball out of the hands of Lions fullback Hugo Keenan and racing away to dive over in the corner.

Flyhalf Tom Lynagh, making a shaky first Test start, missed the conversion and the Lions were soon 17-5 up after flanker Curry, controversially selected ahead of Wales captain Jac Morgan, powered over the line.

Australia’s line-out had been malfunctioning all game, and they paid a price for it straight after the break when the Lions midfield ran rampant with a turnover ball and quick hands from Curry sent hooker Sheehan over in the corner.

Russell maintained his perfect night from the kicking tee to extend the lead to 24-5 as the coaches started bringing on their replacements.

Replacement flanker Tizzano muscled his way over the line for a converted try to cut the deficit to 24-12, but replacement Marcus Smith gave the Lions a bit more of a cushion with a 73rd-minute penalty.

The Wallabies were now attacking with more fluency but the impressive Lions defence held on until a minute from time when McDermott skipped over the line for what was another consolation try.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” said Wallabies captain Harry Wilson.

“We came in wanting to win, and I feel as if we probably didn’t really get our game going there like we would have liked. They won a few big moments, and that’s something which we want to do and make sure we do next week.”

The second Test is at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 26 and the series concludes at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Aug 2.

At Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on July 19, New Zealand staved off a fierce challenge from France to win the third Test 29-19 and complete a series clean sweep.

The All Blacks took the lead for the first time with only 20 minutes remaining as the under-strength tourists faded in their last game of a long season, eventually conceding four tries to one.

“Stoked with that,” said All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, who conceded that his team had been in a battle.

“The French turned up tonight. Proud of the boys as well in sticking it out in that first half, and then the second half we brought it home. We sharpened up in the second half and were able to build phases and build pressure. We converted it into points.”

France were highly competitive in the first Test which they lost 31-27 in Dunedin and in Hamilton, but they were well beaten 41-17 in the second Test in Wellington.

New Zealand have swept all five three-match series between the sides, also winning 3-0 in 1961, 1968, 2013 and 2018.

“It’s a shame we lost but we played against a great All Black team, and I’m just proud of the performance,” said France lock Joshua Brennan.

“I’m really proud of the boys, the effort we put in today.” AFP, REUTERS